Chapter 9: A Day Full of New Faces and Surprises

Cate woke with a start after we both fell into a satisfied and exhausted sleep.

"Alex, we'd better get back. Mom and Dad will worry. I'll need my school clothes in the morning, and the owners of—"

"Shh," I tried to calm her. "Trust me, I've taken care of everything. Just relax and everything will be fine." She sighed heavily in mild frustration, then curled up against me and sighed again a little softer this time.

"I'll try, I mean, I do trust you, but sometimes old habits die hard." However she quickly relaxed and we both fell asleep again.

The next morning Cate looked gorgeous in all her morning glory. A little mussed, perhaps, but still mighty cute. I kissed her awake and she cooed as she curled into me once again. When I told her we still had to get ready for school she eventually started to wake up.

I got her into the shower which helped a lot, but also awakened her sex drive. We fooled around a little. I actually gave her a few thrusts, but only as a tease. When she groaned as I pulled out, I told her I wanted to keep her on edge so she'd be ready for more when we got home tonight.

"Yeah, but you still have Anh to take care of," she complained.

"Since when have you become my social secretary?" I asked. "I thought that was Shani's job?"

"Everyone has to be busy trying to keep you on schedule and on track. You've got so much going on that you'd be overwhelmed if it wasn't for each of us working behind the scenes to keep you going."

"Well, thanks for that, but I think these little details will work themselves out. But you're right, I only have tonight left before we take off for St. Louis tomorrow, and then I'll have to concentrate on Gail and Chalise. Man, having a harem can really mess up one's spontaneity."

I pulled her from the shower and did my now traditional drying procedure, enjoying the soft feel of her skin. When I got down to her more interesting bits, I noticed she could use a refresher shave and offered to help. She smiled at the idea, but argued she wasn't sure just how good of a job I'd do, suspecting I'd get distracted down there.

I gave her a quick kiss then got us moving again. Back in the bedroom I led her to the bed while I opened the nearby dresser, and laid out the clothes she was to wear to school today.

"Where'd you ... Say, whose house is this?" she asked, turning to me and looking at me curiously.

"Do I really need to tell you?" I said, helping goad her a bit.

"I guess it could be Ryan's or one of your... ," she hesitated as the light bulb suddenly went off over her head.

"It's Brooke and Rebecca's?" she asked, guessing the obvious.

"Actually, Rebecca lives next door. They both had to clean up the kids' things, so we wouldn't trip over them on the way in, in the dark, last night."

"I should have guessed, but I was consistently surprised by one thing after another last night. I never thought I'd get an actual date with you. I just always assumed I'd have to make do with what little time we have together."

"Cate, I spend more time with you than I do anyone else. Of course I'll make time for you. We'll always have to be careful about what we do in public, but when I can get away with it, I plan on making you as comfortable and cherished as I can," I told her in all honesty.

"Now go ahead and get dressed, we still need to stop and pick up the girls. Luckily Chalise is nearby, and we don't have to bother driving home now."

We were early when I pulled up in front of Becky's little apartment, not being used to judging the early morning traffic and distances in Carbondale. I was planning on simply sitting and waiting, but Caroline opened the door and ran out to us.

"Chalise isn't ready yet, why don't the two of you come in and get some coffee while she's getting ready?"

"Coffee! Now that's a great idea," Cate stated, already climbing out of the car. So I turned everything off and followed them both into the house.

We got our coffee and Chalise still hadn't shown up, so Caroline fixed us some breakfast. She'd apparently taken over Becky's little place, and it no longer looked like a starving grad student's stark apartment.

"Your sister has a late class this morning, so she's sleeping in," Caroline explained.

"Another late party?" I teased.

"Oh, no, ever since she got involved with your mission, her partying days seem to be over. She apparently worked hard before, but since you hit your stride, she's working overtime doing her regular work, and trying to do whatever she can for you."

I just looked up at her stupidly. "But what can she do for me? I didn't ask her to do anything! Well, aside from that stuff at her lab that is," I corrected myself.

