Chapter 4A: Thursday Morning, Before School

It was a wonderful morning. I just lay in bed luxuriating in the knowledge that my brother wasn't here. And wouldn't be here. No pretending to be asleep, no cringing as the bed creaked when he climbed in, no laying in a wet spot of his dripped stuff waiting for him to leave so I could get cleaned up and dressed.

The only one in bed with me was someone I chose to be in bed with, Jamie. She had her arm across my chest, one hand curled around my left breast, the thumb on my nipple. Wow. If I had known girlfriends were so much fun, and so considerate, I would have taken one to bed years ago. I wondered what Mindy would be like in bed, and realized I wanted to find out. Gee, how does one ask a girl out? Although, from what her friends had said yesterday while talking to her, I got the feeling that for me or Jamie asking Mindy would be simple; probably along the lines of, "Hey, wanna screw around?" I could do that.

Jamie was such a dear. She cared. She didn't have to, she just did. And to think she had never had either a boyfriend or a girlfriend until this week! Who would have thought such love and passion lurked under the surface of, from what her mother had told me, such a quiet mouse of a girl? I sighed. I wondered how long it would last before she discovered I was a slut and made me leave.

Passion. Jimmy. Now there was a puzzle. Jamie clearly was smitten with him; despite what we had done in bed she was very much attracted to boys. Maybe she was, what do they call it, bisexual? She liked both boys and girls.

Jimmy, what was I going to do about that boy? Clueless, he was just clueless, but then all guys are clueless idiots. I've watched girls lead boys around in circles, making their lives miserable, toying with them like they were trophies to show off to their friends. No guy ever got a girlfriend who hadn't wanted him to notice her first. And clueless guys, so wrapped up in themselves that they couldn't even see a girl who desperately wanted to be noticed, chasing instead some girl who wasn't the least bit interested in them, except maybe to deny him to another girl they didn't like. If the guys would only open their eyes and see the girls around them, and listen!

Of course, there were clueless girls, too. Girls who panted after guys who weren't interested in anything other than what the girl had between her legs. Each one believing that, somehow, she would change that self-centered rotten bastard into a loving, selfless, romantic hero.

Then there was me, the slut. I never had boy friends, I had guys who wanted to fuck my cunt. Girlfriends? Naw, I knew girls who tolerated and talked to me, but we weren't friends. You couldn't be friends with a slut, the reputation might rub off on you. Of course, a guy could be a slut and nobody cared. I had learned long ago that life was unfair.

That was one thing my brother and his friends had taught me well, the same guy who was pumping his stuff in me would be bragging to his best buds about how his latest girl would never believe he was unfaithful to her. How a bunch of flowers and an occasional dinner out would convince her all those rumors were just jealous lies, until he dumped her for a different brainless bimbo and repeated the process.

Jamie and Jimmy, though, I got a different signal there. She really did like him, maybe even loved him. And I think he loved her as well, even if he was acting like a stupid geek. There was a time for romance and a time for action. For a girl in The Program, action was needed, not romance. Unless he was the first guy in line every day, at every opportunity, Jamie wouldn't believe he was interested in her. I wouldn't believe it, either. Especially because every time he did make a request meant that was time someone else couldn't. Ignoring your girl during Program week was not romantic; it was failing to protect her. And that stupid drip had fallen into that trap.

Hmmm. Wait a minute, if I wanted to protect Jamie from others, I could make a couple of requests. Not only would guys not get to interfere, no one could ask me because I could legitimately say no, I was busy! Hot Damn!

But Jimmy, that was whom she wanted, even if she didn't know it herself. I was going to have to have a conversation with that boy tomorrow, because next week, after the Program, she wouldn't believe anything he said. And that would be disastrous for them both.

Sheesh, guess that shows just how dumb I am; I've got someone who loves me, who wants to make me happy, who fucks like an insane woman, and I'm trying to get her back with her boyfriend. On the other hand, I owe her big time for the last three days. If that means giving her up as a lover, I would do it. I want her to be as happy as I am, and I believe Jimmy can do it. Besides, I know that Jamie will drop me as soon as she figures out I am a slut, so it really isn't that much of a sacrifice for me to get her together with Jimmy.

