Chapter 22: Wednesday Lunch - Sultans of Swing

Luis

The feeling of Rebbecca's arm around my waist, at least as far as it could reach, was better than almost anything I've ever felt before. Okay, honesty with self--the best so far! I can't believe that Becca got me to show my game face. I think I scared a few people off. That's fine, I could stand a trip down the hall without being pawed at.

That lasted two steps before the requests started.

'I'm Luis Contadino and I'm naked in school, ' I thought to myself.

'I'm so-and-so and I'm naked in school. Blah-blah-blah... ' When we became aware of the Program, everyone was looking up things about it. Amazing the number of journals that have been published online, aside from the official sales pitches. Many have that line. Bet they can't say they've got such a beautiful, intelligent, talented lady walking with them!

We separated as requests were made, but stayed within eye contact. When we got a chance to take a few steps, our hands found each other. Finally, the bell rang and the stragglers headed off to class and we had the hallway almost to ourselves.

I should have predicted it. She started skipping and swinging our hands.

"We're off to see the Nakeds, the wonderful Nakeds of West." She sang, not too badly, either.

"The Wizard of Oz? That I never would have predicted."

"Yep. I even have new lines I'm trying to work in."

"Can I hear them?" Addled brain. Yep.

"Because, Because, Because ... Because of the wonderful cock he's got." She started giggling while stroking Junior.

"Erg..." Smooth Luis, smooth. Such the articulate wit we are.

"Well, you do." Junior was about to make the floor slippery thanks to her wonderful hand.

"Er..." I think I found the same low branch Jason had discovered this morning.

"Poor baby. I won't tease you any more. Well ... Not too much." Another bout of giggles.

"Thanks." I managed to draw it out. My stunning wit and repartee, don't you know. Fortunately, the lunchroom approach-eth.

All I got in return was another bout of giggles and being dragged down the hall by a bouncing, naked female. Damn, her ass looked wonderful. Perfectly shaped, from my perspective. Of course, being the expert that I am on bare asses...

Not!

Yet...

We made it into the cafeteria line and I had to wait a couple of minutes as they prepared my special meal.

"Sweetie, what are we waiting for?" My Beautiful Becca asked.

"My training table meal."

"Huh?"

"Trust me, it's not better food, just a lot more of it." The food service folks passed my tray over to me then. I thanked them and turned to see Becca's eyes getting big as she examined it.

"What ... No, I won't even ask what it is." Her nose turned up slightly.

"I did ask what it was once. Better that I don't know. Plus, lots of ketchup and hot sauce ... well, it becomes sort of edible."

"How many calories?"

"More than a human should consume in one week, except really big athletes," came Dr. C's voice from behind us. "See what happens when those big guys get older." He showed us his tray with a chefs salad and some strange dressing.

"I don't think I could duplicate the color of that dressing, thank God." Becca said, as if to herself. Dr. C and I both cracked up. My Beautiful Becca became Blushing Becca.

Getting himself under control, and not looking at his tray, Dr. C said, "Luis, if you don't mind, I'd like to join the Nakeds for a while."

"Please, Dr. C, you are more than welcome as far as I'm concerned. Are you going to join us ... all the way?" I put on my best innocent smile. The same one I give quarterbacks when they come to the line. The one that says, 'I'm not going to eat you for lunch, honest.'

He stopped for a second, got a real thoughtful look.

"Good for the goose... ," said Becca.

"There is that... ," he looked internally for a few seconds. "Let's sit and talk about it. Since you're working on improving the Program, this fits."

Tim and Shirley had already claimed a table. We all exchanged greetings and settled in.

"Dr. C asked if he could join us for a bit. I've tentatively said yes, but want to hear from everyone once they're here."

"No problems," Tim said.

"I think it's a good thing," Shirley said with her editor-in-chief voice. I could see her running a seemingly chaotic newsroom with great authority, extracting the best from each person.

The conversation flowed easily as the Nakeds gathered. I was glad to see that no one was intimidated by having Dr. C at the table, not even the freshmen. Everyone made an effort to include him in the group and he readily contributed, acting more as a peer than an authority figure.