"Oh, you wouldn't have to. Melinda had her own idea and they are both working on it. I probably shouldn't tell you, as I'm sure they'd both enjoy revealing it to you in good time, but they've been busy working on it."

Now I was intrigued. I glanced at Cate, to see if she had any clue on what our sisters were doing on my behalf, but she looked just as mystified as I was.

"You know, neither one of them were much into partying anyway," Cate offered. "They were both pretty serious, but it sounds like they've even given up on slipping out for a few drinks. I think they've got the Alex bug as much as the rest of us."

We didn't have much time to contemplate it though, as Chalise took the opportunity to tromp downstairs. Man, for such a little thing she can make a racket on a couple of stairs!

"Hey there, lover, lover's sister, lover's future mother-in-law," she teased in a sing-song voice. I proceeded to blush but Caroline just giggled. It sounded like this was a long running joke between them. Chalise stopped and seemed to zero in on Cate before she even gave me my good morning hug.

"Well, damn, I was thinking it was never going to happen. Come here Cate, and let me be the first to congratulate you. Well, maybe the second. How was it?"

Cate jumped up and they hugged and started gossiping rapidly, but Cate hesitated and then, after a seconds delay, gave Chalise another long hug.

"Damn," she swore as she stepped back. She glanced at me. "Alex, I don't know what the hell you did, but maybe your girls' theory about me wasn't so far off after all. I can literally feel her feelings for you. I can feel just how much she loves you, and all the various emotions running through her."

"Wow! That's amazing. I never would have guessed."

"Wow, shit!" Chalise announced. "This is something major. Here, sit down and let's hash this out."

"No, wait a minute," Cate told her stepping back. She then crossed over to Caroline and gave her a big hug as well. Surprised, Caroline reciprocated and looked at us in confusion.

"The girls thought she may have been a Watcher for a long time," I explained to them, "but that my energy overshadowed her abilities, so she never noticed her ability to feel emotions before." They stayed locked like that for several moments before Cate finally pulled away.

"No, that's not it. I can't feel anything from you," she explained to Caroline and the rest of us. "I know you must be feeling confusion and several other emotions, but I'm not getting any reading. In fact," she said, turning back to us again, "I only got a couple of very specific emotions from Chalise."

"What do you think that means?" Chalise asked her before I had a chance to.

"I don't know. I'll have to do some more tests when we get to school, but I suspect it's like I've always had. I never felt anything but Alex's energy. Either Alex's energy is just so strong that anyone around him can feel it... ," and here she hesitated.

"Yeah, both Kitty and I can feel it, but nowhere near what you've described to us," Chalise explained.

"Then the other option is that I'm somehow finely attuned to Alex, and that he triggered my own ability like he has everyone else's. I'm guessing I'm feeling his effects on you, Chalise. I can feel your love for my brother like it was written in his energy across your entire being."

"Hey, this is all getting a bit—"

"Quiet you," all three women said, turning on me. I had enough sense to not say anything more.

"So, you think you have your own unique ability, separate from all his other women?" Chalise asked.

"Becky! Get your damn ass down here. We've got something to discuss about Alex," Cate yelled loudly upstairs.

"I don't know if we have... ," I started to argue but they all turned and stared at me again, so I once again shut up. Instead I got up and refreshed my coffee and investigated the other new addition to Becky's austere apartment; the cookie jar in the corner.

The women all proceeded to talk in rapid fire succession until my eldest sister managed to stumble, half dressed and looking decidedly frazzled, downstairs.

"What the heck are you going on about?" she complained, scratching her head.

"I've got a new ability. Alex and I, uh... ," Cate said, pausing as she turned to look at Caroline standing behind her.

"Oh don't worry about it," Chalise's mother told her. "I figured you two were going to do it almost as soon as I first met you. It was practically as clear as day." I'm not sure if either of us really believed that or not. Although it's probably more likely that neither of us could afford to believe it, considering we'd be frozen in fear every time we left the house if we thought it was true. "And don't worry about the language or the topic, I've been getting tidbits from Chalise and Kitty, so I'm dying to hear about this as much as the rest of you are."