Of course, if he doesn't, I know how to make his life miserable for the rest of high school! And by the time I got through, no girl in the region would touch him without putting on rubber gloves first, not even his mother.

The alarm started buzzing. I didn't jump nearly as high as I did the other day, but that was only because I had looked at it a few minutes ago and knew it was about to sound. I slapped the snooze button as Jamie stirred and opened her eyes. Gosh, what lovely eyes she has. "Hi, love," I whispered. "Hi," she whispered back.

This time we managed to get to the kitchen just as Mrs. T. was starting breakfast, and with three of us working at it, breakfast was ready in record time. We chatted a few minutes and then Mrs. T. left for work. Now that we had a good idea as to the time the bus arrived, Jamie and I took our time. We waited in the lobby for a couple of minutes and then went charging out as the bus turned the corner. It was almost perfect timing, we arrived at the bus stop just as the last few kids were boarding and didn't have to deal with a single request. After yesterday I knew the bus wouldn't be a grope-filled ride from hell, so I wasn't nearly as nervous.

A couple of kids held out their hands and let their finger trail along our waists as we walked by, but we got a seat together towards the front so that was all. Fortunately, the bus driver takes his driving seriously and didn't allow kids to reach over seats or turn around and lean over the backs. When he saw a kid doing that, he would tell him or her to sit properly. If he had to hit the brakes he didn't want any kids hurt or it would be his ass that got fired, he told us, which meant another reprieve from The Program.

Thursday Morning, At School

Then came the gauntlet at school. Again we let all the others off the bus first. Some of the other Program kids had learned and waited with us, so it was as a group that we exited. Jamie and I stayed close together and a couple of other girls followed as we tried to make our way to the school.

Today seemed a little more relaxed, everyone had sort of figured out the rules by now, The Program Participants weren't as harried and the onlookers weren't as desperate, they knew there would be other opportunities. We didn't make it very far from the bus before several boys with requests accosted us. Ah, well, time to play the game.

The first guy asked me to spread my legs a bit and pull myself open so he could see what it looked like in the daylight instead of fumbling around in the dark while on a date. That was an easy one, and it wasn't even uncomfortable. While I did this, another guy asked if he could stand behind me while he felt my breasts. I moved my elbows out a bit from my body and he stuck his arms in the gaps and cupped my breasts. As he fondled me, he asked what it felt like to me.

He wanted, he said, to understand what girls liked boys to do most when fondling. Hey, someone with a clue! Happy to comply in making sure another girl would have a good experience I turned my head and talked to him a bit, "Gently, use your thumb and forefingers to squeeze and roll the nipple. If the girl wants it harder, she'll ask, but you can never go wrong with starting gently." And so forth.

Suddenly someone screamed, "NO" and a body slammed into me from the right, knocking both of us down in a jumble, with the third person landing on top of us. As I struggled to disentangle myself I was amazed to see that Jamie had knocked us down. Jamie was sitting up now, half bent over, both hands to her crotch, saying, "Shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit that burns."

I also saw a kid backing away, the one who had been in front of me. He had what looked like a straw in one hand. Abruptly, Jamie stopped her monotonous chant, pointed at the kid, and ordered, "Stop that bastard."

He started to run, but three other guys grabbed him. They hadn't seen exactly what had happened, but if a Program Participant told them to hold a student after an accident, they were going to do it. One of the three pulled the straw out of their prisoner's hand, who started arguing, "Let me go, I didn't do nothing!" It didn't help.

Jamie was saying, "oh shit," again. By then I had managed to sit up myself, "Jamie, what's wrong?" She shook her head, "In a minute. Oh shit."

A teacher pushed his way into the circle around us, "What happened?"

Jamie pointed at the kid being held, "He blew something at me, and shit does it burn!"