The whole time, my Micina had her hand on my leg, slowly tracing her nails on my inner thigh with the lightest, yet most intense pressure. If I had to stand, everyone was going to be quite aware of the effect. Junior wasn't waiting for me to stand, though, and was beginning to act like a periscope.

Suddenly, Becca squealed and quickly pulled her hand from my thigh leaving some definite lines.

Ready to fight, I turned ... to see Rosalee bent over Sweet Becca's shoulder. She was cupping her breasts and nibbling on the ear away from Dr. C.

DAMN!

Definite periscope!

Somehow, I managed to pull my eyes away from the erotic display and tried to assess how Dr. C was handling the blatant PDA. God, I wanted to learn how to keep my face that inscrutable as he "observed" something on the other side of the cafeteria. More amazing, to me, was how he controlled the energy in his body. No indication that anything was going on right in front of his eyes.

Becca's hand returned to my thigh and sought out Junior while Rosalee draped herself over my back, attempting a reach around. This was more than the circuit breakers in my teenage mind could handle. Junior was going to explode any second...

"Ahem... ," rumbled across the table in Dr. C's deep voice. Instead of guilty reactions, there were giggles, sweet kisses on my face, and two definite squeezes that almost added special sauce to my meal.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Ergh..."

"I think we killed him, Becky."

"Er..."

"He doesn't appear to be in full possession of his mental faculties." Dr. C's bass voice floated up to my cloud.

"Erg..."

"What did you ladies do to this poor man?" Paul Templer asked, a chuckle escaping halfway through.

"Us?" Rosalee and Becca responded simultaneously. I swear I could hear batting eyelashes. Then ... then, they giggled.

Apparently, all the Nakeds had arrived and were quite enjoying my Moment. The comments and laughter continued, unabated, as only high schoolers can manage. And I thought the locker room was ... course? Graphic? Ribald? They ain't got nothin' on Naked People At Lunch.

"Breathe!" My sweet whispered in my ear. As soon as I finished the first full cycle, I felt myself coming back on center. I turned my head and gave her a wink and a smile. A few more deep breaths and I was ready. The room returned to normal. All the sounds of a busy lunchroom. Conversations, squeaking chairs on the floor, laughter, and kids just being kids. Music from half a dozen sources added to the texture of the room. The only one I could pick out sounded like some classic Dire Straits, 'Way on downsouth way on downsouth London town'.

"Dr. C, would you like a moment to finish your... ," I waved my hand towards the mass of wilted green covered in puke orange on his plate, "Or, would you like to address us now?"

"Luis, when I was playing basketball seriously, and I was younger, I could eat like you do. Now, I have to be a bit more prudent." His eyes had a smile, no matter how serious his voice sounded. "Why don't we enjoy our food, first."

"And whatever that is!" Fingers pointed and the words echoed around the table.

"I notice that your meal is a level or two above the normal sized servings of this establishment."

"This is one of those times it pays to be a football player." I looked down at my plate and added, "Except the taste."

While we ate, the conversation stayed light. Dr. C did participate and added a few choice tales from his youth. His powers of observation did startle us, as he was up on all the latest gossip and goings on.

"Dr. Cavenaugh," Margie started, "our family had a conversation recently about cliques in high school. It doesn't seem like we have the same problems as my parents. Why is that?"

"Are you referring to social status being related to your clique?" Dr. C asked.

"I think so."

"That's a complex subject. The simple answer is we've changed, as a society, in our view of what is important. It used to be the social status was defined by sports, perceived beauty, and the wealth of your parents. Of course, that was about the same time that the educational system in this country was going down the tubes." He really should be in a classroom. "Well, the educational system was fixed and in the process, success in school became important. That, plus many changes in society, I think, destroyed the old system."

"But, we have cliques today in school," Shirley observed.

"There will always be some form of grouping. It is only natural. Humans are culturally oriented to tribalism. We need and want to belong to groups. The cliques haven't disappeared, just their makeup and importance. This group would never have functioned in the old culture."

"Why so?" Ginny asked. It was good to see her participating considering how shy she had been in the beginning.