"Uh," I asked awkwardly, "what gave Cate and me away? I mean, if we're giving everyone the same clues... ?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. Mostly it was how close the two of you are. It's a bit off putting the way the two of you are so protective and so involved with each other's lives. The only reason Chalise got involved with you was because Cate finally talked her into it. From what I understand, the girls at your lunch table only started relaxing once they saw Cate allowing Kitty and Chalise to relate to you, and that she allowed the other girls to flirt with you. There's no doubt you two are living each other's lives, and it's also clear that Cate practically worships you, Alex. But the actual evidence of a physical relationship are much subtler, and I only observed it because I was actually trying to figure out what Chalise wouldn't tell me about you, so I was studying you for a while, looking for clues about your behaviors."

At this point, Cate turned back to Becky and continued where she left off. "Anyway, Alex and I finally made love last night—"

"And all those other times the two of you did, don't count?" Becky asked her, looking askance as she too headed for the coffee pot.

"After Alex and I made love," Cate continued, ignoring the interruption, "he boosted my abilities like he did the others."

Now Becky put down the coffee pot and turned to regard her sister. "Which abilities?" she asked weakly.

"I'm guessing I've had my own that are unlike anyone else's. But after last night, today I can feel Alex's energy in other people," Cate announced proudly with a big grin.

"So you're really like the proverbial sponge we all said you were, drawing Alex's energy from him. Only now you can feel and potentially draw it from others as well?" Becky asked, sitting down as she considered this newest theory.

"Well, I have no idea if that's true or not, but it makes sense. I'll have to test it out at school today, and when I see Kitty. It'll be interesting when I see all the girls after school, to see if I can feel his presence and their emotions regarding him," Cate told us excitedly as if I wasn't even there.

"Look, I know this is important," I said, cutting them off, "but we've got to get going or we're going to be late for school. I've already contacted Anh to pick up Kitty, so we won't have to stop on the way, but we really have to go."

Chalise hurriedly told us about her and her mother's discussions with her father, saying they weren't there yet, but he was at least trying. He was still a stubborn old cuss, but they were much farther along than they were before. She also informed us that the University believed Brandon would not be able to return to football. The coming season was definitely out, and they thought he only had a 40% chance of recovering enough to return to the game. Of course that meant that his scholarship was in trouble, since it depended on his playing. But if his tox screen came up positive, he'd likely be forced out of school and he'd be forbidden from ever competing again. They'd provide him with rehab and his current school term was already fully paid for, but his next year was iffy. They'd reconsider sometime this summer. That was really bad news and I felt terrible for him. Such harsh consequences for a moment's stupidity that may not have been completely his fault. However, she went on to say that Rodger was on for dinner Thursday of next week and was guarded about meeting me, but he'd offer me the chance.

"You know, I doubt I'd be able to do anything significant, since the structures of his knee were messed up, but I may be able to speed the healing of Brandon's knee?" I suggested.

Chalise simply grinned at me sadly. "Can you picture him, or my father, allowing you anywhere near him? No, they trust their university doctors implicitly, even if they can't do a thing for him. They'd never trust you since they blame you for destroying Dad's hopes," she explained. Caroline agreed with her.

Chalise and Cate complained to me about rushing them out of the house as we exited the tiny apartment, leaving Becky and Caroline talking excitedly together.

The rest of the trip to school was more of the same. Since Kitty wasn't here, Cate and Chalise talked on and on about this theory and that, about whether this aspect of it was true, or if there were other unknown implications. I couldn't really piece much of it together from where I was, so eventually I just tuned it out and concentrated on driving.

