Chapter 18

Gina lowered her hand once more with a small sense of disappointment.

She was always the good student, but it meant little unless someone acknowledged it. Otherwise, how would she know she was performing up to par? Yet Ms. Hollis ignored her, instead asking questions of people that would struggle with the answers. She even dropped hints when they didn't get the answer quite right.

She wondered if Ms. Hollis simply did not see her hand. Ms. Hollis had spent much of the class wandering among the students behind the first row. Gina could not turn around to look for fear of drawing more admonishment for not facing forward.

She had other motivations for peeking behind her. The idea of asking Brad to the Halloween party excited her. Her pussy was still warm from the afterglow of her tryst in the counselor's office. She wanted to look at him, to see if he would acknowledge her with a little knowing smile.

Gina finally dared to turn around enough so that her gaze fell on Brad. A tiny shiver rippled through her body. His eyes darted between his textbook and Ms. Hollis, and he shuffled his feet under the desk. For a brief moment, his eyes skirted the other students, but his gaze slid by Gina without pause.

Did he really have sex with her right in the office?

Why would she even doubt that it happened?

Gina's vision wavered as the two question sat in conflicting juxtaposition in her head, and she caught something odd out of the corner of her eye.

Her gaze fell on Heather again. She was sitting straight in her seat, hands folded before her, her blouse and bra on the floor...

Gina blinked. No, Heather was dressed. Why did she think that...

Heather's hands were raised, fingers curled as if wrapped around something, hands sliding back and forth. Her mouth was open, and her head bobbed as if...

Gina blinked again. Wait, that wasn't right. Heather was just sitting there. Her hands were on the desk. But her hips had slid forward, and her legs...

... were closed, her feet on the floor. But...

Gina snapped herself forward again as Ms. Hollis turned towards the front of the class and held her breath as her teacher walked by. Something stirred in the recesses of her mind, like murmuring or whispering from the shadows, just below the threshold of comprehension. Was she about to hear the voice again? Was she doing something wrong?

You need to ask Brad to the party.

Gina took a slow, deep breath and let it go as a low sigh.

It is proper for you to ask him.

Yes, of course, it was. She did not need to concern herself with Heather.

And it is proper for him to agree.

That made sense to her. Brad shouldn't refuse her. That just wouldn't be right. Victor said so, and she had to trust him. She did trust him.

Ms. Hollis moved to the front of the class and proceeded with the conclusion of the lesson. Gina paid strict attention to the rest of the class while her pussy tingled with anticipation.

For a moment, Heather felt as if Jason, Melinda, and Diane had somehow joined her in the room and were standing right behind her. Her surroundings shimmered like a camera going of focus. The moment was fleeting, and she was again by herself, still sucking four cocks in turn with an insatiable hunger.

She could not stop herself, or push them away, or ignore her own craving for cum. But she did not have to accept it.

(normal)

She could still hear it, like a distant voice, trying to convince her of her supposed error.

(expected)

One of the boys uttered a strained groan, and his cock exploded in Heather's mouth. Heather panted hard through her nose and tilted her head back so she didn't spill a drop. She gurgled as she swallowed once, then twice as his cock throbbed long and hard. When he drew his spent cock from her mouth, she exhaled and her pussy ached from the powerful scent of his seed.

The boy next to him jammed his cock into her mouth and grabbed her hair, pumping her head against his shaft. Heather shuddered as hands slid around her waist. She drew her legs together long enough for her jeans and panties to be pulled off. She thrust her hips forward and groaned as a cock finally plunged into her soaked cunt.

(your duty)

Heather trembled hard, and she gasped in delight as a second cock erupted in her mouth. She milked the bottom half of his cock with her fingers, eager to swallow every last drop and anxious to move on to the next cock, her body aching for cum as her lungs might ache for air.

(as always)

Heather whimpered as she swallowed and licked his cock clean. No, not as always. It wasn't always like this. It...

(is always like this)

Heather pulled back, and her hand grabbed the next needy cock. She devoured it as if starved. Her breath was sharp and quick, her body rocking faster as her pussy was drilled deeper and harder. Pleasure rose and stopped short of her peak. She spread her legs until her thigh muscles stretched, and her head bobbed liked a piston.