"In the old system, very few of you would have been in the same clique. As a result, putting you together like this would have created turmoil, at best." The conversation continued, but I just faded out. I'm glad people are interested in the soft subjects. Give me the hard sciences any day.

My meal disappeared at about the same rate as Becca's sandwich and Dr. C's "salad." I felt my body beginning to stiffen up again, though. I would need to hit the whirlpool before practice. Fortunately, I only had a light workout planned. More get the blood flowing, loosen up, and do some aerobic conditioning. I didn't need to worry about adding muscle mass, but needed keep my system oxygenated and blood flowing at this point to rejuvenate after yesterday's session. And, keep my joints loose. How many hours to the whirlpool? I understand at the college level, the trainers also give massages. Enough of that dream, I needed to plan my workout.

As I lost myself in the weight room and visualized my workout, my spotter started speaking to me in Becca's voice.

"Sweetie?"

Wait, I need to lift this bar one more time...

"My Mountain?"

The weight room vanished and was replaced with the detritus of teen-consumed cafeteria slop.

"Sweetie? Time to start the meeting." Becca's lyrical voice drifted into my ears, her breath registering on every nerve ending of the battle hardened surface. Damn! Shivers were rolling down my spine, right to...

Breathe. Nod head. No, not that one. Breathe again. Collect self. Begin.

"As you might have noticed," I said as I scanned the Nakeds at the table, "there is one of 'them' amongst us."

Eyes danced all around the table, missing the obvious. The relaxed looks from the banter earlier turned to confusion.

"We have ... one of ... the Clothed at our table." All eyes went to Dr. C and I swear, he blushed.

"Becca, Becky, and I made a reasonable request that he join us naked. Yet, alas, here he is. Clothed!" Man! Did his energy go up! Too far? No. We had points to be made and this was a viable path. Yet, I had to soften it some. "Dr. C asked if he could speak with us. On the part of the team, I accepted." I looked around the table and got nods of approval from everyone. "Plus, I thought it would be a good for him to hear some of our conversations." Again, nods all around. "So, Dr. C, welcome to the Nakeds table."

He snorted out a laugh. "I feel like I'm back in the NBA and I'm facing Byrd, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, and LeBron on the other team." As if anyone needed to be reminded of his days as a pro playing power forward. "The talent, skills, drive, and energy I see at this table humbles me. Yet, it makes me proud. You give me hope. Not just for the Program, which is why you were chosen first this year, but for the future." He took a second to collect himself. "The official reason I'm here is to convey a message."

Damn, he was good. He used the ensuing pause to gather our full attention. "Will's family has sent their heartfelt thanks."

Wow! The reactions around the table were all over the place. Dr. C continued, "Without the compassion that this group exhibited, a bad situation could have become a tragedy for the whole school. They've also heard of the commitment to prevent another 'Will' from happening and offer their full support."

How is it that optimism can also include the press of the full weight of the world?

"As I said, I believe in this group. I know that you will do great things."

Paul, Chris, Luke, and I preened as only athletes can. That cracked the whole table up, including Dr. C. Even Becca's glare couldn't hide the smile on her face or the corner of her eyes. Stress relief is a good thing.

"Well, that's all I had officially. Now, I do have some free time, so..."

"Of course you're welcome to stay," I said after checking with everyone.

"Well, there is an outstanding request... ," Becca smiled an evil smile as she squeezed my leg. Note to self: don't ever do anything to earn that smile from her!

"There was a request. The question is, was it reasonable?" Dr. C countered with.

"What are you guys talking about?" Asked Margie. There was a general consensus that others wanted to know as well.

"We requested that Dr. C join us naked," I told everyone.

"Okay, why not?" Paul asked Dr. C.

"Let me ask all of you this, what would you think if you saw me walking down the halls naked?"

"Oh, YEAH!" Thanks, Rosalee. She grabbed Junior in her excitement. There was enough room for both girls' hands.

"Kewl!" From Margie. Many nods followed her statement.

"I wouldn't think it was right," said Shirley, looking very contemplative.

With a smile, Dr. C asked, "And why, Shirley?"

"Well, two reasons. First, if I remember, not all the nudity laws have been removed from the books. So, potentially, you'd be doing something illegal."

