Chapter 9: Monday (cont'd)

Ding-Ding ... Ding-Ding

Our doorbell was ringing and that was weird. Nobody ever rang our doorbell. Nobody ever came over, except Josh maybe, but it was barely three-thirty. He'd still be at school, or walking home maybe and he wouldn't ring it anyway. Angie might ring the doorbell, but she went to college until like four or something.

"It's that woman from the news," I decided and we'd kind of forgotten about her.

"What was that about anyway?" Mom wondered and she was getting off my bed.

"Me getting suspended, I think."

"Hmph," she snorted. "I'll talk to them. Must be a really slow news day."

She was still dressed for sleeping in a long pink t-shirt with number 69 on the back and panties underneath. Maybe. I never really knew with my mom. She had her platinum bed head and no bra, of course, and her nipples were pretty obvious. I wondered if Mom would end up on the news. That would be kind of funny.

Ding-Ding

"I'm coming!" Mom sorta yelled, but not really. Mrs. Whiting was probably already in a bad mood after our little fight.

I sat up, shrugging out of my army coat, and started taking off the red high heels I was wearing. They hadn't really been that uncomfortable. I'd gotten used to them or something, or more likely I just had other things on my mind. But they were sorta okay. Maybe. They weren't my boots though and I reminded myself to call Jody before she came over and tell her to bring all my stuff.

"Sam? Come out here, please!" Mom called me and I wondered if she'd invited those news people into the house or something. She was using that tone of voice she used in front of other people, you know? Firm, but polite.

"Oh!" I blinked at Ms. Owens first of all and I'd totally forgotten to tell my mom to call her. She was dressed like always, you know, sort of a nice blouse, a blue one, and a matching skirt, a short one, and Ms. Owens always looked pretty cute.

"Hi Sam," Dr. Chase smiled at me and she was there too! Standing in my living room and even though she was like thirty and a doctor, she looked nice too in a lavender sorta dress with white flowers and her black hair was loose, which was different, and her green eyes were soft.

"Uh ... Hi." I glanced at my mom and I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"We can sit here," Mom said. "Would you like something to drink? I can make some coffee..."

"Oh. No thank you, Ms. Madeiros..." Dr. Chase said as she sat on the sofa.

"Monica, please," Mom told her and looked at me. "Sam, come over here. Sit down with us."

It felt really strange having my teachers in my house. Or one of my teachers anyway, I wasn't totally sure what Dr. Chase was. My counselor, I guessed, and nobody said anything for a minute while we got comfortable. Except I wasn't really comfortable, you know? I was pretty nervous and my mom hadn't even bothered getting dressed. I guess it didn't matter though, Dr. Chase and Ms. Owens didn't seem to mind that my Mom was just wearing a t-shirt that barely covered her butt.

"That's nice outfit, Sam," Dr. Chase smiled at me and I remembered to cross my legs high at my thighs and I pulled the skirt down the way Ms. Owens had just done it with hers.

"Thanks," I almost smiled. "I kinda borrowed it."

"Really?" she nodded at that. "From a friend?"

"Yeah, um..." I shrugged and it was just like being in her office, except different. "Jody Skyler? She sorta let me wear it."

"Hmmm..." Ms. Owens was smiling too. "I don't think I saw her at school today."

"Oh. Yeah, um..." I looked at my mom and she was watching me. "She wasn't, uh ... feeling good. Or something."

"Right," Dr. Chase nodded. "Well, you certainly look nice, Sam."

"So ... What can we do for you?" Mom wondered and she needed to start getting ready for work soon.

"We wanted to talk to you and Sam about what happened this morning," Ms. Owens said with a look at Dr. Chase. "I think we were both a little worried about her."

"I'm okay," I offered.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Dr. Chase told me. "My flight was delayed and didn't get in until eight and I think I just missed you this morning. Would you tell me what happened, Sam?"

