Chapter 5: Friday, Sept, 14

Hello Mrs. Abernathey,

Despite what you may have heard, or what you will read in my journal, I slept very well. I think it was the perfume. I put a little bit on after my bath last night. I felt safe and warm when I went to bed, and fell asleep right away. It felt like Mom was holding me while I slept. It was a really nice feeling.

Of course, you know that means I had a rude awakening. Angie bounced me right out of bed this morning. That wasn't a nice feeling at all! I was sleeping peacefully, and then I was hitting the floor. I guess I was on the edge of the bed when Angie jumped onto the other side — I was sent flying.

Angie, of course, thought it was funny, and burst out laughing. When I finally disentangled myself, I threw my pillow at her. She ducked and ran out of our room, still laughing. I got up and went after her, but she locked the bathroom door on me.

Mom came out of her room while I was pounding on the door, told me to stop pounding and to stop calling my sister names. (I still think she's a fink for waking me like that.)

Angie stuck her head out. "Mom, I just woke her up like I was supposed to."

I yelled, "She bounced me out of bed!"

Mom kissed Angie on her forehead. "Thank you for waking your sister, but next time do it more gently." She turned to me and kissed my forehead. "As for you, Miss Sleepyhead, you need to learn to wake up in the morning. Now, both of you, hurry up and get ready for school. I'll have breakfast ready when you get downstairs."

With that, Mom went downstairs. Angie quickly stuck her tongue out at me, before shutting and locking the bathroom door again. Laughing the whole time, I told her I'd get her back for that, and went back to our room, grumbling, to decide what to wear today. I was trying to decide between a skirt and jeans, when everything that happened yesterday came rushing back to me.

Mr. Petrovich's experiment, Becky Sue, the gun, peeing in class, being taken care of by Becky Sue afterwards, her sharing the perfume with me. It all hit me, and I started to cry. Angie found me curled up in a ball when she came in. She rushed over to me, hugged me, told me that it was ok, that I was safe, and she wouldn't let anyone hurt me.

Angie did make me feel better, but it still took me a while to stop crying. I kind of wish Mom had heard me, as she always knows how to make me feel better, but in a way I'm glad she didn't. She'd want to know why I was crying, and I'd have to tell her. When I did, she would have thrown a fit. So I suppose it's good she didn't. Besides, Angie is really good at taking care of me. I couldn't ask for a better sister, even if she is a boy, and a yummy one at that.

We had to rush to get me ready for school. Angie was already dressed in her cheerleader uniform. It was different seeing her in slacks instead of a skirt, but she still looked good. And before you ask, yes she still fills out her sweater, just in a different way, of course. I think she looked good — different, but good. Still, I dreaded going to school. By now everyone would know what had happened (they did).

Despite Angie's making me feel better upstairs, Mom still saw that something was wrong when we came down, but I didn't want to talk about it. I just said I was ok. When we were leaving, Mom asked again if I was sure I was ok. I nodded. She said that I didn't look well, and then she asked if I was early. Talk about embarrassing! Jeez!!!!!

I guess my, "Mom!!!" meant I was feeling ok to her as she kissed me and told me to have a good day at school. I wanted to ask if she knew any more jokes, but I didn't have time.

It was as I feared when I got to school. Everyone knew about what had happened. We dropped Schultz off with Marcy, and she looked me over and asked if I was ok.

I wasn't, but I said I was.

Then, as we walked into the back of the main building, everyone was pointing at me and whispering. Like I needed more reasons to want to be invisible. Then Judd and Ned came up. They were two of the jokers in class yesterday, and not the nicest ones either. Judd asked, "Well if it isn't Little Miss Pampers, need someone to show you to the potty?"

Angie growled and took a step forward like she was going to deck him. I was spared seeing her fight for me when Mike came up, put a big hand on each of their shoulders, Judd's right and Ned's left, so he was standing between them, and said, "Yo, Marie, dee's guys botherin' yous?"

They went pale, and started saying they weren't bothering me (yeah, right).

Mike looked at me and asked quietly, "Marie?"

They looked at me too, only their looks were desperate — unlike Mike's, which was concerned. If I said they were, Mike would pound them, and they knew it. I was tempted to say they were, as it was the truth. What they'd said had hurt, but I didn't like seeing animals suffer, so I said, "No, they were just wishing me a good morning."