(happens all the time)

Heather wanted to believe that she craved so much cock that she loved taking her turn rewarding class participation. If only Ms. Hollis would pick her every time! But Ms. Hollis didn't, and couldn't, because it simply didn't happen.

(always happens)

Heather gurgled again as the next cock throbbed in her mouth, cum dribbling down her chin. She swallowed, sucked, licked clean, and let go. The third one was plunged into her mouth while she was still licking her lips. Her pussy was ready to explode.

She tried to tap into whatever power had managed to let her crack the false reality, but only a faint, ghostlike apparition of her fellow Harbingers appeared to her for a scant few seconds. The last cock in her mouth shuddered, and her cunt clenched. She hung at the edge for another excruciating moment, then let go with a hot jet of her own cum.

Terri paused at the head of the class to observe her handiwork as she pushed Heather's reality play towards its conclusion.

Terri knew the class would wonder about the brief pause, or the small, sly smile on her lips. She supposed she could have altered her students' perception of that as well, but she poured much of her concentration into Heather.

Seeing Heather pantomime oral sex was quite amusing. Terri was amazed to what lengths Heather's body and mind would go in order to maintain the illusion of her reality. When Terri envisioned one of the boys removing her blouse and bra, Heather obliged by stripping them off herself. When Terri convinced Heather that a boy was fucking her, she stuck her own fingers in her cunt.

And now, after a distinct splash of Heather's cum and her loud cry, she would wipe her wet fingers on something without remembering that she did it, just to reinforce the illusion to her befuddled brain.

"Read the next chapter before class tomorrow," Terri announced. "Let's see if you can keep this up and do as well in question and answer as you did today."

Some appeared nonplussed at the praise, but otherwise made no further note of it. None of them noticed Heather as she woke up to the fact that the class was over.

"Perhaps if you continue along these lines, you may all just past this course," said Terri.

Heather looked up. Terri look at her and smiled. She had willed Heather to hear instead, "I am sure Miss Sovert will be happy to continue rewarding those of you that do well."

Heather offered a weak smile in return and gathered her clothes just as the bell rang. She was still dressing as the other students stood and filed out.

"Miss Sovert."

Heather pulled on her bra and looked up.

"Please see me before you go to your next class."

Heather hesitated, then nodded.

Terri's pussy tingled at the possibilities of what she would make Heather wear to the Halloween party. A harem costume, perhaps. The flowing veils would look wonderful against her legs and hips. Or a belly dancer, with a tight top to make her generous tits stand out. Or an exotic dancer, with little tassels and beads that swayed with her sensuous walk.

Heather gathered her books and approached the desk just as the last of the other students left the room. "Um ... yes, Ms. Hollis?"

"You did very well today, Miss Sovert," said Terri. "You must absolutely adore cock."

Heather shivered and said nothing.

"Naturally, I expected nothing less of you, just from what I've seen when it was your turn before."

Heather shifted her weight and look as if she were about to say something. Terri paused, but Heather remained quiet.

"Always so enthusiastic. Every time you've done it."

Heather swallowed. Her eyes shimmered and darted along Terri's outline rather than look at her directly.

Terri leaned forward. "I can arrange for a lot more cock for you, Miss Sovert. A lot more. Just come see me after school today."

Heather trembled. "I-I'm sorry, Ms. Hollis."

Terri's smile faded, and her eyebrows rose.

"I can't ... I can't make it. Not today."

Terri's eyes narrowed. "You want to. I can tell you do. More cock for your hot little twat."

Heather moaned.

"After school today, Miss Sovert."

Heather was shaking. "I ... I ... can't..."

"You can't," Terri said, her tone flat.

Heather shook her head, as if not trusting her voice.

Terri scrutinized Heather for a silent few seconds. Her lips drew into a tight, forced smile. "Very well, Miss Sovert. But tomorrow, perhaps we will see if you like pussy as much as you do cock. Now get to your next class."

Heather paused, turned, and finally fled.

Ned bolted out of his class and dashed down the hallway before the exodus of students from third period became a crushing mass. He sidled up alongside Cassie in a few long strides. "Yo."

Cassie flinched, her hand flying to her bosom. "Goodness, Ned!"