"Um, I just didn't want to do it. When the Principal told me I had to, um, you know ... take off my clothes," I shrugged, "I said no. And then he, uh ... Oh! Ms. Beyle said she'd get some boys to make me. Mr. Eckert tried to call my mom and then he said I was going to be in trouble, like my mom would get in trouble too, and..."

"Okay," Dr. Chase nodded. "Why did you say no, Sam?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, looking down at my hands. "I just didn't want to take off my clothes."

"I told her that she has to," Mom sighed. "That it's part of school now and..."

"It is part of school," Dr. Chase agreed and she was still looking at me. "You don't like Principal Eckert very much, do you?"

"Uhhh ... He's okay, I guess."

"Or Ms. Beyle?" she added. "Up here, Sam."

I looked up and we both knew I couldn't lie to her, not when I was looking at her, and I shook my head.

"No, I don't them very much," I said softly.

"They can be a little intimidating, can't they?" Dr. Chase sighed. "It's hard to trust someone if they scare you, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I cleared my throat and glanced at Ms. Owens and she was nodded sympathetically.

"Do you trust us, Sam?" Dr. Chase asked, looking at Ms. Owens for a second, and then looking into my eyes.

"Um, yeah," I told her truthfully.

"Good," she smiled. "We trust you too, Sam. We like you very much, don't we?"

"That's why we're so concerned," Ms. Owens nodded. "We want to make sure you're alright."

"Yeah," I smiled back, feeling my face getting warm and their words were making me feel better.

"Good. Now, I'm going to tell you the truth, just like I always do," Dr. Chase leaned forward. "I think the Program would help you, Sam. I think you'd be surprised at how it can change the way you see yourself and your friends."

"Ummm..." I smiled weakly, wanting to believe her but not knowing what she meant.

"Sam, we don't want you to do it because just it's the new rule," Ms. Owens told me. "That's never a good reason, is it? Not by itself."

"No."

"We want you to do it because we're your friends," Ms. Owens assured me gently. "Because we care about you. Do you remember when I told you I had to do it? And I told you I didn't want to, but after it was over, I was glad I did."

"Yeah. I remember."

"That's what I want to share with you, Sam," she said. "I want you to have that experience and learn from it just like I did."

"I'm scared though," I sighed. "I just..."

"I know. I know," Ms. Owens agreed.

"You've been frightened before, right?" Dr. Chase asked me. "You told me you were nervous about starting high school. Remember that? You told me you were scared on the first day of school."

"Yeah. I was," I smiled self-consciously at my mom because I hadn't told her about that. I hadn't told anyone but Dr. Chase.

"And how did you get over that fear, Sam?" she asked me. "What did you tell me before?"

"That, um ... I was with Josh, so it was okay."

"You were with your friend," Dr. Chase nodded. "You're going to be with him again. He's going to be there with you."

"You have even more friends now," Ms. Owens smiled at me. "I'll be there. Ellen's going to be there ... Jody? Is she your friend now too?"

"Yeah," I cleared my throat. "She's my, um ... friend."

"We're all going to be with you, Sam," Dr. Chase said. "It's okay to be scared. It's natural to be nervous and worry. Getting over that, dealing with those feelings and overcoming them is how we grow. It's what makes us stronger than we were before."

"Okay," I said, nodding my head because all of that made sense.

"Yeah?" Ms. Owens asked me. "Do you understand what we're saying?"

"I think so."

"And..." Dr. Chase tilted her head and smiled, " ... do you think you can participate next week? Will you try it?"

"Uhhh ... Yeah," I swallowed hard and I knew if I said that, I wouldn't be able to take it back. It was like a promise.

"Good," Ms. Owens took a deep breath. "I'm very proud of you, Sam."

"We both are," Dr. Chase agreed. "On Monday, you won't have to undress in front of the Principal or Ms. Beyle either."

"I won't?"

"No. I'm sure they're good at what they do, but after meeting with the Mrs. Perkins today..."

"She's the district supervisor," Ms. Owens explained.