Two other teachers arrived. Less than a minute later I was following the teachers as they carried Jamie to the nurses office. I had grabbed the kid who had been behind me and was dragging him along as well.

There were about ten of us in the main office by the time the passing bell rang. It took another forty minutes for the Principal to talk to everyone and figure out what had happened.

He came out of his office with the last witness. "Fred," he said to the guy who had been inspecting me outside, "You are suspended from school for one week, and when you come back you will be in the Program for two weeks." He turned to the guy that had been fondling my breasts, "And you, Ned, are suspended for three days, and you will also be in the Program for two weeks when you return." I stared at the guy in shock. He had been an accomplice? I frowned and thought about it. Yeah, he had to have been in on it. If he hadn't been distracting me I would have been looking down at Fred and he never would have had a chance to do what he had planned. Guys are such bastards.

He studied the pale and chastised students. "You are very lucky, boys. That pepper is strong enough to cause burns on sensitive tissue, that's why cooking recipes dilute it by adding lots of liquids. If you had managed to put it where you intended Cindy here would be on her way to the hospital and you both would be expelled and facing assault charges."

If anything, the two boys looked paler than before.

"I'll be calling your parents in a minute, but before I do that I'll need to talk to your brother, Fred, to see what part he played in this. In the mean time, wait in that office." He pointed to a currently empty counselor's room. Looking like they had been sentenced to death, the boys slowly walked in and closed the door.

"As for the rest of you," and he looked at all of us in turn. "Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Feel free to tell you classmates what happened. Assaulting a student is taken seriously at this school and will not be tolerated."

He had the secretary make out late excuses for everyone else, and brought Jamie and me into his office. He sat behind his desk and ran his hands over his face for a moment. We just stood there uncertainly, not sure if we were in trouble or not. Apparently, he wasn't sure either.

He put both hands on his desk and took a breath. "Cindy," he started, "I've been told that yesterday, after lunch, you, ah," he paused a moment before continuing, "ah, helped a male Program Participant get relief in the hall on the way to his class."

I nodded, "Yes." I was such a slut. I had been so horny I couldn't stand it when I saw him. I hadn't even cared that Jamie was watching. She had obviously been shocked to see me do that, behaving like an amoral slut. I wonder why she hadn't said anything about it.

"Uh huh," he pursed his lips. "And you did this by sexual intercourse?"

I again nodded and said, "Yes."

"Who suggested this course of action?"

I frowned, "Suggested?"

"Did he ask you to do it?"

"Oh. No. It was my idea."

"Your idea."

"Yes."

He stared at me. "Explain, please."

"Well," I began, "We were only a couple of rooms away from our English class when I saw this guy with a big thingie, you know, erection? And I was, um, really, um, horny," I was embarrassed at actually describing what had happened. It had seemed like the thing to do yesterday, but thinking about it now, well I could feel my face heating up as I blushed. I saw Jamie blushing, too, and all she had done was watch!

"Um, you know, from lunch, with all the, um touching? Well, I knew I couldn't ask for relief in class and there aren't any boy Program Participants in our class, so I stopped this guy and asked if he needed relief. He said yes, so I just, you know, did it."

Professor Jackson stared at me for a moment, then sighed. "You just did it," he said flatly.

"Um, yeah."

He sighed. "All right. The Program guidelines clearly state that intercourse is not allowed as a request from a student. However, he plainly did not request relief from you, you offered it to him. And you also offered the method of relief, he did not ask for it. So if both students are agreed to a request, and he clearly agreed to your offer, no infractions of the rules took place." He stared at me a moment. "Cindy, you have found a loophole in our carefully crafted rules." He sighed again and was silent for a moment. "Nevertheless, we can't have Program Participants fucking like bunnies in the halls. Consider this a warning, and tell the other Program Participants, that even voluntary sexual intercourse is not allowed in the halls or on the grounds of the school. Nor is it allowed at school events. There is just too much danger of coercion or misunderstandings. Is that clear?"