Mike didn't look convinced. They looked relieved, and started saying, "Yeah, yeah, a good morning, that's all, and we hope you have a good day too!" "Yeah, you too, Angie!" Then Mike let go of them, and they scurried away. I'd say like the rats they were, but then I'd be insulting rats, so I won't.

Angie and I both said, "Thanks, Mike."

Mike nodded. "If yous have any troubles, lets me knows, okays?"

I nodded, and felt tears forming. Mike gave me a hug. I think he gave Angie a hug too, but I wasn't paying attention; I was just leaning against him for support. When I opened my eyes, I saw Denise looking at me. I blushed and took a step back; I didn't want her to think I was trying to take her man or anything.

I was surprised when Denise stepped forward and hugged me, then stepped back and asked if I was ok.

I shrugged.

She told me not to worry about it, and if I had any problems to let one of them know.

I nodded.

"Promise?"

I sighed, "Promise."

They all looked happier after I promised. They knew I did my best to keep my promises. The four of us then headed down the hall towards our classes. Mike had his left arm around Denise, she had her right around him, and she and Angie were both holding my hands.

Mike broke off at the stairs saying he'd catch us later, gave Denise a kiss, and Angie and me hugs. When we got to Angie's class, Brad was waiting for her. He said, "Hi," and we said, "Hi," back. Angie told me I'd be ok, and gave Denise and me both a kiss on the cheek, before snuggling into Brad's arms for a real kiss.

Its pretty weird seeing Brad kiss a guy even if that guy is Angie.

We waved, as Denise and I headed toward our class. We stopped at your class, Mrs. Abernathey, and Denise said, "I'll see you later. Remember your promise, ok? We all care about you." She hugged me, and disappeared into the crowd. That surprised me so much that I stood out in the hall, thinking about it all, until the first bell rang. Then I went in and took my seat.

Thanks for not calling on me, by the way. I really wasn't there this morning. I suppose you thought I was thinking about yesterday, but I wasn't. I was still thinking about the love and support I'd felt from Angie, Mike, and Denise. In a way, it kind of confused me. I can understand those feelings from Angie and Mike, and I return them completely, but I wasn't expecting it from Denise. I also wasn't expecting her to hold my hand all the way to class, or her hugs and how she looked at me when she said they all cared about me. Nor was I expecting how that would make me feel.

To say I was confused would be an understatement. I mean I felt good, but ... I don't know. I suppose I'm reading too much into it. After all, friends are supposed to care about each other.

After class I had problems with my locker again, and I realized I'd forgotten to bring a screwdriver. I also found that it's hard to fight with your locker when people are talking about you behind your back; it's really distracting.

While I was struggling, Mike saved me again.

"Yo, Marie, yous havin' trouble?"

"I can't get my locker open."

Mike reached for the latch. "Let me try."

The locker gave a squeak, the latch popped up that last part of the way, and the door swung open.

"There yous go, Marie."

I gave Mike a smile. "Thanks Mike." Then, as I exchanged books, I whispered to the locker, "Let that be a lesson to you."

After I locked my locker back up, Mike asked me if I was going to join them at lunch.

I said, "I suppose," and then remembered my make-up test. When I told him about it, he asked if I needed a partner and waggled his eyebrows. I turned bright red, and he laughed. "Sees yous laters." Then the warning bell rang.

One nice thing about Mike's helping me, besides the fact he could open my locker, was that all the talk about me seemed to disappear. I'm sure they were still thinking bad things about me, but they weren't saying anything. They probably figured Mike would stuff them in their locker if they did.

When I got to the library, Mr. Jeffers asked if I'd tried the screwdriver. I blushed as I told him I forgot to bring one. He nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. You've probably been thinking about other things. So, you doing ok?"

I felt my face get hotter.

"Don't worry about it. Anyone would have done the same thing. It'll blow over soon enough."

Yeah, right! This is one thing they'll remember about me, if nothing else. They'll still be talking and laughing about it at our 60th high school reunion. Arrrgggg!!!!

