Building a CAP Based FutureChapter 73 Off on Another Outing
- 2 years ago
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The rest of the afternoon proved to be great fun. We started out playing one of the larger linked racing games that allowed up to eight players. The first round went to Jason. After that we quickly discovered that Beatrice's real world experience helped her find the fastest route around many of the tracks. She went on to win six of the ten races we ran before everyone decided to scatter and try other games.
Ashley made sure to stay near me at all times. If we played a game that only allowed one person to play at a time she would stand behind me with her arms around my waist. At one point I tried a one person driving game and wound up with her sitting on my lap and facing me as I tried to maneuver. It was one of my worst performances ever on that game, but we left the booth with huge smiles on our faces.
Kathy hovered near Jessica. Her Victorian garb attracted a number of stares, but she stood proudly. I noticed a fond look in Jessica's eyes whenever she watched Kathy play.
Jason and Mrs. Roberts seemed to move between the other pairings as the interest in the games demanded. Mrs. Roberts struggled in the games that required one to shoot things, but was dominant in most of the racing games. Jason was one of the best at the shooting games. He was a popular partner in any of the cooperative games, although he could never seem to defeat me when I paired with Ashley nor Jessica when she paired with Kathy.
I had expected Millicent to only join for a short time and then wander away, but she stuck by all of us. She was consistently last in any competitive game, but after a couple of frowns early on, she relaxed and seemed to really enjoy the afternoon.
We had been in the arcade for over an hour and had regrouped at a large networked game where each player was the owner of a racehorse. You got a chance to feed and train your horse before each race and then would participate in races where up to sixteen people were linked in. I was bumbling along with a horse that usually finished in the middle of the pack and trying to decide if I wanted to talk Ashley into shopping when I heard someone shouting.
"Dude! Jason! Mark! What are you doing playing this game?" rang out over the sounds of the various games.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Walter weaving his way through the crowds. I waved to him and then turned back to watch the screen as the next race started.
Ashley was sitting to my right, guiding a horse that had been near the rear of the field for the last two races. Mrs. Roberts was to my left with Jason on her left. Walter walked up to stand behind Mrs. Roberts as the race began. "Dude, talk to me."
"Hard to do," Jason replied, although his voice could barely be heard over the ambient noise. "We need to watch the race."
"Dude," Walter whined. "What's so important about a stupid horse race? You should be playing the formula racing game or something."
"Did that," I said. "Mrs. Roberts beat us all."
"All?" Walter cried out. The skepticism in his voice was evident and caused Millie and Kathy to glance over their shoulders. They were sitting in front of me at their own control stations.
I had to hit a button to tell my jockey to push my horse as the race entered the backstretch. "Jason, me, Ashley, Jessica, Kathy, and Millicent," I said. "We all played against Mrs. Roberts and lost to her."
"But she's a mom!" Walter protested. His shout was loud enough that a couple of other players turned to gaze at the disturbance.
"Doesn't mean I can't win," Mrs. Roberts replied.
"Bea!" someone shouted over the growing din. I concentrated on the race for a moment. My horse had made a frantic charge on the backstretch and was now second as we came through the final turn. The leader was not a member of our group, and I hoped I would have my best finish and beat Ashley in this race.
Walter reached out and slapped my controls several times. "Dude, seriously, you can't play games like this!" he whined some more.
Walter's antics caused my horse to stumble and fall back into the pack. I whirled to glare at him as a tall, well-muscled man with red hair and moustache emerged from the crowd and walked up to Mrs. Roberts. He bent over to kiss her on the cheek as the race came to an end.
"Mark, what happened?" Jason asked as I watched Mrs. Roberts relax and lean back into the arms of the man who had just arrived.
"Walter decided to interfere," I said coldly. "I guess it's time we broke up the gaming."
"How about we go to the café and sit down?" Jessica said. "I'm willing to hang out longer. Um ... who's the man?" she asked as she turned around and stood up from her control station.
I hit a button on my control station that caused it to issue a card with the information on my horse. I could see the rest of our group doing the same. We gathered around the control station Mrs. Roberts sat at. "Oh," she said as she noticed that we had stopped playing. "I guess I was enjoying having Morgan here. Everyone, this is Morgan, he and I have been dating for a while. Morgan ... Oh my ... let's see if I can name everyone."