"Correct, it is still technically illegal for males over 21 to appear nude in certain places, including schools. Although it is rarely enforced. And?"

"Propriety," Paul Templer said.

"Ah, the Colonial speaks. Tell us more." It was easy to see that Dr. C had been a teacher. A good one.

"In a way, it would be the same as the King walking down the street in cutoff jeans and a ratty t-shirt. It is not something a monarch should do."

"And, school principals should look like school principals," Margie contributed.

"Until the legal and social codes change, that's why I won't be going around the halls naked. Now, should you see me at the beach or other place away from school, then you might not have to ask." I noticed that more than one female at the table had a dreamy look in their eyes.

"Well, Dr. C, I can understand your reasoning." He nodded to me. "Now, if we can get this show on the road."

"Before you do, one piece of official school business I almost forgot. It seems that I've been designated messenger." Dr. C proceeded to hand out messages to Luke, Becca, Shirley, and me. I immediately opened mine to find a note from Coach Mac. 'I need you to stay for a bit after media day. Let me know if that's a problem.'

"Becca?" I turned to her. She was holding open her message and just staring at it, eyes wide and mouth open. Not really meaning to pry, I did look down and could read it. 'Dean Massey from the Fine Arts Department at USC called and would like you to return her call, ' and there was a phone number. "Becca?"

"I-I..."

"Sweetie, does this mean what I think it does?"

"I-I..."

I hugged her and whispered in her ear, "This is great."

"And a surprise."

"Do you think the Italian Pixie of an art teacher had anything to do with it?"

"I'm positive of it," she said as she pulled herself together. "That is, if this is what I think it is."

"And what's that?"

"An invitation to submit my portfolio!"

"You need to find out, then we can celebrate tonight." She nodded her head and gave me a quick kiss, then folded the note and put it in her bag.

I looked over at Luke and Shirley, curious now about their notes. Luke must have already read his and put it away. Shirley was huddled with Stacy and Sheri.

"Now, let's get this show on the road," I said, interrupting the newspersons conclave.

Margie immediately set about handing out a batch of papers as if there had been no interruption. I couldn't wait for the perfect personal device that would eliminate paper. I quickly reviewed what she'd put together. Before I could get a word of praise out, Dr. C spoke.

"This is excellent, Margie. How did you have time to do this?"

My sister beamed. Everyone at the table began to praise her organizational skills and telling little stories about how she gets things done and keeps it all together. I'm going to have to live with that swelled head! Yet, it did make me proud that she was gaining an identity of her own. A strong one at that. Too often, I've seen my own friends trying to overcome the identity of a big brother or sister. This was cool.

"Okay, let's get back to it. We've got a lot to cover. Any suggestions of how we can best use Dr. C's time?"

"Sure," said Shirley, "why doesn't he give us a history of the Program and what the thoughts and hopes of the administration are."

There was universal nodding of heads. "Dr. C?"

He gave the standard spiel about the Program in general, but focused on the history in our State and school district. Nothing much new, society was loosening up and the Program was designed to help school kids with that.

"Dr. Cavenaugh," Ginny spoke up, "That explains the nudity requirement. It doesn't come close to explaining the Reasonable Request."

It seemed a hundred voices spoke at once. I let the commotion go for a few seconds, then coughed. "Dr. C, maybe you could explain the history and the reasons behind the Reasonable Request. We'll save you from our discussions," I caught every eye until they agreed to wait, "until we have a unified voice."

"The Reasonable Request. No doubt it is the most controversial aspect of the Program. All I know about its history is that it wasn't in the initial proposals nor was it in the initial research. But, it appeared by the time the legislation passed. Fortunately, it is also the most loosely worded part of the requirements for the Program."

"What do you mean?"

"It means I have the most latitude on how it is applied here."

"Good, because that might be an area that we'll have the strongest recommendations."

"Any other areas? I need to get back to old guy stuff."

"Uniforms." I think all the jocks said that at once.

"Expand."

"I'll start. I'm glad that sanity finally prevailed and declared the football uniform as both protective and supportive. I don't even mind the dressing in midfield, although it complicates the logistics and interferes with my game prep. I can live with it. But, I can't go in the locker room at half time."