We got to school just a short time before classes so we wouldn't have time to dawdle, only to grab our books and rush off to class. This meant they wouldn't have a chance to find Kitty and compare notes. I could imagine the excitement when the three of them got together. Surprisingly, I didn't even know what classes they shared together. Both Cate and Kitty were juniors, with Chalise being a year behind, but Cate was always in the advanced placement classes. In short, I had no clue when they find time to talk. But no doubt they'd still be going at it when lunchtime rolled around.

'Allison, ' I said, reaching out and contacting her as I heading into the building.

'Yeah?' she responded. 'You all worn out from last night with Cate and need me to come peel you off the floor?' she teased.

'Nope, we're both fine. I just wanted to remind you to bring my car to school and take yours back. We won't need it anymore. It's fun to drive, but with two girlfriends, I need a few more seats.'

'Will do, ' she told me. 'And we're all eager to hear about the results of last night.'

'Don't worry, I'm sure you couldn't stop the girls from talking if you wanted to, ' I assured her.

However, before heading to my class I stopped off at the Principal's office. When I entered Mrs. White glared at me and I could tell she was about to chide me for being late to class, but I didn't have time for her nonsense now.

"I need to see Principal Phillips right away," I told her in no uncertain terms.

"I'm sorry but he's in a meeting now. If you'd like to... ?"

"Look, that's fine. I'm sure Detective McCallister wouldn't mind me calling her about it. After all, she's taken a personal interest in how this school is run," I said as I casually turned away to head off to class.

"No, no, that's fine. I'll interrupt him. I'm sure he'll be anxious to discuss this topic with you," she said, clearly having no idea what topic it was, but also knowing just how worried Principal Phillips was about Michelle's threats.

Soon I was in the Principal's office, sitting myself in front of his desk while he regarded me seriously.

"What is it that you were so anxious to see me about?" he asked.

"I wanted to discuss a particular situation with you. Now, if it was just me, I wouldn't be concerned since I feel I can take care of myself, but Detective McCallister seems concerned that there is a serious failure to monitor the situation at school and... ," I began, leading Mr. Phillips further and further down the little path I wanted him walking.

"Just what is this situation? I'm sure we can handle it in house," he asked, trying to calm me.

"Well, there's a certain younger student who's not quite as able to take care of himself as I am. He's only a freshman, and it seems he's getting beat up quite often, and nothing seems to be being done to protect him."

"And who is this young man," the principal asked, drawing his notepad out.

"Well, it's a bit of a delicate situation. The student doesn't want to report the problem because of the damage to his status here in school if his 'situation' were to become public knowledge," I said, trying to delicately broach the subject. "I understand that you are aware of his situation and you should also be aware of the difficulty that he's facing."

"Ah," he replied, leaning back in his chair and pressing his fingers together in front of his face, "young Mr. Brian Simmons."

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. However I quickly got over my own problems so I could address his.

"That's right, but the very fact that you'd reveal such personal information when I didn't actually reveal what I knew, or whether I knew the student, shows the root of this whole problem. You, sir, don't seem to have any concern for or knowledge of the problems the students are facing. The school is overrun by kids attacking and abusing one another, and you don't give a damn. A student comes to you with a serious social problem, and you can't even respect his privacy when his future at the school might be in jeopardy. Yes, the student is Brian Simmons, but you had no reason to reveal that information to me. You had no idea if I actually knew him, or if I was just fishing for information. Maybe I really do need to call Detective McCallister regarding this situation."

I'll admit I was getting a little hot under the collar. However, Principal Phillips sat bolt upright in his seat and his thin lips started to quiver.

"No, no, there's no need to do that. You're absolutely right. He deserves his privacy and the respect that the situation deserves. You say he's been being abused on a regular basis? He's never come forward to complain about it."

"And just how many students have?" I asked him. "Students only come forward if they feel safe doing so. I'm getting the distinct impression that they've never felt comfortable confiding in you. There seems to be a rampant problem in the school, and you just seem to be interested in sweeping it under the rug."

"Don't worry," he assured me, "we're serious about addressing this issue. If you could just tell me who it was that's been harassing him... ?"