"Um, sorry," Ned said. "Wow, yer really on edge."

"Just worried about Heather. For several reasons."

"Yeah, that's why I rushed outta my class."

"Sometimes I wish I could get my insights when I'm awake," Cassie said. "Just to know what's going on."

"Or get inta Heather's head and give her hand or something."

"I really don't know if I can ever control this new ability enough to do that. I'm too afraid of what might happen if--"

Ned craned his neck. "Hey, is that Jason?"

Cassie looked down the corridor and saw Jason rushing towards them with an intense look on his face. Cassie's heart sank. "Oh no. What's happened now?"

"Cassie!" Jason cried. "Cassie, I got to talk to you about something."

"Oh, goodness, Jason, what happened to Heather?"

"I haven't seen her yet, but I think she's okay. That's what I want to talk to you about. Something happened during the last class that--"

"Jason!" came a shrill cry from behind him. "There he is, Diane!"

"What's all the ruckus?" Ned asked as Melinda and Diane ran towards them.

Melinda stumbled to a stop before Jason, ignoring everyone else. "Jason, where's Heather?! She's okay, isn't she?"

"I haven't seen her, Melinda, I was just--"

"Jason, I saw her! I was in her head or something, right in the middle of class!"

"It happened to me, too!" Diane said. "It was like I could see through her eyes for a moment. I felt something weird, like..."

" ... like something being drained from me, but not really..."

" ... and I think she took something from us, like she was trying to get us to help her somehow..."

"Guys! Guys! You gotta hear this!" came a shout as Richie burst from the crowd and skidded to a stop. "Holy crap, you won't believe the weird shit I saw in Heather's class!"

Melinda rounded on him. "Did you feel it, too?!"

Richie frowned. "Huh? Feel what? Look, don't get started on me about getting off on what I saw, okay?"

"I don't mean that! I mean when Heather tried to--"

"Wait, stop, please!" Cassie called out. "One at a time!"

"Yes, I agree," Jason said, though his own voice was excited as well. "Okay, Melinda, Diane, you two both felt it. Richie, I guess you didn't feel anything."

"Feel what, for Chrissakes?!" Richie demanded.

Jason turned away from him. "Ned, Cassie, you two didn't feel anything unusual during this last class?"

The two of them shook their heads. "What was it?" Cassie asked. "Were you linked to her somehow, is that it?"

"I don't know how else to explain it, so I guess that works as best as any explanation," said Jason. "But I'm not sure what--"

"There she is!" Melinda shouted.

"For crying out loud, runt, the whole school can hear you," Heather complained, though her voice was shaky.

Cassie gasped. "Goodness, Heather, are you all right?"

"No Aura!" Melinda proclaimed after staring hard at her sister for a few seconds. "We did it! We stopped her!"

"I think I'm all right, Cassie, but I wasn't sure for awhile," Heather said. "Ms. Hollis was still trying to convince me everything was normal."

"The others said they helped you somehow," said Cassie, her own voice catching some of the excitement. "Is that true? Did they link to you somehow?"

"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but something did, and I think it was the only thing that--"

"For fuck's sake, lemme tell you what I saw!" Richie yelled, and then launched into his version of events before anyone could object, his words frantic and rapid-fire.

Ned nodded. "Yeah, I figgered as much."

"What?" Melinda cried. "I don't even understand what Richie saw!"

"Look, the Nose did some nosin' around, see? Found a few people from Heather's class. No one remembers anything about no sex happenin' in Jolly Holly's class yesterday. Yeah, got a few weird stares for askin' a question like that, but something jus' bugged me about Heather's story from yesterday."

"I wasn't lying, Ned," Heather said coldly.

"An' I ain't sayin' ya were. Jus' like I believe ya if ya say ya were doin' it again today."

"I was! Or ... at least I thought I was," she said as she glanced at Richie.

"I know what I saw," Richie declared. "Nothin' until the end, then it was like someone hitting the wrong button at the TV station and sending out porn instead of the ballgame."

"Jason, what does this all mean?" Diane asked. "Did we just help Heather? Did something actually happen or do we just think it did?"

"Or did Ms. Hollis make Richie think he didn't see anything?" Jason suggested. "As for the link, maybe Cassie could better answer that."

