Chapter 6: Monday

Monday morning I didn't want to look in my mom's bedroom. I didn't know if she was alone or not, but I was afraid of finding Mr. Evans in there, you know? I was kind of done being mad anyway and maybe I shouldn't have been mad in the first place, I wasn't sure. Just being with Angie had helped a lot and I'd spent most of Sunday afternoon and night at her place, but we hadn't made out or anything. We'd just made friends with each other.

I did look though, opening the door slowly and kinda peeking inside. He was there. My mom was on her side, naked of course, and kinda curled up facing the windows. Josh's dad was behind her, spooned up against my mom's caramel skin with his white body. His face was in her hair and probably his dick was inside her, but I couldn't tell and they weren't moving anyway. It coulda been though, like he'd fallen asleep right after their sex.

That made me frown and I closed the door quietly and finished getting ready for school. Brushed my teeth, took a shower, looked at my tits and sorta thought they were okay because Angie liked them. I touched my pubic hair, the little patch I had at the top of my slit and wondered if I should shave it off like Mom did with hers. It wasn't growing very fast. I looked under my arms. Nope, no hair. No hair on my legs either and I was thinking about Josh, since he had hair on his legs already.

I pulled on some boxers, Darth Vader today, and a t-shirt for under my old ski sweater, kind of a blue and white one. Probably it would be too hot for it in school, but that was okay. It looked cold outside. Some socks and a pair of khaki pants with big cargo pockets. I liked the pants okay, they were cool, but those pockets kinda sucked and I kept thinking I'd just rip them off.

My wallet was on the dresser, and I grabbed it even though it didn't have anything inside except pictures of me and Mom, one of Josh; eight dollars and a blue condom that my mom had given me for good luck; a Seahawks calendar thing from last year; and Angie's phone number. I wasn't going anywhere without that and I hoped she'd give me a picture soon. Two of them, so I could put one on my dresser mirror right above Josh's.

The NIS Parental Permission slip was there too, kinda wadded up more than folded, and I hadn't even shown it to my mom. I thought about blowing it off, but what good would that do? The school had already called once. Probably Mom was going to go there next week sometime just to talk with Ms. Owens or the principal or whoever. I wasn't ever gonna get out of it and I was thinking it probably didn't even matter anyway.

I unfolded it real quick and scrawled "Monica Madeiros" on the signature line, the way I'd been doing it since I was about ten years old, and it was just another day. I checked the no-sex block too, because naked was one thing, but being a sex dummy for biology class? ... Yikes!

"What happened to you?" Josh asked as soon as he saw me.

"Nothing," I shrugged and we started walking to school like we always did. It was raining, but not too much. It barely counted as drizzle by Seattle's standards.

"I called you like ten times yesterday," Josh said and he was pretty annoyed with me. "I thought we were gonna work on your mom's car?"

"I didn't feel like it," I said, feeling kinda helpless really. Like what was I supposed to say?

"Are you mad at me?"

"No!" I smiled at him just to prove it. "I just didn't feel like hanging out, okay?"

We walked for awhile and it had almost stopped raining.

"Did your mom sign the permission slip?" Josh wondered.

"I got it," I admitted. "Did your mom sign yours?"

"Yeah." Josh was quiet for a minute. "Did she say you can have sex and everything?"

"Why?" I looked at him suspiciously and he shrugged.

"Just wondered."

"Oh. No. She checked the no-sex block."

"Really?" he sounded surprised, maybe even disappointed.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "How about you?"

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "Dad told me to have a good time."

"God!" I snorted and I wondered how come I'd ever liked that guy.

"He was just kidding though."

"Did they ask if you even wanted to do it?" I wondered, just because I never knew what it would be like having normal parents.

"They don't have a choice, right?" Josh shrugged. "Mom asked me, but my dad wants me to do it anyway, so..."

"Yeah," I sighed. "My mom definitely wants me to do it too."

"Yeah."

"Probably twice," I giggled, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did, seriously, and I wondered if that was legal. I hoped not.

"You might not have to do it at all this year," Josh shrugged. "There's only like 28 weeks left of school and some of those are like Christmas and stuff."

"What?" I grinned at him. "You looked at a calendar or something?"

"No!" He made a face. "Maybe. So what? I wanted to know."

"You're weird."

"Anyway, so that's like 28 boys..."

"And girls."