Mrs. Roberts hit the end game button and stood up while her card was being printed. She looked over at Jason and pointed. "This is Jason, my son. I'm sure you recognize him from the pictures."
Morgan nodded. "He's a handsome young man."
Jason smiled and stood a little straighter, and Mrs. Roberts spun around to look at Ashley. "And I know you'll recognize my daughter Ashley."
"A beautiful young woman," Morgan said with reverence as he looked at her.
Ashley blushed and ducked her head before grabbing my arm. Mrs. Roberts noticed and smiled. "And the young man she is hanging onto is Mark."
Morgan nodded. I noticed that Jessica had moved to my left. She had Kathy and Millicent standing at her shoulders. Mrs. Roberts looked at me; I could read a silent plea for help in her eyes.
I reached out and put a hand on Jessica's shoulder. "This attractive blonde is Jessica. The young lady in the elegant dress standing behind her is Kathy, her other friend is Millicent."
Jason playfully punched Walter. "And this loud and annoying one is Walter, one of our classmates."
Morgan smiled at everyone. "Hello everyone. It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Morgan Cunningham."
"Hello," everyone replied.
"Right," Morgan said as he turned to look at Mrs. Roberts. "I was a bit surprised when you sent me the text that you were here. What is up?"
"I thought I'd spend an afternoon with my children," Mrs. Roberts said. "I haven't done that enough in the past few years."
Morgan nodded. "That makes sense. Now that I'm here, what do you want to do?"
Mrs. Roberts looked at the assembled group. "I think pizza would work for everyone. Can you live with that?"
Morgan smiled. "I think we might be early enough to get one of the private rooms at Harrard's. Does everyone like their pizza?"
"I've never been there," Millie admitted. The rest of us were nodding in unison like a bunch of bobble head dolls.
Mrs. Roberts laughed. "Don't worry; they are the best in the state. Come along ... Well, if it's fine with the others. I guess Jessica should be the one to decide."
"No takebacks," Jessica called out. "Besides, I have to admit that Millie has been very nice today. If she can remember how to act like this in the future, I could almost see dragging her along."
"You're kidding!" Jason said. "She's been nasty to just about everyone in our class. How could you make that decision?"
Jessica glared at Jason. "She's trying. Look, you don't know Millicent as well as I do."
"I wouldn't want to," Jason said gruffly. He put a hand behind his back, and Walter immediately slapped it before smirking at Jessica.
I was shaking my head as Jessica continued. "You really are a jerk sometimes, Jason. What I'm trying to tell you is that Millie isn't a bad person. She's just a bit shy and very sheltered by her family. I guess her father is more than a bit paranoid about people approaching the family looking for money."
Millicent blushed and then stepped forward to stand in front of Jason. The young lady was looking at the ground, but determination seemed to pour from her as she faced my friend. "I know I haven't been very friendly," she said softly. "My father is always telling me to be very careful who I am friends with."
"Why?" Jason asked as he crossed his arms across this midsection. Walter continued to smirk behind him. I glanced over to see Mrs. Roberts leaning against Morgan and watching the exchange.
Millicent sighed. "My father inherited his wealth. I don't know how, but he is the sole member of the family that the trust fund kept paying after grandmother died. But some of his cousins have tried several times to get access. Mortimer's mother was a good friend of one of the cousins. She tried to force father into marrying her, and even fought to force him to pay extremely high child support once Mortimer was born."
"That must have been fun for your father," Morgan muttered sarcastically.
Millicent shrugged. "I don't know, I wasn't there. My father then met and married my mother, but the cousins have tried numerous times to force them to divorce. My mother won't go out anymore because any time she's not with father, the cousins start trying to make it look like she's plotting against him."
"Ouch," I said. "That isn't something I knew."
"I don't talk about it," Millicent said. "Jessica knows only because my father was willing to allow me to have her as a friend. He says her father is wealthy enough that she won't be interested in our money."
"And the endless pursuit of money once again makes someone unhappy," Kathy mused. 'I'm sorry Millicent. I never knew."
"No one did," Millicent said softly. "It's not something that's easy to talk about. I'm just lucky that Jessica understood."
"Hated it though," Jessica said with a smile. "It hasn't made it easy to be your friend."