" ... it was decided that I would administer the program with help from Ms. Owens and Mr. Singer," Dr. Chase said. "We really should have considered the issue more carefully than we did. I'm sorry for that."

"What do you mean?" Mom asked.

"Ms. Beyle can be a little ... confrontational?" Ms. Owens offered with a small shrug and Dr. Chase nodded. "And Principal Eckert is, well, he's a high school principal. He's not used to explaining himself to students."

"Yeah, no kidding!" I giggled and felt a strange sense of relief that I'd actually agreed to do the NIS thing on Monday.

I was still scared and everything, but if Dr. Chase and Ms. Owens were in charge now ... God! That was like great! It just made me feel safer, you know? Like even though I was naked and all that, they'd protect me and that was a feeling I never got from Ms. Beyle or the Principal. I felt stronger too, or something, like confident? I felt like I could really do it.

"Now..." Dr. Chase was opening her purse and she had a Parental Consent form and a pen, " ... If I could get you to sign this for me, Monica."

Mom read it while I sat nervously and I wished Dr. Chase hadn't brought one of those with her. I mean, I knew my mom would have to sign one, but ... I kinda wished she didn't.

"So if I don't sign this, Sam doesn't have to participate?" Mom asked and I almost wondered if she really wouldn't sign it.

"No," Ms. Owens shook her head. "So long as Sam is enrolled in a public school, she has to participate."

"If you don't sign," Dr. Chase explained, "Sam will be excused from Redmond High and you'll have to enroll her in another school within two weeks."

"So..." Mom sorta rolled her eyes. "I'm signing this so she doesn't get kicked out of school."

"Exactly," Ms. Owens said with a smile. "Also, you need to indicate whether or not Sam is allowed to engage in sexual activities while she's in the Program."

"And with other students who are active over the course of the school year," Dr. Chase added. "The school district will be responsible for Sam's health, but you'll be responsible for her method of birth control."

"So if she catches something..." Mom narrowed her eyes.

"The school has medical insurance," Ms. Owens nodded. "Intercourse won't be required, but certain circumstances may arise when students will be encouraged to explore their sexuality."

"Hmmm..." Mom shrugged and I was blushing. "She can still say no, right? Nobody is going to force her to do anything. Right?"

"Absolutely not," Dr. Chase said. "The choice will always be left to Sam and the other student. Even the smallest infractions cannot be tolerated."

"There will be no excuses for improper behavior," Ms. Owens agreed. "We're making that very clear to all our students and faculty."

"Okay," Mom actually smiled. "That doesn't sound so bad, does it, Sam?"

"Uh..." I looked down quickly as Mom almost signed the paper, but she stopped.

"What about lesbians?" Mom asked and I really burned then!

"Um, what about them?" Ms. Owens asked, glancing at Dr. Chase.

"I mean, if Sam wanted to explore her sexuality with another girl..." Mom shrugged.

"And if the other girl is willing," Dr. Chase smiled, "we would certainly encourage them to discuss and experiment with each other."

"Good," Mom signed the paper and gave it to Dr. Chase. "Is that it?"

"Almost," Ms. Owens agreed. "The only other thing is that Sam's suspension has been reduced to three days. Mrs. Perkins thought a week was a little too much under the circumstances."

"So, we'll look for you on Thursday morning, Sam," Dr. Chase told me. "And I really do hope you wear that outfit again. It looks very nice on you."

"Oh," I nodded and tried to smile, but the idea of wearing a dress to school was almost worse than going naked.

"It was nice to see you again, Monica," Ms. Owens shook hands with my mom.

"Very nice meeting you," Dr. Chase shook her hand as well and we were all standing up.

"Sam," Ms. Owens surprised me with a hug. A nice one and even though it was kinda weird, I liked it.

"Uh ... Ms. Owens?" I asked just before they left. "Who did, um, Penny pick this morning? Which boy, I mean.

"Oh," she looked at me. "She picked Josh."

"Oh." I frowned at that, but I'd already figured she would.