"But Heather doesn't have an Aura!" Melinda whined, as if disappointed at this fact.

"Melinda, I never had one, even while it was happening," Heather said.

"This is freaky," Ned said. "I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Cassie said. "Heather, it's possible that the others did somehow share some sort of link to you. Goodness knows my own ability means it's possible, but I can't tell you anything beyond that. Just because I have this Gift doesn't mean I'm an expert on it. Maybe we should talk to Mrs. Radson again, or try to find something in Elizabeth's journal about it."

"It wasn't even a complete protection, either, Cassie," Heather said. "I still couldn't stop what I was doing, I was just able to realize that it wasn't right. It was like Ms. Hollis was going out of her way to convince me what I was doing was perfectly normal. I never felt something like that before."

Jason craned his neck. The crowd had thinned, and Vice Principal Seeger approached from the other end of the hall, glowering at the students that had not yet made it to the next class. "Damn, we have to get to class. We better meet after school to talk about this. Everybody has to find a way to get to the house this afternoon."

Heather, Melinda, Cassie, and Ned nodded. Richie thrust his hands into his pockets and said nothing. Diane shifted her weight.

Jason was again forced to abandon an opportunity to tell the others about the pendant fragment and the Book. He felt he was violating his own order about calling attention to anything unusual.

"Jason, what about talking to Mrs. Radson?" Cassie asked.

"We have to get straight what happened first, and we don't have time to do that now. None of us would really know what to say to her." He lowered his voice. "Seeger's almost here. We have to get going. We'll meet briefly after last class."

The Harbingers broke up, Seeger's frowning countenance in their wake.

Diane was halfway to her class when she sighed and cursed herself. She had missed a chance to mention the note from the counselor.

She took out the envelope as she crossed the threshold into her fourth period class. She wasn't required to go. She could ignore it and tell the others later. That would be the safe thing to do.

She fell into her seat and stared at the envelope. Finally she let out a long sigh and stood, sweeping the envelope into her hand. She yanked out the absence slip, grabbed her books, and headed to the front. The teacher gave her a curious look.

"Um, I have to be excused from the class," Diane said. Her eyes darted towards the class, and she lowered her voice. "I have an appointment with the school counselor."

Brad trudged from his third to his fourth period. He stopped by his locker to unload some of his books, but the lock jammed on him again. Instead of jiggling it in the way that always worked, he slammed his fist into the locker door and stomped off.

Only now did he finally accept that Heather was unavailable. He had considered asking her out on a date separate from the party, but didn't see the point. He suspected that her claim that Ms. Hollis forbade her to have a date was bogus. He was sure there was some sort of regulation or law against a teacher doing such a thing.

He had the wild idea of complaining to Seeger about it, but rolled his eyes at the thought of grousing to the Vice Principal about his love life.

Brad failed to notice footsteps scrambling to keep up with him as he approached his next class. "Brad?"

Brad continued for a few seconds as if oblivious, then stopped just short of the door. He turned around, frowning. "Yeah, what? Huh?"

Brad flinched as his eyes fell on Gina.

Gina smiled. "Brad, I wanted to ask you something."

Brad's eyebrows knitted. "You're, uh, Jenny, right? Jenny Cal-something."

"Gina Caligano," she corrected in a gentle tone.

"Yeah. What is it?"

Gina's hips squirmed. When she spoke again, her voice had a faint husky cadence. "I'd like you to take me to the Halloween party this coming Monday, please."

Brad hesitated, as if the words had trouble penetrating his brain. "Huh? Are you serious?" he blurted before he could stop himself.

"Yes, I'm serious," Gina replied, no trace of hostility or sarcasm in her voice. "I thought it proper that I should ask you."

"You did?" Brad said, more a statement than a question.

"It seems proper for me to ask you." Gina shivered, and her eyes grew sultry. "I really would like to go with you to the party."

Brad opened his mouth, but the intended words of gentle rejection would not reach his throat. He closed his mouth and stared at her.

Gina endured the silence for a few seconds more before she felt compelled to speak again. "It just seems like the right thing to do, for us to go together. Doesn't it?"

Brad's eyes were drawn to hers. His lips were tugged into a small smile. "Uh, yeah, I guess you're right."