Millicent smiled wanly. "At least you have been a friend. My father doesn't have any friends. The few he had all abandoned him because of his paranoia. It gets very lonely at home."
"And is probably a factor in your brother's ability to mess up your father's attempts to rescue a restaurant," I observed.
"Well, on that note," Morgan interrupted. "How about we continue this talk at Harrard's? I can take four people in my pickup."
Jessica nodded. "Kathy, Millie and I can ride with you. I'm sure you won't mind taking three lovely ladies to dinner."
Morgan shook his head. "Alas, I have already pledged my love to another. I shall happily escort you to dinner, but you will have to find your own men."
Ashley giggled. "That's so bad. Where did that come from?"
"Misspent youth in drama club," Morgan said with a smile. "I guess we can divide up. See you at Harrard's."
The man turned and started to walk out of the arcade. Mrs. Roberts looked at the rest of us. "You can come with us Walter. We should get going."
She turned and started walking away, heading to the exit of the arcade. I tapped Ashley on the shoulder, and we ran to catch up, slowing down when we were walking alongside Mrs. Roberts. Jason and Walter were behind us, complaining that Millicent was going to be eating with us.
Mrs. Roberts looked over at me. "You don't seem upset about Millicent joining," she observed.
"I never knew the whole story, but I guessed that she wasn't as bad as people made her out to be. Jessica has been a friend of hers for years," I replied.
"And you always accept Jessica's opinion?" Ashley asked dangerously.
"No," I replied firmly. "But I do respect her. She's probably the most grounded person in my class. I laugh a bit with Jason and our friends about her clique, but Jessica is never mean to them, and surrounds herself with a positive crowd. If Jessica sees something in Millicent, I won't discount it immediately."
Ashley smiled and then hugged me. "I should have known you'd thought about it."
I nodded. We had made our way to the exit of the mall. I moved ahead of the group to open and hold the door while Mrs. Roberts and Ashley exited. Jason ducked through just before I released the door. Walter was just behind him.
"So you are talking to that rich bitch Jessica?" he asked.
"She's a very nice person," I replied calmly.
"Dude!" Walter called out. "She hangs out at the same table all the time during lunch and lords it over that little swarm of friends. Half of them hang out with her because of her money."
"And I can bet you that Jessica is very aware of who is there only because she has money," I replied calmly. "She's not a fool. If you'd get to know her, you might be surprised."
"Why would I want to?" Walter barked. "She can't help me. Everyone knows that I'm planning on a career as a firefighter."
"Something I'm sure you will be quite good at," I agreed. We were most of the way across the parking lot, and I could see Ashley carefully climbing into the minivan's front seat ahead of us.
"I wanted shotgun!" Jason said with a curse.
"But we have Walter here," I reminded him. "We should pick his brain and find out if he's heard anything new."
Walter laughed. "Me? My mother had me on lockdown at home for the past three hours. She was convinced that some madman was going to be stalking the city looking for people to kill."
"You would have been safe," I said. "After all, who would consider you a threat? I heard that Bart was after the girls who wouldn't date him and the boys who did get the dates."
"You did?" Jason whispered to me as we reached the minivan. Walter climbed in first. He slid down the rearmost bench seat leaving the middle bench empty.
"It does make some sense," I said as I jumped into the minivan. I slid down the middle bench until I was able to lean against the body of the van.
"Get in and close the door," Mrs. Roberts said. "I'd like to arrive at the same time Morgan does. He's a man who likes to see people show up on time."
"Who was that man anyways?" Walter asked. "I didn't know you were dating Mrs. Roberts."
"It's not exactly your business," Mrs. Roberts admonished Walter. "Morgan and I met at a café nine months ago, and we started meeting during the day to talk. He's a successful contractor and appears to be quite interested in me, but I have no idea why."
"Why wouldn't he be?" I asked. "Mrs. Roberts you are a beautiful woman. It only makes sense that a man is interested."
Walter made some gagging sounds from the back seat as Jason slid the door closed and then settled in next to me. My friend looked over his shoulder. "Please," he said. "Let's not insult my mother."
"Why not?" Walter asked with a slight sneer. "What's so special about Morgan?"
I sighed. "Walter, you do realize she's the one driving and paying for the pizza. If you want to continue being a jerk, she just might leave you at the side of the road. Now I can sense that you are upset, but insulting people never solves anything."