That bummed me out, but not just because Penny had picked him, but more because I wasn't even there. Josh was my best friend and he was going to school naked, probably all stressed out, and I'd been at Jody's house having sex all day. He'd needed me. Maybe. And I hadn't been there and wouldn't be there until Thursday. It didn't make me feel like much of a friend and I was glad nobody had said anything about it, but they didn't have to. I was already feeling guilty enough.

"Monica!" I sighed once we were alone and she looked at me.

"What?" she asked innocently as she picked up the phone. It was mounted to the wall near the kitchen, one of those kind with like twenty feet of tangled twisty phone cord.

"You didn't have to ask them about the lesbian thing," I frowned at her.

"Your teachers are cute," she said, punching buttons on the handset. "I can see why you like them. Especially Rachel. I bet she spends a lot of time at the gym ... Nance? Hey, it's Monica. Is Bernie there? Let me talk at him a sec ... Thanks..."

"Rachel? What?" I blinked at her. "Who are you calling?"

"I never met a blonde Rachel before though," Mom grinned at me. "They always seem to be ... Bernie? Hi. Hey, I'm not gonna make it in tonight ... Huh? Ohhh, you know ... I got a little tummy ache..." Mom giggled, " ... Yeah. I love you too. Thanks, Bernie. Ba-bye!"

"You're not going to work?" I asked and Mom smiled as she hung up the phone.

"Nope," she stretched and scratched her head, pulling her t-shirt up so I could see that she was totally not wearing underwear!

"You don't have panties on?"

"Oh relax, Sam!" Mom grinned at me. "Those two weren't going to care, believe me!"

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes and I was pretty confused.

"Because they could barely take their eyes off each other!" Mom laughed at the look on my face. "Rachel and Ellen? You didn't know they're gay?"

"No!" I felt my face getting hot. "How do you know?"

"Just how they looked at each other," she shrugged. "Those two got it bad. What are we going to eat tonight? How about an omelet?"

"That's why you asked them about lesbians?"

"Hmmmm?" Mom was looking through the refrigerator. "I was asking for you. If you're going to be naked for a week, I want to make sure you're going to have fun!"

"Monica!" I was really blushing then, but I didn't think Ms. Owens was a lesbian anyway. Dr. Chase maybe, but Ms. Owens had told us in Health class about all her boyfriends in college, and she'd had a lot of them. Maybe she was like bi-sexual or something? I had no idea.

"How come our fridge is always empty?"

"How come you're not going to work?" I asked her, feeling kinda overloaded all at once. Ms. Owens and Dr. Chase were lesbians? Mom was staying home? God! Jody couldn't come over?

"It's Monday," she shrugged. "Slow night for tips anyway. Besides, you're going over to Josh's house, right?"

"Uh..." I blinked at that, trying to switch gears and my brain wasn't working.

"I thought you were going to watch the football game or something?"

"Oh! Yeah," I shook me head. "I forgot. Um ... Maybe. What are you gonna..."

"Great! I'll go over there with you," Mom decided and now I was really confused.

"What do you mean?"

"How about if we go out someplace and eat?" Mom smiled at me. "Just give me half an hour, okay?"

"Monica! What do you mean, you're going to Josh's house?"

"You're not going to change, are you?" she asked over her shoulder. "I bet Josh would love to see you dressed like that."

"You can't!" I finally said. "Josh's mom is gonna be there!"

"Oh!" Mom was in the bathroom and she gave me a funny look. "Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty sure," I said, feeling nervous suddenly. "Why?"

"I heard Linda was going to visit her sister down in Portland," she shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, huh?"

"Oh God!" I frowned. "You can't do this to me!"

"Do what?"

"He's my best friend's dad, Monica!"

"I know," Mom pulled her t-shirt over her head. "That's why I want to talk with him about it. Okay?"

"Just talk?" I asked her suspiciously, not really believing her at all.

"Find me a towel, would you?" Mom ignored me and she wasn't going to explain any more than she had.