"Why not?"

"I have to strip, then redress. A lot of my taping is over my uniform. To strip would take five to ten minutes. I've already missed the beginning of halftime. Then it takes 10-20 minutes to handle the exterior taping — halftime is only 15 minutes."

"Good point."

"Baseball. Our uniforms are protective as well, unless you expect us not to slide into a base or dive for a ball."

"I'd say the same goes for soccer and volleyball."

"For women, not having support up top is an issue in all sports. Men at least have built-in mechanisms to retract their vulnerable parts."

"Track is okay for us guys, but the field events are an issue."

"In swimming, the suit can provide a competitive edge."

"Okay, okay! I get it." Dr. C shook his head. I could tell he was getting overwhelmed.

"And the Prom." Jane Chung doesn't speak out often, but when she does, watch out.

"Homecoming," added Stacy, getting Jane's drift.

"Any of the dances," Margie finished.

"What about the Prom and the dances?"

"People don't know ahead of time they are in the Program. I'm already thinking about my dress for the Prom. I'd be royally pissed at having thrown away hard earned money on a dress I couldn't wear, if I'd been chosen for the Program during Prom week," Jane expanded her original thought. All the girls nodded agreement.

"Another good point." He nodded. I could see him building a list of items in his head. "I don't have any answers, but it sounds like you've got a lot of work to do putting all this together. On that note, I'll leave you to it!" With the grace of an athlete, he quickly disappeared.

"I think Dr. C was in a bit of a rush to get out of the lunchroom. Was it something we said?" You can always count on our Rosalee.

"Thanks, Rosalee. I mean it. We needed a little comic relief after that."

"Speaking of relief..." That got laughter from everyone at the table.

"Okay, let's tackle Reasonable Requests..." I'm sure that was the last coherent sound for the next few minutes as everyone began talking, trying to have their points heard. Wow! I let it go for a few minutes to see if some order would emerge. I leaned back and put my arm around Becca and, without even thinking about it, put my arm around Rosalee as well. They both snuggled in and I felt their hands move across my back and find each other. It was interesting feeling their fingers intertwine.

I'm not sure what's going on here. I mean, I like Rosalee. I find her attractive and fun. Interesting. Engaging. Yet, I don't feel for her the way I do Becca. Confusing? Completely.

'Focus brings clarity.' Thanks Sensei.

Now, how do I focus this group? And, how do I find clarity with Becca and Rosalee? It really didn't help that my joints and muscles were starting to scream at me again.

Focus!

Breathe!

Bring order.

Lead.

At that moment, my sweetie chose to sigh. A full, deep expression of contentment. Even with that, my hormone-addled brain managed to see a path.

A deep cough on my part got everyone's attention. "It is apparent that we all have very deep feelings and opinions about requests and the definition of reasonable. Here's what I'd like you to do. Pull out a piece of paper--"

"Is this a test?" It didn't matter who said it.

"In a way. More like getting our collective thoughts organized. Now, I want you to list three positives about reasonable requests." Groans. "Then list your top three negatives about reasonable requests." A quick glance at Margie and she read my mind and nodded. "When you're done, give them to Margie and she'll organize it all for us."

"Do you want us speaking from our own experiences and beliefs, or about our feelings about the Program in general?" No surprise this came from our resident, naked editor-in-chief.

"I want us to give our personal feelings, based on what we've experienced in two and a half days."

"Thanks, Coach." Not that again!

Everyone got busy. I stared at the paper for a minute or two, organizing my own thoughts. Well, number one on the positives was easy. Becca. I picked up my pen and started to write.

Rebbecca

How did I feel about the program?

'You got Luis out of it and possibly Rosalee.'

'Thanks Muse. You're a lot of help.'

'Anytime!'

Positives? Was it positive to be running around naked and not hiding any more? If you had asked me Monday, I would have said no. Now? I guess so. After all, casual nudity was becoming a cultural norm, or so they said. But, is it a fair way to do it? Forcing kids, against their will? That's a question I'm not going to be able to answer in a few minutes. Exposing my art to others? I guess that was a positive. I had done the murals anonymously, or so I thought. But, I was outed now. I guess that's a good thing. Was awakening my sexuality a positive? As long as I didn't turn into a slut, I guess. Reaching out to others? Yes. A good thing.