"Yeah. That's 28 boys and girls and there's, I don't know, like 75 of each or something," Josh said. "So probably we won't even have to do it until next year."

"Or the year after," I nodded. "That would be cool. As long as I'm not like the last one!"

"Yeah!" Josh grinned at me. "Being last would suck."

"Being first too," I decided and we thought about that for awhile.

"When I do it..." Josh said slowly, " ... I hope I do it with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, I don't want to do it at all, but..."

"Probably we won't."

"I know," he said. "But I heard the girls get to pick anyway."

"That's what Ms. Owens said," I admitted reluctantly.

"So when you do it," Josh said slowly. "You're gonna pick me. Right?"

"Maybe," I shrugged and I didn't want to think about it.

"What does that mean?"

"Well," I grinned at him. "Penny might pick you first!"

"Shut-up!"

We walked some more and the rain stopped completely, but my army coat was already pretty wet anyway.

"How's your dad?" I asked Josh.

"My dad? I don't know," he shrugged. "He's okay, I guess."

"Okay."

"He was asking about you."

"Asking about me what?" I looked at him.

"Just if I talked to you or not."

"Oh," I kinda sighed without meaning to.

"Him and Mom aren't talking though," Josh said a minute later.

"Not talking?"

"No. They just ignore each other kinda. Dad's been sleeping on the couch every night."

"Huh," I shrugged and I knew Mr. Evans hadn't been sleeping on the couch at all probably. "Last night too?" I asked, just to see how much Josh knew.

"I guess so," Josh said. "He left early for work or something. The blanket was there, but he was already gone when I got up."

"That sucks," I sighed, just to be sorta sympathetic or whatever, but mostly I was thinking that I had a new uncle, you know?

They were so stupid. Like my mom telling me she hadn't planned on me finding out. Duh! The guy was in our house! They couldn't keep it a secret from me. And Josh's dad, what? Like he figured his wife wouldn't ever catch on that he was watching TV for awhile and then sneaking off to sleep with my mom? She got home like at three in the morning, so probably he picked her up at work now.

That wasn't gonna be a secret for very long.

I just hoped Josh's dad wasn't one of those guys who fell in love with my mom, because some of them did. Mom didn't like that stuff, or so she said, and I'd seen her drop guys before. Like right at the dinner table too. This one guy, my Uncle Mark? He'd tried to give my mom a ring when I was like eight or nine, asking her to marry him right in front of me, even though he was already married.

Mom had kicked him out. Just told him to leave and not come back. They'd yelled a lot, Uncle Mark especially, and I guessed that was why I remembered it so good. He'd said a lot of bad words at the end, but he'd never come back either. I still had bad dreams about him sometimes and he'd been kind of a nice guy, I'd thought. Being little like I was though, I'd thought everyone was nice.

I was thinking again that it might be better just to tell Josh's mom about what was going on. Not because I was mad, but just because it would better if it was over. Most of Mom's boyfriends slammed the door when they left for the last time, you know? Or she slammed it on them. I just didn't want to lose Josh and I knew I would if his mom got mad at mine.

That's what really bothered me the most, I decided. How my mom and Mr. Evans didn't care what would happen to me and Josh. Everything else was just kind of annoying or something. I didn't want to think about all the other stuff. Josh and me should have meant more to them than just sex, don't you think? Mom was wrong. The world did go around me sometimes, she just forgot.

"Good morning, Sam," Principal Eckert greeted me from the front steps of Redmond High and he seemed oblivious to the looks and whispers of the other students as they walked around him.

"Uh ... Hi, Mr. Eckert," I replied, looking up at him.

He stood on the top step, kinda tapping his closed umbrella on the cement like he was impatient or something. I glanced at Josh and he just shrugged. We'd never seen the Principal standing outside before. In fact, we hardly ever saw him at all.

"Would you mind coming to my office for a moment?" The man glanced at his watch and the bell was going to ring in a few minutes probably. Josh and me always timed it pretty close.

"What did I do?" I wondered, but the Principal wasn't waiting around to answer my silly questions.

"Come along," he sorta half-waved his umbrella. "Everybody's waiting."

"They are?" I had no idea what that meant.

"I guess I'll see you later," Josh said and he was just as confused as I was.

"Yeah," I nodded with a frown.