"I'm grounded," Walter snapped.
Jason and I looked at each other. "Um ... you are in a minivan going out to get pizza," Jason said slowly. "How is that grounded?"
"Not for today?" Walter whined, "My mother said I could have today as a last day of freedom. After today I have to run home right after school and can't go to any friend's houses. She's still panicking about what happened at Central High and now doesn't want me out of her sight."
"But you were allowed out today?" I asked.
"She said that there is so much police activity right now that no one will try anything," Walter said. "She's sure that once the media goes away there will be ten killers on the loose, and all of them will be stalking her oldest son."
"And I thought your parents were crazy," Jason said to me.
I shrugged. Ahead of me I could see Ashley slip her left hand back while keeping her eyes forward. I leaned over and took her hand in mine giving it a gentle squeeze. Jason shifted over to block Walter's view as I spoke. "My parents are just a bit too involved in my father's work," I said. "They tend to ignore anything that won't have an impact on that portion of their lives."
The rest of the night was not very exciting. Lenore was inside the restaurant for at least ten minutes. We sat quietly while we listened to the cries of anger coming from within the restaurant. The patio was not an exit, so we saw no other customers except the two women who had collapsed out on the patio shortly after the barrier had been removed. What we could hear made it clear that several married women had tried unsuccessfully to be picked up, and their husbands were not pleased. Lenore...
When Ashley led me from the television room that night, I think I finally realized that my thoughts about just how crazy things might become had been wrong. Just the rumor of and few released reports about the Sa'arm invasion had been enough to get four hundred women into that room based on a very faint promise of protection. They had submitted to a televised humiliation on little more than a rumor and trust in the government. I was determined not to let the show upset me too much, but that...
Jason was holding up his CAP card. Leticia exploded out of her chair with a loud cry of pure joy. She tackled Jason. They fell to the floor as the young woman covered his face with kisses. Ashley looked down at the couple. She kicked playfully at her brother's leg. "You scared us!" "I scared myself," Jason admitted. "Even knowing that I should score well, I was stunned by how often I couldn't answer one of the questions quickly. And the scenes I had to move through. You ever try to...
I allowed Jason to lead me into the training center. We found Ashley standing near the service counter, chatting merrily with the young woman standing there. I was surprised to see that the woman was wearing what looked like a combination of military uniform and space suit. Ashley noticed us and waved. "Mark! Lieutenant Marakova here tells me that she's received transfer orders," Ashley called out. Jason and I walked up to meet the woman. "You're not going to be here longer?" I asked...
Ashley jumped behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders. I reached up with my right hand to stroke her right arm. "Ashley, I don't think that's helping," I said. Ashley's mother glared at me, but quickly turned to concentrate on her daughter. "Ash, why are you hiding behind Mark? You came here to get tested. I'm not going to punish you for your score." "I agreed to have Mark take me," Ashley said. "My score isn't good enough, but his is." "What?" Beatrice squawked....
Becky picked up most of us. Matilda and Kelsey were riding home with us for the first time all week. Becky noticed as they jumped into the minivan. "I have extra passengers," she said. "I'm glad I didn't bring Angelique. She wanted to come" "Awww," Kelsey and Matilda said in unison. "We wanted to see her." "I haven't gotten to play with her all week," Kelsey added. "You choose to go home with Jessica," Jason pointed out. "Well," Kelsey said. "I don't go home with...
I stood up and walked toward the door, leaving my unfinished drawing on the easel. Jessica gave a cry of annoyance, as I walked away. I heard her easel crash to the floor behind me as I left the building. Outside, I walked a few feet from the door and then turned around. A couple minutes later Jessica stormed out of the classroom. She walked right up to me and slapped me across the face. "How can you embarrass me like that!" she hissed. I said nothing. Instead I pointed to a bench set far...
Sergeant O'Malley stepped to the center of the room and looked at me. "Son," he said. "You have to be one of the bravest fools I've ever met. Did you just tell this man that you wanted to make a sex slave out of his daughter?" "No," I replied firmly. "I told him that I would protect his daughter and love her. In my home she will be a partner, someone who can assist me in raising our children and providing a happy and enriching environment for all who live there." The Sergeant...
