Chapter 39: The Challenges of Life

Apparently the teachers had gotten together over the summer and decided that Thursday was going to be test day. Even Bob was in on it. The only classes I didn't have tests in were PE and my TA spot in Bob's beginning class. It was not much of a consolation; Coach Barnes announced that we would be starting the Presidential Fitness Test on Monday and Bob informed me that I was responsible for grading the tests from the beginning psych class. The good news was I aced all my tests, including Spanish. I guess technically I cheated because Jamie was checking all my work as I went and caught all my mistakes. Sweet!

I walked with Susan to meet the others at break and told her that she would need to find a church somewhere out of the area to take Roxy to on Sunday. She had already concluded that they shouldn't go back to the same one, but really didn't know where would be safe. Roxy had suggested a church she had heard about up in the high desert. Apparently her parents had attended a conference with the pastor several years before and had hoped that one day they may be able to visit there and see him preach.

Melinda was still struggling with the loss of Shannon and what it would mean to both her Volleyball and Basketball teams this year, "God, I was so looking forward to playing her this year. I really wanted her to try out for my varsity squad in Volleyball. She would have shocked the crap out of most of the league. No one even knew she played."

"Yes, we'll all miss her, she had a very bright future," Bob said. "I was really looking forward to having her in my class this year."

"Really?" Susan said. "Why?"

"Because she was Jimmy's girlfriend and he was hoping she rubbed off," Mel said.

"What?" Susan said, turning to look sharply at me. "How come I'm the only one who didn't know that?"

"We were doing our best to stay off the radar," I said. "As far as anyone knew she was just Allison's best friend. But me rubbing off on her wouldn't have been necessary; Shannon had her own special brilliance. She had a gift for seeing what other people missed."

"That she did," Bob said, nodding his head.

"Between her and Allison I felt like a low grade moron much of the time."

"That's hard to imagine," Susan said.

"Not for me," Mel said. "Lynn has told me many times how bright she was, and according to her, Allison is one of the smartest kids she's ever met. Lynn even suggested having her test to skip a grade but she wouldn't do it. She said she was already one of the smallest girls in her grade and that skipping a grade wasn't going to help. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to compete at all if she moved up. I can see her having a problem in basketball but her future was always limited there. Now that she's taken up volleyball though, I think she should reconsider. Speaking of volleyball, Jimmy, have you given any thought to playing this year?"

"Not really. I mean, I don't have a problem with playing; I just haven't given it a lot of thought. I've kind of had my hands full. I haven't even practiced since school got out."

"Well, you should think about it. Bob says you'll be taking advanced classes at the college next year, I think with a little hard work you could do well. Maybe get into a city league or even a church league for the experience and you could have a legitimate shot at a scholarship by the time you are ready to move on."

"A church league?"

"Oh yes," she said. "Sports are a very popular form of fellowship. They are usually mixed teams and maybe not quite as aggressive but it would still be a great way for you to hone your skills."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"You should keep in mind that cross country practice starts Monday as well," Bob said. "Speaking of which, Tim came to see me this morning, he's going to run this year, but he says he's worried about being out of shape. I told him he has to try out if he wants to run and to call you if he wants someone to run with."

"Good. I'm glad to see he's decided to move forward; did you talk to him about what I told you?"

"Yes. I'm counting on you to keep an eye on him for me. The best I can do is to keep an eye on his times."

"I'll keep an eye on him and remind him that hurting himself is not going to accomplish anything."

The warning bell rang and we all headed off to our various classes. Bob pulled me aside at the beginning of my psychology class and asked me a question that I needed to give careful consideration, "Jimmy, someday Angela is going to be free to reveal herself to her family. You need to give serious thought to how Tim is going to react to the knowledge that you've known she was alive."

"I hadn't planned to tell him, just act as surprised and happy as everyone else once she comes back."

"I was thinking the same thing and it would have worked, before. As we both know, the situation has changed. Considering your new relationship, you no longer will have the option to say you didn't know. And then there are the more ... complex, aspects of your new relationship."

"Damn, Bob. Thanks a lot. That's a tough one." I thought about it for a second. "He's not going to like it one way or the other. Bob, she's chosen her road, and I don't think Tim is master material. I hope when the time comes he can accept that their relationship is over. She would go with him if I told her to but I would never give her to him. Disaster doesn't begin to cover it. Damn! I'm going to need to give this some serious thought. I'm glad you thought to ask the question before it fell on my head. Maybe we could put it on a pop quiz and I could get some ideas."

"Oh yeah, that would go over real well! Maybe you could sell rocks when they stone me. Just for that I'm telling everyone the test was your idea."

"Another test? What is this; did all of the teachers get together and decide Thursday was going to be test day this year?"

"Are you kidding? Teachers agree on something? Congress has a better chance of balancing the budget."