"No, I don't think I'll relate that information, because if I do you'll just give them a quick detention or suspension, and the problems will continue. The difficulty is that everyone feels free to do whatever they feel like here, and no one is doing anything about maintaining order in the school. If I tell you who is hurting Brian, then they'll know why they're getting in trouble, and they'll come after him as soon as the heat is off. Either that, or someone else will do it for them. No, giving you names is just the easy way out and wouldn't solve anything. You need to fix this problem," I insisted, pounding my finger on his desk and staring him in the eyes, "and you need to fix it fast. You need to take control of your school before the local paper and the school board gets involved in the situation," I told him as I stood and stormed out of the office. I wouldn't even have bothered waiting for an excuse slip, but luckily Mrs. White already had it ready for me.

When I got to class, my physics class, the teacher glared at me for arriving so late. He was about to say something, but I guess he took in the expression on my face and decided against it and went back to his lecture. I sat down with my usual partner and simply stewed for the rest of the period.

'Gail?' I mentally called while the teacher was droning on.

'Yeah, Alex? What's up?'

'I think you may have to talk to Michelle again, we seem to have a situation here. I'm trying to rectify it, but I think she'd like to know what's happening, ' I told her.

'OK, tell me what's happening and I'll get it to her. I've got a few minutes to spare, ' she said.

So I proceeded to detail exactly what had happened yesterday, both about Tony, Darrell and me, and about the underlying problem with Brian. I then proceeded to describe how I'd just lost my temper and what I'd told the Principal.

'I'm proud of you, Alex. That couldn't have been easy to adapt and react like that. You did a very good job and I'm sure Mr. Phillips will be rushing trying to get his own house in order, but I'll be sure to keep Michelle informed. You know she's quite impressed with you don't you?'

'Hey, she's female. For some odd reason women are always impressed with me. I don't know whether what I do or say makes any difference anymore, but it's nice to know someone can intercede the next time the local cops decide to give me a hard time.'

'I wouldn't pass it off quite so easily if I were you, ' Gail told me. 'You have quite a presence, regardless of your abilities, and people react to that. But it sounds like you are still pretty steamed. I'll handle things from this end. Try to relax. We don't need you stressing yourself over this. You can only do what you can. Worrying about it won't help anyone.'

I agreed with her and we signed off.

As a result I was in too much of a mood to notice whether anyone was looking at me funny today. Instead I practiced controlling my breathing and trying to relax.

Lunchtime finally rolled around and I made sure to get to the lunchroom early, hoping to head off any trouble Cate and the girls might cause. Luckily they hadn't arrived yet, so I hurried into line to buy lunch. However, when I turned to see if Cate had arrived, I saw her. She walked straight to the table, avoiding lunch altogether, and proceeded to hug each girl there. I groaned, but I couldn't easily duck out of line now, so I resigned myself to what I was sure to face once I got there.

When I finally arrived at the table, I found Cate now hugging Kitty, who'd arrived at the table just before me. Cate glanced at me over her shoulder and mouthed, "It works." I groaned to myself and sat at my usual place in the center of the table between Chalise, Kitty and Cate. The other girls were all curious what Cate was doing, but I just told them it was one of her many science experiments. They seemed to accept that, as weak a story as it was, but they continued to look on curiously, so I knew they'd be asking her the first chance they got.

I immediately told Ai that I'd 'talked' to everyone at the house, even though I hadn't been home last night, and that we were on for dinner next week, and immediately all the girls got excited, jabbering away excitedly. I thought I'd created a monster, thinking only Ai and maybe a friend would want to go; not all these sundry girls. I started to hedge, but Cate jumped right in, stating that everyone here wouldn't be that much more than the normal household with all our sisters. It seemed everyone was excited to see where and how I lived, as in tasting Anh's dinner creations. I knew then that I'd be straightening up the house for quite a while beforehand. We made arrangements for next Tuesday.