The incident with Hillary left everyone a bit skittish for the rest of the trip. Sunday we packed the vans early and headed for home. Lenore was a bit worried that I would blame Angelique for some reason. I kept telling her that it seemed more a case of bad timing and a desperate woman. The others seemed to feed off of my indifference. The initial drive back to the hotel had been tense as everyone in the van looked over their shoulders. I had taken the front passenger seat, but made sure to...
Jason and I walked over and sat on the ground with our teammates. One of the sophomores looked over at me. I realized that it was Derek Goodman, one of the starting defensive tackles. He looked over at Maurice. "You brought a couple of freshmen over." "Why not?" Maurice replied. "They put more effort into practice than most of the sophomores. I expect them to make a difference on the field." "Not if Lucas and Terrence have their way," the other sophomore said. I realized it was...
The varsity game ended in a huge loss for the upperclassmen. The crowd actually started to get uneasy with half of the fourth quarter still to play. Several recent graduates and parents started shouting at the players, cursing them for their poor play. It got bad enough that the faculty advisor for the cheerleaders sent them away from the field with two minutes left in the game. The exodus of the cheerleaders signaled to Morgan that it was time for our group to make its way out of the...
Fortunately, the rest of the protest was rather peaceful. My brother stopped the few anarchists who had shown up hoping to use the protest as cover for some robbery attempts. Jason, Ashley, and I found that someone had already warned people on the route of the march. Buildings were closed, and many had placed boards over their windows to protect them. The three-mile march proved to be no more strenuous than a weekend jog. Jason was the first to notice that the marchers were having trouble...
The next two hours were a blur of exercise and pain. Sergeant O'Malley never broke a sweat as he first had everyone run around the clearing while he promised to train us to fight and then he proceeded to show us a series of dirty tricks and holds we could use to disable an opponent. When Jessica, Jason, Morgan and I were too tired to continue, he had us lay down while he took the ladies around and showed them how to break free from any hold a person might try. It was exhausting, but at the...
The game ended up being a bit of a snooze. Carolina's defense created three touchdowns before the second quarter was half over and then cruised to the ending. The halftime show was loud, but otherwise forgettable. Angelique and Erica both ended up falling asleep during the third quarter. Angelique climbed into her mother's lap to sleep. I ended up with Erica in my lap. I had spent almost no time with the young lady, but she was smiling in her sleep. Thomas tried to stay awake. He...
The rout of Constance seemed to signal an end to any disturbances for lunch. Maurice hung around for a while at the other table in the courtyard, staring at us, but saying nothing as Jason and I cuddled with our girls and listened to Jessica bragging about how good the freshman cheerleaders would be this year. I had to laugh at that since Kelsey, Matilda, Kathy and Millicent had all made the cheerleading squad. Jason seemed a bit preoccupied, but volunteered nothing about his brief...
The rest of the day at school passed quickly. Jason and I sat with Julio and Walter at lunch. Jason spent most of the time trying to cheer up Walter. I said little, but did discover that Julio and Walter were going to attend a one-day seminar that was reported to help young men improve their scores. Both had scheduled tests for the upcoming Tuesday afternoon. Jason and I both offered to walk with them to the training center. Jessica did stop by during lunch. She teased Julio a bit. Her...
The rest of that first week of school quickly established a number of patterns. It started that night when Jason and Letty arrived home just after eight. Both were smiling. Neither one was willing to fully explain what had occurred over the dinner they had with Jana, however, the conversation that evening was interesting. It started when Jason knocked on the door at the top of the basement stairs. Ashley, Lenore, Angelique and I were downstairs playing a game of Chutes and Ladders. I had...
After the morning break we had to head to German. Jason was clearly unhappy with the prospect of seeing Miss Kirke, if that was her real name now that we had discovered her previous occupation. However, Letty convinced him that missing class would only alert her to the fact that her activities had been discovered. My sister grabbed his arm as we walked from the courtyard. "I'll protect you," she whispered just loud enough for Jason and me to hear. "I'm sure Kelsey and Kathy will help as...
The television switched back to the same newsroom we had been viewing earlier. The same anchor now had a visible stack of notes in front of him, but was looking at a teleprompter. "Hello again, this is Martin Sherman, and I'm anchoring the lead-in to tonight's Defense Forces Special as some people are now calling it. This show is here to demonstrate how someone with a six point five CAP or higher will select his companions. We have been told that this is actually more organized than most...