Yeah, I aced that one too.

Allison was doing homework when I got home but took a break to welcome me properly. Then we headed over to the Davises' to get started on the cleanup process. We started with the outside and then talked about Amber's improvement while we were cleaning Mark and Shannon's old rooms. That was a tough time let me tell you. Mom had been there most of the day going through the refrigerator and cabinets to gather up perishables, throwing away anything that was open, organizing the rest for the inventory crew. Most of the boxed and canned stuff would probably be donated to a local shelter.

"Are you sure you didn't, you know, lean on her a little somewhere along the line?" Allison asked as we were stripping the linens from the beds. "Don't get me wrong, I know it's a good thing and all but still, Jasmine's original estimate was months and now in less than a month she's saying Amber's ready to go out in public. That just seems so ... I don't know."

"I know. Trust me; I'm just as shocked as anyone. I swear I didn't put any extra pressure on her anywhere along the line but still..." I had a sudden thought, "hold on a second."

"Jamie?"

"What?" The way she said it I already knew what was coming.

"Oh no, Jamie, you didn't..."

"Well, she hurt so much, and I wanted to help her, and she really wanted it. I'm sorry Jimmy, I didn't know. Was it really so wrong? I mean, she's so happy now..."

"Jamie helped her," I told Allison.

"Oh, I didn't think of that. She must feel awful. Jamie, it's not your fault and we're not mad at you. Jimmy, tell her we're not mad."

"We're really not." I assured her. It still felt so weird having a conversation this way.

"You promise?" came the pouting reply.

"She's pouting a little but I think she'll be okay," I told Allison. "We'll meet with Bob tonight and she can tell us exactly what she did. We'll let him decide if any of it is a problem, but I promised her we wouldn't be mad at her either way."

"Of course not," Allison said. "She didn't understand what she was doing. That would be like punishing a child for picking a flower to give to his mom."

"See?" I asked.

"Thank you."

"Meanwhile, Bob brought up another problem today. Sooner or later Amber is going to be free to re-enter her life. At that point I'm going to have to deal with Tim finding out I knew she was alive. That part doesn't worry me so much as trying to explain that Amber is now my slave."

Allison just stood and stared at me for a while, glancing around here and there as if trying to see the problem from different angles. Finally she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion, "I have no idea how we are going to be able to handle that without really pissing him off. I think he'll be able to accept that she was in hiding and still in danger. That he can forgive you for not telling him but, Jimmy, I don't think Tim can handle who she has become. We need to give this some serious thought. My first thought is to ask her if she would want to try and be with him again, but that goes against the basic tenet of your relationship.

"God, this is a tough one. Jimmy, as her friend you would be helping her get her life back, but that part of her life may not be good for her. As her Master it is your responsibility to decide for her; to protect her from the kind of pain that being rejected by Tim would carry. And if he can't accept her new status then not only would he reject her but he may actually blame you for the change. Damn, this is going to be tough. You should ask Jasmine about this one. Bob and Lizzy are good to a point, but this ... Amber is not who she was, and even though she loved Tim before ... I don't know. I'm sorry, Jimmy, but I can't help you on this one, it's way over my head."

"Actually you already have, just by confirming what I've already been thinking. For now I'm not going to worry about it. When the time comes, I will talk to Jasmine and decide. For now, there is no point in buying trouble. Did you see Roxy at school today?"

The rest of the evening was pretty routine; dinner and homework, followed by a little time relaxing in the pool. I made a point of calling Roxy to check on her and make sure she knew we were thinking of her. She asked if she could come over after school again on Friday to swim, and I went a step further and cleared it with my mom to let her spend the night.

"That was sweet what you did for Roxy, taking one for the team like that." Allison said as we cuddled up for the night. "You do realize that means you're sleeping alone, right?"

"She's worth it," I answered, kissing her nose as I hugged her. "Besides, I still have all night with you anyway. Too bad Jamie can't come out and play."

"You're so sweet."

Allison didn't say anything for a second and I looked to see if something was wrong. I'm not sure if she realized I was watching her or what but she suddenly changed the subject. "So what is the plan for tonight anyway, besides talking to Bob about Amber and all that?"

"I really don't have much of a plan, more like a list of things to do if I get the chance. Vegas is my number one priority right now, but if Kurtz comes available I really have to handle him first just because I don't know when I'll get another chance. Somewhere in there I need to spend some time with Jasmine, partly to talk about how to handle the thing with Tim and partly because there is so much I need to learn about my role as Amber's Master. I'd like to spend a little time with Amy and see if she can tell me anything about what happened the other night. Then there is learning more about working with Jamie..."

"Okay, I get the picture. Am I in there somewhere?"