The school secretary, Mrs. Maple, smiled at me, but her office helper, a freshman named Hershey Hawkins, kind of smirked. He was a retard anyway though. Nobody liked him. The other kids in the office didn't pay me much attention and the phones were ringing and all that. Teachers were in and out, checking their boxes before homeroom started, you know.

Everything was pretty normal, except I wasn't supposed to be there.

"In here, please..." the Principal said, opening his door and standing aside so I could enter first. His office was kinda big, or at least bigger than I'd imagined it would be, since I'd never had a reason to see it before. I'd never wanted to, mostly because that would mean I was in some sort of trouble.

"Oh! Hi." I blinked at Gwen Ross.

Her first name was really Guinevere, like in the story, you know? She was a senior and a cheerleader, and last month's Homecoming Queen and probably next spring's Prom Queen, and ... You get the idea. She was tall, blonde, and way too beautiful for high school. Gwen basically lived on a different planet than I did. Seniors didn't talk to freshman anyway and that girl had never talked to me even though we'd gone to the same schools forever. She only lived like two blocks away from me.

Gwen just kinda sniffed at me.

"Hi," Cherry Jefferson smiled nervously, and she was a junior and a really pretty black girl.

I didn't know Cherry at all, really. She'd transferred in when her family had moved to Seattle from Georgia or someplace. Alabama maybe? Wherever. She had that sexy sorta accent anyway and a lot of boys liked it. A lot of white boys, I mean, because we only had like five black kids in the whole school. I didn't know why, it's just the way it was. Anyway, most of the boys liked the girl a lot, and I'd heard my friends talk about her plenty of times. Even Josh had called her hot before, but Cherry was still brand new, so ... What was she doing there?

What was I doing there?

"Good morning, Madeiros." My gym teacher, Ms. Beyle, was leaning against the wall opposite the girls and I hadn't noticed her right away. She was dressed for class with a white t-shirt and black shorts. She even had her silver whistle around her neck.

"Uh ... Morning, Ms. Beyle." I narrowed my eyes at the woman. Everybody knew she was a lesbian, but I'd never worried about it until now and I wondered if she knew I was one too. I mean, if I really was one. I tried not to think about it.

"Congratulations!" Principal Eckert closed his door and sorta leaned his pudgy body against it like he was guarding us or something.

Riiiiiiing

"Oh! Don't worry about Homeroom," the man said after the class bell had stopped. "You three girls have been selected as the very first students in a brand new program. Naked In School."

"What?" I think all three of us said at once, or at least me and Gwen did for sure. I think Cherry just moved her mouth up and down, but her soft brown eyes got huge!

"Don't you love surprises?" Ms. Beyle chuckled, but mostly she just stood there with her arms crossed over her flat chest.

"Now before we get started," Principal Eckert said, turning his smile on me, "did you bring your permission slip this morning, Sam?"

"Uhhh ... No," I lied and looked down so he wouldn't see my eyes. "I guess I kinda forgot it. Sorry."

"That's alright," he surprised me with a sympathetic nod. "Your mother was kind enough to give her permission Friday when I spoke with her. But we do need that paper, Samantha. Try and remember it tomorrow, okay?"

"Uh..." I swallowed hard and I really thought I was going to get out of it! God! I was so stupid!

"Now," Principal Eckert rubbed his hands together, "You girls were picked at random by the computer, but as you may know, the female participants are allowed to pick a boy to be her partner, in a manner of speaking. Just to help you and the school adjust to the program, you see? We want to make this as easy as possible for all concerned."

He smiled like he expected us to thank him.

"So, while you're thinking about which boy you'd like to partner up with, why don't you three, uh..." he cleared his throat, " ... go ahead and take off your clothes."

"All of them?" Cherry whispered in her sweet Southern voice and she glanced at Ms. Beyle as if the teacher would protect us.

"Strip down, ladies," the woman said, just like we were in the girl's locker room or something.

"Uh, thank you," the Principal smiled at Ms. Beyle and then looked at us again. "We'll provide you with footwear, don't worry."

Footwear? I stared at the man, feeling my face burn. Who cares about shoes? What happened to doing this next month? I just found out about this thing on Friday! We'd talked about it for an hour in class, that's not enough time to get ready! My mom didn't even go to the PTA meeting! I hadn't even turned in my parental permission slip! I couldn't go to a freakin' museum without one of those and now I was supposed to get naked? This wasn't fair! How did I get picked?