My fears for my father's reaction proved to have understated just how mad he would be. The man destroyed every wedding picture he got his hands on and ripped all of my mother's clothing to shreds that night after Mrs. Roberts brought Matti and me home. Ashley did whisper to me that she had left her phone number with Lenore. The sad woman had tried her best to do a great job as a waitress while the group of us ate in stunned silence. We heard nothing from her for the rest of the week, and...
I muted my cell phone. "Everyone is fine with this correct?" I asked. Letty giggled. "It sounds like you'll have fun. I'll stay out for the most part. I'm Jason's sex slave and should be seen naked and at his feet." Ashley laughed. "Oh, that's so wrong its right. I agree though. Mark, it should be mostly you with Jason, Jessica, and Morgan offering the most support. We already know it will probably be about you." "This song is not about me," I said firmly. "I never thought...
My weekend passed quickly. Not from a time perspective, but from a feeling that I never was able to give Ashley, Lenore, Angelique, Kelsey and my friends all the attention and time they deserved. A huge part of me was feeling a bit frustrated when we returned to school on Monday for Homecoming week. We had heard that the freshman were going to have a float for the homecoming parade and game on Friday, but Jessica and I had been unable to find out who was organizing the efforts. Jason...
By some miracle there were no bodies on the ground when the field vanished, and the crowd dispersed. Even the boy who had attacked me managed to crawl away to receive medical attention. There still was plenty of emotional trauma. Several young men ran out of the restaurant with tears pouring down their faces. Mall security stopped several of the men. Most were shirtless and two were carrying a collection of women's clothing. It soon became clear that the boys had lost girlfriends to the...
I let everyone know about the reappearance of my brother. No one was very worried about him. Mike had proved to be a coward. The only worry was that he might try to catch one of the girls alone. Morgan used some contacts he had through his construction work and a week later gave everyone in our group pepper spray canisters. School continued. The teachers were increasingly distracted though, and the lessons suffered. Some of the teachers spent most of their time trying to chat up the students...
The next morning, I found myself wrapped up on my now unzipped sleeping bag with a young girl hanging on each side of me. I was dressed in boxers for sleep while my sister and her best friend had found long t-shirts they used to cover their bodies. They each had a hand on my chest and my hands were resting on their hips as we cuddled under a blanket. Absently I gave each of them a few tender rubs before I sat up and turned the alarm off. Kelsey shifted and growled in annoyance, but neither...
My three morning classes were quiet. The teachers seemed a bit distracted, and the students just wanted to whisper about the President's announcement. Most students were speculating on the special show to be on television in two weeks. No one seemed to have a clear idea of what to expect. I stayed silent as the others continued to gossip. It was not due to a lack of interest in the possibilities. My issue was that I wanted to have facts rather than rumor, and other than Jessica, there was...
Jason lived up to his promise in the second half. He not only recorded two more sacks, but on the last one, stripped the football and then managed to recover the bouncing ball and run it in for a touchdown. Everyone on the defense was patting his helmet when he walked over to the sideline still carrying the football. "Take it easy," Coach Grisham told him. "There are only two minutes left in the game. We'll let the backups play." I walked over to the benches. Jason followed me. He...
My thoughts after the pickup proved true. Ashley and Lenore rarely let me leave their sight during the days leading up to the New Year. Jason and Jessica had the same issue. A simple plan to go for a run in the park quickly became an organized march as their companions demanded to go with them. Becky was the worst. She clung to Morgan. Beatrice had called their employer and tried to explain the issues, but was not sure she was successful. She succeeded in getting Becky a week off without...
I held Ashley close. There was a musical chime coming from the backpack at her feet. She giggled and looked down at it. "Mark, that's my cell phone. Can you grab my bag?" I shifted to the left so I could use my left hand to reach the bag. My right hand Ashley held pinned against her pussy. She was rocking gently against my hand as I picked up her bag and lifted it to the table. Once it was on the table Ashley dug through a side pocket to find her phone. "It's Mom!" she exclaimed as...