The other Library pages also asked if I was ok. Most seemed to sympathize with me, and none of them said they could blame me. They all said they'd have been scared too. They all seemed surprised when I told them how nice Becky Sue had been afterwards, though. I couldn't blame them, either — I had been too.

I finally fell apart on the way to biology. The closer I got, the harder it got to breathe, and I started to shake. By the time I was outside the door, I couldn't breathe at all, and I was shaking so badly. I just knew if I went in, I would die. Others went past me looking at me. Some laughed, and others looked concerned. I wanted to run and hide, but I couldn't move at all.

Then, all of a sudden, my Mom was hugging me and telling me that I was alright. That I was ok, that I was safe, and that she wouldn't let anyone hurt me. I just held her and cried.

When I was all cried out, I leaned back and started to wipe the tears from my face. I was surprised and confused when Becky Sue asked, "Are you ok now, Marie?"

She was still holding me. I guess I confused her with Mom because of her perfume, but for a bit I was sure Mom was holding me. I can't explain why I thought so — I just did.

Mr. Petrovich was behind her, looking really concerned. Anna was standing behind him holding my things; I guess I dropped them. A couple others were watching from the doorway.

Becky Sue wiped the tears from my face with her thumbs, and asked me again if I was ok. I nodded, and started to say I was sorry. She stopped me, and told me I didn't have anything to be sorry about. Mr. Petrovich then said he was the one who was sorry, and asked if I wanted to go see the nurse or the councilor.

I shook my head. I knew my parents would find out sooner or later, and I preferred later.

Mr. Petrovich offered to get me transferred to another class, if I wanted, and I shook my head again. He's the best science teacher at the school, and he makes learning fun, well, most of the time — I can't say I've been having a lot of fun lately. Then Mr. Petrovich asked if I thought I was up to attending class, or if I wanted to go to the library.

I wanted to go to the library, but I didn't want to fall any further behind either, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

He said, "Ok," and he and Becky Sue walked me into class.

The guy who normally sat next to me quickly moved so Becky Sue could sit next to me. Anna put my things on my desk. I said, "Thanks." She gave me a smile, and moved up to her seat.

I was still terrified, but I think Becky Sue being with me helped. Knowing that Mr. Petrovich and Anna cared helped as well.

Mr. Petrovich gave my shoulder a squeeze, and went to the front of the class.

"Okay, before we start I want to give a big apology to Marie. Marie, I am very sorry for putting you through all that yesterday, I hope you can forgive me."

I nodded. Ok, it was embarrassing, but it was nice too, and it made me respect him even more. Not many people would do that.

A few of the others thought it was funny, though. Mr. Petrovich was not amused. "So, you all think going through a traumatic life or death experience is funny, huh? Leanne, Judd, front of the class, now!"

Leanne is Becky Sue's friend who really didn't like me.

They came up to the front slowly, while he went to the back of the class. I didn't look, but I heard him unlock a cabinet, and he then walked back up with a small briefcase. He took the squirt gun from yesterday out of his pocket and placed it on the table, then he unlocked the briefcase and took out an identical gun. I saw where he was going; he was going to show them my reaction wasn't funny. I appreciated that, but I still wanted to throw up. Judd and Leanne looked like they weren't too happy either. I was sure the rest of the class wasn't either, as a nervous silence filled the room.

"There is a reason toy guns today are made in bright colors. It's to protect stupid kids from getting killed when they point them at the police."

The class murmured.

"You think that's harsh; many agree with you. They all thought the police ought to have known better, or taken other actions when a stupid person who pointed a gun at them was killed. However, I don't blame those officers at all. They were in a life or death situation. Someone was pointing a gun at them. They couldn't tell the gun was a toy. All they knew was if they didn't shoot they could be shot."

While he talked, he moved the guns around so nobody could tell which was which. Then he picked them up and aimed them at Leanne and Judd.

"Now, I want you two to tell me which is the real gun."

The class erupted into chaos. Mr. Petrovich yelled at everyone to settle down. He asked Leanne and Judd again to tell him which was real.

They couldn't.

He told them to guess. They wouldn't.

"Shall we find out?"

Leanne screamed, and went to her knees crying. Judd ran for the door. Everyone between him and Mr. Petrovich hit the floor. Mr. Petrovich yelled, "Freeze!"