We had several visitors today, beyond the normal crowd. First was Julia, who joined our crowd and talked enthusiastically to both Kitty and Chalise, though I couldn't tell whether they actually trusted her enough to tell her anything. But at least she was making an effort.

Next Brian stopped by and asked if he could join us. I said sure and introduced him all around. Kitty, Chalise and Cate all looked at me curiously, so I knew I'd have some explaining to do later, but I ignored it and made sure he got along with everyone. He was really a nice kid once he relaxed a little. I think he'd been carrying his burden a little too long, and I hoped he could soon trust our crowd enough to open up. However, I wasn't about to press him to open up in front of a crowd of perfect strangers.

Finally, Frank Hou walked up and said hello. He'd already eaten with his usual gang, and thought he'd stop by and see how we were doing, so we sat and talked for a bit, including him with our group. The various members of our little group would alternate, every day one or two going back to their old tables to keep up friendships and acquaintances, then returned again the next day, so I was never really sure who'd be there on any given day. I figured the only reason Ai was here was because I'd told her my family would decide about the dinner soon. Frank was the larger Chinese-American guy that initially stood up for me when Tony was first getting upset with me, and he was also there when I warned Tony by his locker. He told me a fair bit about himself, including that he was a third generation American, and that his father was an investment broker for one of the local banks. I wasn't sure if it was broker or just advisor, and I didn't want to insult him by asking. Of course we eventually got around to what the real story was about Monday's episode. Just as I started to answer everyone groaned in unison, and when Frank asked what was wrong they all started paraphrasing my well worn bylines about how it was nothing and no one got hurt. I laughed and said they had it down, so now I could quit telling it to everyone, and just tell them to ask the table. Frank got the idea though and dropped it. Since we were at it, I also extended the invite to him as well but he hedged about possibly having a scheduling conflict that day, so we dropped it.

I also noticed that Cate was quietly talking to Betty. I thought that was strange, because despite how much we had in common, she remained very quiet and reticent around us, so I couldn't imagine what they were talking about. It suddenly struck me what they might be talking about when I hear a loud, "What? Sure, you'd better believe I will!" from Betty. I knew the game was over before I even knew I was playing it. My sister had gone behind my back to line up yet another woman for me. I'd have to find out from her what she'd arranged, but there was only one thing I could imagine it to be.

I passed Tony later in the afternoon. He just snarled and mumbled under his breath how he was going to wait for all the attention to blow over, and "cut me down to size" when the opportunity developed. I guess the 'softer, gentler' side of him I had observed was gone, and my assisting him the other day was for naught. When I pressed him about what he was so upset about he just said it was because I'm "not just a pussy but a stupid, mother-fucking pussy" and quickly stalked off. I tried calling him to get him to reveal a bit more, but he just ignored me, so I finally called one last time, saying "Hey, come on back and at least tell me why I'm such a terrible human being?" But he just blended into the crowd, completely ignoring my offer of a partial discussion. I still had no idea why he disliked me, and there wasn't much I could do without knowing more.

What's more is that it didn't make sense that he wouldn't reveal his motivation. Guys don't threaten you unless they expect you'll kowtow to them and do what they want, so why wouldn't he at least tell me what he expected me to do after he tried to beat me up. I just couldn't make any headway on it.

Well, as busy as lunch was, I knew it wouldn't be anything compared to when we got home.

When I arrived at the car after school, I found the three girls all over each other. Luckily Allison had traded our cars, so we wouldn't be so crowded heading home.

"Man, that is SO neat! As unbelievable as one thing is about Alex, a couple of days later there's always something new weird about him," Kitty told her two cohorts.

"I mean, it's so odd. I can literally feel how you feel for Alex. I don't get anything else from you. Like you could want to rip my eyes out at the moment, but I can feel anything you feel regarding him. I can't wait to get home and try this out with everyone there."

"I think that's a good idea," I said, finally interrupting them. "I take it you heard the good news from last night? At least, I assume it's good news. Are you both still OK with it all?" I asked my two girlfriends.