It must have been only a moment, but I came awake with my arms wrapped around Ashley. She was lying there senseless. I pushed my body off hers and rolled to the side. Once we were lying next to each other, I began offering loving kisses. "Will it always be like that?" Ashley asked with a sigh. "I wish it will be," I replied as I held her. "That was just about perfect." "I know," Ashley said as she put her arms around me and squeezed me. "I never expected that." "I love you," I...
Ashley and I were quiet on the drive home. We were pulling into the driveway at my place when Ashley quietly asked. "Mark? Should we have offered her a chance to leave Earth with you?" "No," I said firmly. "There was no connection. Both of us think Kelsey is sweet and adorable. With Lenore it seemed like we came to the same conclusion about her sadness. And we know they get along with each other. I liked that Connie was willing to help when I had to intervene in the fight at the store,...
Chastity followed me as I walked over to the table. When I stopped to look around the room I could see a very nervous look on her face. “Problem?” I asked. “That orientation makes the ship seem very complex,” Chastity said. “It is. It has to be in order to allow us to travel into space,” I replied. “But I can’t even understand why I have the CAP to be a citizen. I always hated fighting. My parents were always fighting. I got into acting because there was a small theater group in my...
The rest of the weekend was in some ways idyllic. After we finished eating the pizza, Mrs. Roberts drove us home, stopping to drop off Walter. Jessica called her father, and had one of his employees come to pick up Kathy, Millie, and her. They promised to try to spend more time with us. Mr. Cunningham told us he would be showing up later before driving away from Harrard's. I rode home with Mrs. Roberts. Ashley let me know that she was not excited by the idea of spending a night in a cold...
"Your father is trapped in the Ukraine?" Becky asked. "That's what he told me last night," I said. "He said some kind of intelligence agency arrested Valery and he lost some of the paperwork required to leave." "Why the tour then?" Jason asked. "I guess the band owes the unions some favors," I said. "My father said they would make sure he can travel back here with the band. Supposedly they use a choir and he'd be part of it when they fly here." "Your father sings?" Jason...
Morgan's question stuck with me for the next two hours as we wandered the mall. Beatrice had handed out cash to everyone when we first arrived and told us to spend it as we pleased. Angelique had been given a twenty and begged to be shown where she might purchase a teddy bear. I found a children's store and took Angelique inside as my friends scattered throughout the mall. Angelique wandered the entire store, gazing longingly at a couple of the dolls before heading over to an area filled...
We loaded the suitcases onto the bus quickly. Once the bus was full, I informed the driver that we were going to head to breakfast. He said that he would park around the corner. Maurice, Jason, and I headed over to the restaurant. We arrived at the entrance and found that the rest of our group had already been seated. The hostess agreed to lead us to the private room where everyone was. I lagged behind the others as the hostess led us through the restaurant. Several of the patrons looked at...
We found the ramp and began making our way up the spiral. Ashley had her phone to her ear. "Yes, I know about it. I was filming ... No, I didn't put my video on YouTube." "Sooner," Lenore and I said in unison. "Look, we're trying to get to our seats," Ashley said. "No one here is hurt or anything." "No one?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder. Lenore giggled. "Morgan told us about how this security company has been known to try to shake down some of the luxury box ticket...
It was about nine when I finished my studying for the night. I was preparing a list of food items that could be hidden in the tree house when my father came home. He was shouting about untrustworthy politicians and corrupt bureaucrats. It was clear that the conference call had not provided the results he and his friends had hoped for. I went to sleep listening to him rant at Mother. The next morning Father was sitting at the breakfast table when I came down after my shower. He glared at me...
The ground under the treehouse was hard and my right ankle protested the abrupt landing. I fell forward, putting my hands on the dirt, and dropping the bag containing the washcloths. A small cloud of dust billowed up. I inhaled some of the dirt and started coughing. Above me I could hear Ashley laughing. She waited for me to stop coughing and then shouted. "I'll take stupid human tricks for fifty." "It was fun!" I protested as I stood up and began brushing dirt from my shirt and...
Ashley was the first to exit the mall, but I caught up to her as we came around the building and could finally see the small seating area for the outdoor café. Her mother was sitting quietly at a table sipping from a cup as she scanned something on a tablet. We could see Jason approaching from the other side. All three of us managed to reach the table at the same time. Mrs. Roberts did not look up. "I set up a pizza delivery back at the house in forty-five minutes," she told us as she...