Everyone turned to face him. He raised both guns into the air and pulled the triggers. Everyone ducked, expecting one of them to go off, but there was no BANG! Instead, each one squirted water into the air — they were both squirt guns.

"You don't think I'm crazy enough to bring a loaded gun into school, do you?"

There was a lot of nervous laughter. Even more when Judd sank to the floor looking like he'd been run over. Leanne jumped up and started hitting Mr. Petrovich in the chest with her fists yelling, "You jerk, you fucking jerk!"

He put the guns into his pockets, pulled her to him, and held her until she stopped crying. Then he apologized to her, and helped her back to her seat, He went over, helped Judd up, and apologized to him.

When he was back in front of the class, he said, "Now you all understand what Marie is going through. I want you all to be considerate of her, as well as Leanne and Judd. Understand?"

There were a lot of "Yes Sirs!"

"Good, now that we've gotten the toy gun safety lesson out of the way, let's get back to the five senses."

He tossed the guns into the briefcase and put it under the desk. Then he pulled up a large cardboard box. There were two holes in the front of the box which were covered by strips of black cloth. He put it on the table. "Now, do I have any volunteers?"

Before I knew it, I'd said, "Don't look at me. I already told you I wasn't touching anything." I think I was as stunned as Mr. Petrovich looked. I don't know why I'd said anything. I hadn't planned to, but it just popped out. It was really embarrassing too, as I could feel everyone staring at me.

There was dead silence for a minute, and then Mr. Petrovich burst out laughing. He laughed so hard I think he had trouble breathing.

I also think it helped break the tension with the rest of the class. When he started laughing, they did too. Even Leanne and Judd were laughing.

I just sat there wondering why I'd spoken at all. I still can't figure it out.

When he was finally able to speak, Mr. Petrovich said, "Ok, anyone else?"

Class went sort of normally after that — if you consider Anna having her hand dyed purple, and John's hand dyed green normal. Mr. Petrovich thought it was really funny. It was kind of funny to see their faces when they pulled their hands out of the box.

When class was over, everyone left laughing at Mr. Petrovich's lesson. Anna gave me a purple wave and went her way. Becky Sue gave me a smile and a wink. "See you at lunch, Hound". Leanne looked me over, said, "You're alright," and followed Becky Sue.

I just shook my head, and went to my locker. I stopped at my locker and traded books. My locker behaved this time. I gave it a pat, said, "Good locker," and headed to the councilor's office at the front of the school.

Just before I got to the other stairwell, I heard Heather demand, "Did you do it?" followed by a guy's voice saying, "No, I can't find it!"

I don't know why, but I froze just outside the stairwell and listened. (I know it's not nice; normally I don't, but this time I couldn't help it.)

"I told you to do it today!"

"But, I've looked all over!"

"I don't care, I'm tired of being made a fool of with that little toy car of theirs! Take care of it now!"

My heart leaped into my throat. She was going to hurt Schultz!

Then Lee came flying out backwards with his arms wind milling. He caught his balance, turned, and went running out the doors to the student parking lot.

Lee is one of Heather's lackeys. She treats him like dirt, and he does anything for her. He's not really well liked or trusted by anyone since he's a suck-up and a weasel.

Heather followed him out of the stairwell, turned, and nearly walked into me. She started to yell, "Watch where you're going!" but she stopped when she recognized me. She went pale, and looked scared. I suppose she was worried about what I might have heard, and if I'd tell. Not only would I tell if Schultz was hurt, but I heard enough to get her into big trouble — that's for sure!

"Oh, uh, hey there, Marie; Uh ... how are you holding up?"

I said, "Ok," surprised. She actually sounded civil.

"That's good, Angie's been worried about you. Um, I've got to go. Have a good lunch." She then took off out the doors. That surprised me a lot; I think the most surprising thing was that it sounded like she actually meant it!

I was torn between finding Marcy, to check on Schultz, and taking my test. Not that a test comes first over family, but I didn't want to have any more problems. I figured that if Lee hadn't found Schultz yet he should be ok until I found Marcie. So, I went to Miss Miller's office.