I was just reaching for the phone to call Jody and tell her she couldn't come over when it rang.

"Hello?"

"Sam? Hey."

"Oh! Hi, Josh." I cleared my throat and I felt really bad all of a sudden and I didn't know what to say.

"Guess what I learned in school today," he sorta laughed.

"I, um ... I heard Penny picked you."

"Yeah," he sighed. "It was pretty strange."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Cause, I shoulda ... I don't know. Cause I wasn't even there. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just naked," he laughed. "I'm kinda glad you weren't there."

"Really? Why?"

"Never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing," he insisted. "Are you still coming over tonight?"

"Yeah," I nodded into the phone. "I guess so, um ... I think my mom wants to come with me."

"Your mom's coming over?"

"I guess," I said. "Um ... Is your mom there?"

"No," Josh replied. "She went to Portland. My Aunt Carol is sick or something."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"I just wondered."

"Are you okay? You sound kinda weird."

"Me? Yeah. I don't know. I got suspended."

"Yeah! Everybody was talking about it," Josh laughed. "Penny is pretty mad at you!"

"They were? She is?"

"Oh yeah. She was like talking about you all day."

"She was?"

"Sorta. Mostly she was kinda busy being naked though."

"Oh," I giggled nervously.

"What did you do all day?"

"Me? Nothing," I lied. "I just, um ... hung out and stuff."

"Yeah. I got your homework."

"What homework?"

"From school!" he said. "All the teachers gave me notes and stuff for you."

"They did?"

"Yeah. I'll give it to you later. It isn't much anyway. The game starts at seven."

"I'll be there."

"Cool. See ya later."

"Kay."

As soon as I hung up the phone, it rang again and I made a face at it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sammy!"

"Oh! Hi, Angie." I winced and felt my heart kinda drop into my tummy.

"What's up? I missed you all day today!"

"Yeah," I said, trying as hard as I could to sound as happy as she was. "I missed you too."

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Um..."

"Need help with your homework or anything?" she giggled softly. "I can come over, if you want."

"Oh. The, um, Seahawks are playing tonight," I told her. "I promised Josh I'd go to his house and..."

"Oh! Like a guy thing?" Angie laughed again. "That's cool. I heard boyfriends are like that."

"Uh, you mean me?" I asked, giggling nervously because for a second I thought she meant Josh was my boyfriend.

"Yeah! You're still my boyfriend right?"

"Yeah," I agreed, even though I knew it was kind of a lie, except I didn't know what I was anymore.

"I wanna see you again so badly, Sam."

"Me too," I whispered, just because she'd whispered.

"Are you sure you want to watch football?" she teased me. "We could do something else."

"I ... Yeah, I know, but my mom's got the night off too and..."

"Okay," Angie sighed. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I said without thinking, just because she sounded so ... something. She really wanted to see me and I wanted to see her, except I knew I liked Jody more.

"Okay," she said and it was quiet for a second. "Bye, Sam."

"Bye."

"I love you," Angie said and then hung up real quickly before I could say anything back to her and I frowned at the phone wondering what I was gonna do.

At least the phone didn't ring and I was able to call Jody.

"Hey!" I said when she answered, except I could barely hear anything but some kind of music.

"What?"

"What?" I frowned and then she was yelling at someone to turn the music down. "What are you doing?"

"Who are you?"

"Uh ... Sam," I said. "Jody?"

"Oh. No. I'm Shelly. Hold on a sec."

That made me feel kinda dumb, but she had sounded sorta like Jody at first.

"Sam! Hi! Wassup?"

"Hi!" I smiled instantly. "I thought that other girl was you."

"Who? Shelly? That's Kurt's girlfriend. What are you doing?"

"Hey, my mom's taking the night off..."

"Oh yeah?"

" ... So, um ... She wants to go out and eat and stuff."

"So I can't like come over and make out with you, huh?"

"Uh!" I laughed. "Probably not!"

"That sucks," she giggled. "God! I wanted to like check out your bed, you know?"