"But..." I started trying to find the words to say all that without getting suspended, but Principal Eckert cut me off.

Clap! Clap! He smacked his fleshy hands together.

"No buts! Right now, girls. You're in the Program and the week has started. Let's go!" He sounded like a sergeant in the army or something and I don't think any of us were really the sort of girls to disobey the Principal.

I wasn't and I knew for sure Cherry wasn't. That girl was trembling all over. Only Gwen, being royalty, sorta, stood a chance of refusing and I couldn't imagine anybody making her do anything. If anyone could get us out of it, I figured it would be her. When I glanced at Gwen though, I blinked hard because she was already pulling her red and gold cheer sweater over her thick blonde hair. If she wasn't going to argue ... God! I was doomed!

"No," I said softly, kinda blinking at myself.

"Excuse me?" Principal Eckert narrowed his watery gray eyes.

"I'm not gonna do it," I said with glance at the two girls beside me.

Gwen was sorta frozen with her top halfway off, like her arms were over head and her blonde hair was pulled up inside it. Her breasts were pulled up too, as if they were going to be pop out of her bra any second. Cherry was wearing a blouse and she'd only gotten two or three buttons undone. She was looking back and forth between me and the Principal.

"You have to," the man said, looking to Ms. Beyle for help.

"Everyone has to participate, Madeiros," she said. "That means you too."

"I don't care," I cleared my throat. "I'm not going to get naked."

"If she's not gonna do it, I'm not gonna do it either!" Gwen decided and she was pulling her top back down.

"Me too," Cherry nodded, but she didn't sound so sure. At least she was buttoning her blouse again.

"But you have to!" Principal Eckert frowned. "I've got permission slips from your parents already!"

"Not mine," I said. "Can I go to class now?"

"You're not going anywhere!" he said loudly and the Principal's face was getting red. "Take off those clothes! Now!"

"Nope," I shook my head.

"Do you want me to get some boys in here to help you?" Ms. Beyle asked me, getting a nod of agreement from the Principal. "I will, Samantha. I don't want to, but..."

"You'll have to," I told her. "Cause I'm not gonna do it!"

"Me neither!" Gwen said and Cherry just looked at us.

"Do you want to be suspended? Do you three really want to get kicked out of school?" the Principal asked us. "Because that's what's going to happen. I'll suspend you right now and you'll have to appear before the district supervisor."

"Okay," I shrugged. "Can I go home now?"

Cherry giggled nervously and my heart was screaming! You have no idea how terrified I was at that moment.

"Samantha..." Ms. Beyle cleared her throat, " ... Sam, this is for your own good. This program is designed to help you. It's scary at first, but..."

"It's my body, right?" I asked her. "That's what Ms. Owens always says. That's what everybody says. It's my body, right?"

"Of course it is," the woman replied and Principal Eckert was nodding sympathetically, even trying to smile.

"Then I get to decide who sees it," I told them. "And who doesn't."

"But Samantha..." Ms. Beyle frowned and her dark blue eyes were hard.

"And you guys don't!" I told her, turning to look at the Principal just to make sure he got the point. "Especially you!"

"That's it!" Principal Eckert slapped his desk hard. "I'm calling your parents!" He reached for the phone. "This is your last chance. The three of you are going to be in big trouble!"

"Call her," I said. "She won't answer before noon."

He did call her too, looking up my phone number from his computer and punching the buttons with an angry finger. I just stood there, figuring my life was probably over. My mom was gonna kill me when she heard about this! But at least I wasn't gonna get naked in front of everybody and if they tried? Like if they brought in half the football team or whatever? I wasn't gonna go down without a fight!

"Ringing?" I asked the Principal and I knew it was. My mom probably didn't even fall asleep until six and unless Josh's dad was still there, nobody was going to answer that phone.

"She isn't home," he frowned. "All right then. Let's call your parents, Guinevere."

"Last chance, Gwen," Ms. Beyle told the girl. "You do this and you won't be a cheerleader. You won't be the reigning Homecoming Queen ... You won't even graduate this year. Is that what you want?"

"Um," the girl swallowed hard and looked at Principal Eckert as he called up her record on his computer.

"Samantha's going to be in a lot of trouble," the woman kept talking and I frowned at her. "But I know you want to do the right thing, Gwen. We need you. The school needs its Queen."