The first thing Miss Miller did was ask me was if I was ok. I nodded, but I wasn't really, I was worried about Schultz. I wanted to go find Marcie and ask if he was ok.

"If you need to talk, you know you can come to me any time, don't you, Marie?"

I nodded.

"You're sure?"

I told her I was nervous about the test. She gave me a smile and told me it was nothing to be worried about. She took a dildo and a condom out of a drawer and put them on her desk right in front of me.

"Here you are, could you put the condom on that for me?"

I think I singed my hair, I blushed so hard. You can't blame me for blushing either, as I've never handled either one of those things before. I'd certainly never imagined I'd be handling them in front of a teacher!

She gave me a smile. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"That's ... that's all r-right? I-I don't have to d-do anything else with it, do I?" I stammered (I hate stammering).

Miss Miller gave me a blank look, then, when what I said registered, she chuckled and gave me a big smile. "No dear, just put the condom on it."

That made me feel a bit better. I nervously reached out and picked up the little foil packet, and paused. "I don't have to use my mouth, do I?"

Miss Miller laughed. "No, your hands will be fine, unless you want to go for extra credit?"

Miss Miller laughed as I turned bright red.

I've never given anything a blow job. My first one sure isn't going to be to a rubber cock, and it sure isn't going to be in front of my Sex Ed. teacher — not even if I needed the extra credit! She'd probably take points off for bad technique. Then again, maybe she'd grade on a curve, since it was my first time. I wasn't going to find out, though!

I picked the packet up, and this shiver went through me. I opened it and took out the condom. As I did, another shiver went through me. I don't know why; I guess it was because it was my first time doing something like that. I mean, it's such an intimate thing. Yeah, I know it can be done as a joke and all, but still, it's supposed to be a private thing. Besides, what I do here I'll end up doing on a guy for real one day.

After I had the condom out, I reached out for the dildo and then hesitated. I looked up at her. She rolled her eyes, grinned, and said, "It's clean."

I picked it up, trying not to think about where it may have been, especially not about how it'd feel, and this strange feeling went through me. I had a cock in my hand for the first time ever. Ok, sure, it was made of rubber, but it was still a cock.

I looked at it. "It's so real."

"It should be, it's modeled after a real one."

I jumped as if the dildo was suddenly alive, and it went flying. Then I was juggling and bobbling it and the condom while Miss Miller laughed. I thought she was going to fall out of her chair!

I gave her a dirty look, which only made her laugh harder, and put the condom on the dildo. When I finished rolling it down, I handed it back to her. She wiped the tears from her face, took the dildo, and removed the condom from it. She handed me the empty condom. "Ok, the guy just came, what do you do now?"

I blushed again; how could I not? If it'd been a guy, that would have meant we'd just,,, and he'd,,, and it was filled with,,, YOU KNOW!

Miss Miller smiled while I took the condom, tied a knot in it with trembling fingers, and handed it back to her. She jerked her hands back saying, "I don't want it!"

I nearly dropped the thing, and she started laughing again.

"I'm sorry, you can throw it away, Marie."

I did, and grumbled, "Now what?" She was having way too much fun at my expense.

"That's it."

"That's it?"

"That's it"

I stared at her with surprise.

"Don't worry; you passed."

"Um, kay. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now go enjoy the rest of your lunch period. Alfred and I are going to get reacquainted."

You could have heard my chin hit the floor.

Miss Miller burst out laughing. "Oh Marie, you're priceless!" She made a shooing motion with her hand, while the other cradled her head on her desk while she laughed. "Go, go have a good lunch."

I picked my things up, and raced out of there.

When I entered the cafeteria, I couldn't help noting that I'd been eating there a lot lately. Normally I eat in the library. Yes, I know, eating isn't allowed there, but Mr. Jeffers trusts me to clean up my mess; that's why he lets me.

I stood in the doorway until I spotted Marcy, and went quickly over to her. When I told her what I'd heard, she got this really dark look on her face, and then she relaxed. "Don't worry, I haven't finished tightening his track yet. He's safely locked up in the shop, and there's so much security there that we'd know if anyone even tried to get in."

I thanked her.

"No problem; anyone who wants to mess with my Schultz has got to get through me first!" She got this fierce look on her face, and looked like she was ready to take a spanner to anyone who tried to mess with Schultz.