"Allison don't be silly, I'm counting on you to go with me for most of them, especially Vegas. I can't take Lizzy to see the girls and now that Shannon is gone you're the only one that I can count on to keep me out of trouble, especially with Jamie along."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ooh, I'll bet she didn't like that!" Allison said, trying hard not to giggle.

"Come on now, you both know what I mean. Jamie, you know very well how I react to what goes on up there. And I don't have a little box I can shove all that into any more."

"Yes, you do."

"What? Jamie I promised you I wouldn't do that to you any more."

"It is so weird listening to one half of these conversations," Allison said.

"Yeah? You should try handling both of them at the same time. Excuse me for a minute."

"Jamie, what are you talking about?"

"Jimmy, you promised me you wouldn't stick me back in the box, alone in the dark. But I can still serve that purpose for you. I'm not the ... what I was before, but I still love the dark stuff. Trust me, I can handle it, it won't hurt me. I'll just stick it away in case we ever need to use it."

"You can do that?"

She laughed, "You could say I was born to do it."

"Okay," I said. "Jamie says I can still use the box to tuck the bad stuff away without hurting her. In fact she says she likes it. Probably another reason to have a chaperone along, if I'm already pissed and then push her button, God only knows what kind of damage we'll do."

Allison just laughed and said, "Well it's good to know, I was a little worried about how you were going to handle that. If you couldn't compartmentalize your anger and stuff it would be almost impossible to do this. As for Jamie, I think she can behave herself when she has to. She handled Mikkelson okay and I know she wasn't happy about him. So I guess it's just a question of who is available as to where we start and what order we go in."

"Pretty much, yeah, but I think I want to start with you."

"Me too."

"I think I'd like that," Allison said, rolling on top of me and kissing me passionately.

It was late before we got to sleep. Jamie may not have a lot of use for male equipment but she was certainly interested in the sensations involved in using it on Allison.

"I don't know what she sees in it but if it's half as good for her..."

"Maybe you can try it out next time it's just the two of you" I suggested.

"I don't know, I mean, 'riding along' is okay but I'm not sure I could ... what if I do it wrong?"

I wanted to laugh but I did my best not too, "Oh, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. You have no idea how funny that sounds." I could feel her getting a little defensive and embarrassed, "But I do understand where you are coming from. Would you like me to talk to Allison about it for you? I'm sure she would love to help you get the hang of it."

"Would you?"

I guess I hadn't done that good a job of suppressing the chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Allison asked.

She didn't do a very good job either. I could feel my body temperature rising as a result of Jamie's embarrassment. Then Allison kissed me and said, "I would be happy to help you learn how to use all the new toys, Jamie." She paused and then giggled, "Wow, this is cool. I get to be your first time all over again. Shannon has got to be laughing her ass off at this." Then she yawned and settled herself in against my/our side and we drifted off together.

The night went rapidly down hill from there as I 'woke up' in my least favorite closet waiting for 'daddy' to get home and molest the girl hiding next to me. This was another of the more advanced sequences where I heard everything except his voice.

Allison showed up briefly but left as soon as she figured out where we were, saying, "No thanks, sorry to bail on you but I really don't need to see this again. Let me know if anything changes. Meanwhile, if you don't mind, send me to the beach and I'll wait for you there."

As always I wished there was something I could do. Jamie felt the same way.

"If only we could figure out who she was, maybe we could generate something we could control." She suggested as we walked down the beach towards Allison.

Allison was apparently doing homework while she waited. She looked up as we approached, "Anything new?"

"No, just the same frustrating scene."

"Have you ever waited until it runs out on its own, or do you leave once it gets to a certain point? Since it's changed I mean."

"No, I just leave as soon as I can. I mean, I probably could leave sooner, but I keep hoping that something will be different so I stay until I give up. Why?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking that maybe since it's sort of escalated on its own, at least in detail, which is kind of a subjective 'more', that there may be 'more' more as well. What do you think?"

"I think if you're right I'm going to kick myself for not thinking of it, and if you're wrong I may strangle you for making me sit through it again."

"Seems a little harsh for a simple failed experiment," She said with a smile. "Maybe you could try to fuck me to death instead."

"Maybe I'll just turn you over to Easy again, only this time I won't give you a safe word."

"Ooh, now there is a hollow threat. She couldn't do it. It's not in her nature, she couldn't go that far, couldn't make herself go that far. She'd go farther than her partner might think they want to, but never beyond what they truly desire or approve. She would see the change instantly and stop."

"I'll have to think of something new. Listen, I still have stuff to do with Jasmine, do you want to see Bob before or after I see her? Is there someplace you want to go while I'm tied up? I'm kind of lost for what to do with you without Shannon to keep you company."

"Jasmine ties you up? How come I don't get to?" I glared at her. "I'm kidding! As long as you keep it short you could leave Jamie with me. We could work on our volleyball game. If anything happens with her like before I can always call you and you can either come back or merge from where you are."