Easier than I thought. Now, which three do I chose? Reaching out, outing my art, and ... Okay. Awaking my sexuality. Luis is damned important, but I won't base our relationship on the Program, damn it.

My first negative? Requests. Now there is a topic for a doctoral thesis! The forced nudity wouldn't be a bad thing, but the requests ... Now, that is ... Wrong? Yes. Completely. Exposing my body is one thing. Being required to let people touch me, that's another. Where does my private space begin? Bringing it closer to my body, that might be reasonable. And, the nudity does that. But pushing that private space inside me? No, that's abuse that's been legalized. Has it been legalized or just not challenged? So, Requests is number one. Choice about the Program. Is that still a negative? Well, in a very personal way it is. But, remove the requests and it doesn't seem to be that negative.

Another negative. Hmm ... Just two more. Easy.

Piece of cake.

Ahem...

Staring at the paper isn't helping.

I took a quick glance at Luis's. He only had two negatives. Requests and the sports issue. I could see that. But, it really didn't directly impact me, so I couldn't use it. Maybe after Friday I'd feel differently.

Just two more...

I wonder if Luis and I are going to be able to go all the way tonight. God, I so want to. Yet, I'm scared of it-

"Anyone finished?" Asked My Mountain, pulling me back into the moment.

"No!" I wasn't the only one. Sounded like a unified voice, but not the one Luis was expecting!

"To be honest, I'm having a problem as well. Does everyone have at least one for a positive and at least one for a negative?" Everyone indicated they had. "Why don't we pass them to Margie and she'll do some magic-"

"Give me five minutes," she cut Luis off as she focused on her task.

"So, what was harder, positives or negatives?" Another free-for-all started. My Mountain regained control and polled each of us. By the time he finished, Margie signaled that she was finished. "Let's hear what Margie has put together."

All eyes turned to the cute girl. She took it in stride. I think I'd be blushing like mad.

"Well, a quick look through shows that, for the most part, the nudity isn't a problem but a positive." Nods all around the table. "And, the clear number one negative-"

"Requests!" Rosalee broke in with. Everyone agreed.

"Rosalee, I thought you'd like requests," Luis said.

"At first, but after a while, it got really old. Plus, I found out I didn't like the loss of control."

"That's one way of putting it," said Shirley.

"I didn't mind some requests, but not having a choice-" started Sheri.

"Isn't part of the program about expanding what we are comfortable with?" Mike Watson asked.

"How would you like it if someone stuck a finger up your ass?" Jane Chung spit out.

"I ... I ... wouldn't," Mike said, meekly.

"Well, that's what we're talking about. That's not expanding what we're comfortable with."

"It's more about loss of control and violation?"

"It feels like ... rape." Ginny said quietly.

That got everyone's attention.

"Have you... ?" I asked her, softly.

"No. Well, other than stray fingers while in the Program."

"That's the same thing!" Shirley nearly shouted.

"No ... No where near close..." Ginny's already quiet voice slowly faded.

Everyone tried to talk at once. Luis let it happen and eventually, smaller groups of conversations emerged naturally. I settled into a group with Tim Carter, Shirley Keon, and Jane Chung. While Luis, Rosalee, and Stan Rosenberg formed another group.

"Becky, since you've ... uhm... ," Shirley started. And, blushed.

"Discovered my sexuality?" I said, more confident then I felt.

"Ahem..."

"It's okay. I'm aware of it. For the lack of a better word, I was a prude."

"I wouldn't go that far," Jane joined in. "More like unaware."

"Not really. I was hiding from it just like I was hiding myself."

"Why?" Tim asked.

"Tim," Shirley said, "This beautiful lady, about five years ago... ," She looked at me and I nodded, "Just disappeared."

"It was when my boobs grew, way ahead of anyone else in my class. I felt like such a freak and was teased by everyone. So, I just hid."

"Damn, Becky, I didn't realize that," Shirley said. "I'm so sorry, did I ... uhm ... Did..."