A couple of the other mechanics agreed that Schultz was safe, and they said they wouldn't let anyone mess with him.

Feeling a lot better, I thanked them all, and went to get my lunch. I think it was supposed to be Sloppy Joe's, and macaroni and cheese. I say supposed to be, because I could only recognize the macaroni and cheese. It was edible though, whatever it was.

After loading my tray, I joined Angie and the others. Since it was a game day, the Cheers were in uniform, and the football players had their jerseys on.

I was kind of surprised to see Becky Sue and Leanne with them. They both gave me a smile, and Becky Sue asked how my test went. I was really surprised that she knew about my test. I guess Angie or Mike had told her. I blushed, remembering what happened, and told her I'd passed. Then she asked if it was Alfred or Leon. I felt my face get hotter when I said, "Alfred."

"You're lucky, I had Leon."

The others started snickering and giggling. I didn't understand what that meant, though. I guess Becky Sue saw that, as she held her hands up really far apart. My eyes got big. If Becky Sue wasn't pulling my leg, Leon is about twice as big as Alfred.

I said, "Oh my!" and the others laughed.

"Nobody really uses anything that big, do they?"

Angie, Brad, Becky Sue and a couple of the other cheers and football players broke out laughing. Mike started choking on his soda, and Denise turned bright red. When I realized the answer was 'yes, ' my face felt as hot as Denise's looked. Not knowing what else to say, I repeated, "Oh my."

Lunch was mostly quiet after that, except for the occasional giggle and snicker. There was still talking, it was just quieter. It was mostly about tonight's game and tonight's party. They didn't get too personal, though. Mostly talking about if Mike's place was still available, who all was going, and who was doing what. Like security, and cooking and stuff — not who would be doing IT.

I did take time to tell Angie what I'd heard Heather tell Lee in the hallway. She quickly covered up her 'if looks could kill' look and said that Marcy would keep him safe. She also said that since Heather knew we were on to her, she probably wouldn't do anything to him now, but that we should be more careful. I agreed, and we went back to talking about the game. Still, I have a feeling that Angie's planning something for Heather. Whatever it is, I don't think Heather will like it much.

We mostly went our separate ways after lunch. I was kind of surprised that Denise walked me all the way to class, but I was glad I didn't have to walk alone. People were still looking, and talking about me when they thought I wasn't looking. I miss being invisible.

History went as well as could be expected under the circumstances. I don't think I bombed my test completely, but I know I didn't do as well as I should have (sigh).

Art wasn't much better. Ms, Ling asked about the paper, and I told her I was sorry, but I'd had other things on my mind.

"That's ok, Marie, I understand. You can turn it in next week."

Great, my extra credit paper just became an assignment — Joy!

To top that off, she had me model. She had me in different positions lying down on the platform — nothing racy, though — I didn't even have to undress or change. She's asked students to do that before. I had to wear a swimsuit once last year. "Marie, I'd like you to model for us tomorrow, bring a swim suit." I don't think I stopped blushing the entire time, Fortunately, this time I only had to take my shoes off, so I guess that was ok.

And in case you're wondering, no, she hasn't made any of us go nude; not that she hasn't asked. I have heard that some students have, but I've never seen it happen. A couple guys have gone topless, though. Usually, if she's going to have us do nudes, she hires nude models from the local college, or she has us draw from pictures. She has an extensive magazine collection.

After class Ms. Ling thanked me for modeling, and reminded me about the paper (Sigh). Then I went to PE. Double D Dave was there again. He gave me a smile. "Hey, Marie, how's it goin'?"

By then I was kind of tired of that question, but from him it sounded like a normal greeting. It was kind of refreshing.

I shrugged. "Ok, I guess."

He'd already pulled his t-shirt off and was struggling with his bra again. He had the band twisted. It must have been really uncomfortable. I reached out and unhooked it.

He said, "Thanks!" with a big smile, let the bra slip off his arms and then tossed it into his locker.

I felt that twinge of jealousy again as he did so, but I pushed it away. "What happened to twisting the band around so it's in front so you could undo it?"

You could almost see the light turn on. "That's what it was! I knew you'd told me something about twisting it, but I forgot how you meant it."