The system was in standby as I turned the chair back to the front. I reached down to call up a replay of the engine repair when I felt a hand grasp the back of my chair. “Yes?” I asked. “Is it always like that?” Captain Prescott asked. “The simulations are supposed to be the absolute worst possible sequence,” I replied. “And the time is compressed a bit. I really doubt we could enter a system get into a fight, scan a planetoid as well as a Sa’arm controlled planet and escape in just under...
I waited for the door to close and then released a massive sigh. Tatyana immediately put her arms around me. “That was hard on you,” she observed. I feel like I’m the only sheep in a room filled with hungry wolves. There are quite a few members of the crew that would do their best to replace me if they thought I’d fail,” I replied as I stood up. “Never let them see you sweat?” Tatyana said. “Basically,” I agreed as I stood up. “AI, you can power down this room until the next training...
The next two hours were spent quietly monitoring the ship’s systems as we continued to crawl towards Yulara and the orbital station. Blaine and I said little as we watched the one prototype ship circle its target. Only two more attack runs were attempted and one confirmed Kelsey’s comments about the weapon’s short range. The ship fired from what appeared to be about twice the distance as the first run only for every shot to fade away before they reached the moon. Blaine repeated his thanks...
The instant the door closed, Ashley jumped up and waved to me. "Come take a seat Mark." "Ladies should be the ones sitting," I said carefully as I walked over and gave her a hug. "Humor me?" Ashley said coyly. I was surprised by how childish and adorable she sounded. She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, so I sat down in the chair she had just left. The moment my butt was on the cushion Ashley jumped into my lap and put her arms around my neck. "This is a much...
After such a rough start the rest of the vacation went surprisingly smoothly. Miki proved to be a huge asset. She knew places to visit that we might never have thought of. There was a small feeling of loss after Liz and Cassidy were picked up. None of us knew them well, but they had been friends. Her short tale of the conditions at the pickup had definitely impressed everyone. Maurice was at times fawning on Jessica. Fortunately the young lady just laughed and then had her minions pounce on...
My friends were relaxed at school. Ashley, Lenore, and Miki sat together at brunch and lunch, giggling. Matti was sitting on Jessica's lap during our breaks. My sister was still timid, but she clearly felt safe in Jessica's arms. The others tried to keep me from worrying too much about the meeting after school, but I still obsessed a bit over my father's tone. I knew he was intensely interested in finding a way to thwart the CAP system and worried that he would demand that I take him. I...
I watched my father until he finally vanished behind the fence enclosing the backstage area. Once he was out of sight I heaved a huge sigh of relief. "That was intense," Jason said. "I thought you were going to have to kill him." "I thought I might have to as well. He is going to try again if he can think up a way," I said. "So what do we do now?" Lenore asked. I reached into a pocket and pulled out a huge bundle of tickets. "We do have tickets to see the concert," I said. "But...
The next two weeks blurred together. Every morning was spent out at the park. Jason, Jessica and I always tried to get some exercises in first before we joined the others in a series of sports related activities. Soccer and kickball were the most common but we tried ultimate Frisbee and touch football as well. Sergeant O'Malley showed up occasionally and would drill us in unarmed combat techniques before having everyone run laps. At first the laps were small, but each time the Sergeant...
Janet Ballion knew she was blessed and lucky. She was born upper-middle class, was surrounded by a great support system filled with friends and family who loved her. The college girl was also a highly intelligent extrovert. Her looks were alluring and the people who were drawn to her stayed because of her charisma. The list of why she was as lucky as someone who had a horseshoe and found a penny right before hanging upside down to kiss a stone in Ireland just kept going. Even with...
We returned to the lobby in time to meet the others as they started to board the vans. Vlad came over and gave Tatyana one last hug. He promised to tell her sister what had happened and to bring her sister into the troupe should she want to come to America. Several other troupe members also came by for a last goodbye. Tatyana was bubbly on the drive back to the house. She asked many questions of Miki and Lenore while playfully ignoring Ashley, but finding ways to answer her when talking to...
The sunny skies and warm air were attracting more and more people to the park as the day wore on. After lunch, Ashley, Lenore and I decided to avoid the growing lines on the slides and spend several hours in the wave pools and on the endless river. We woke Angelique and spent the next three hours splashing each other as we explored the park. We stayed at the park until the setting sun and diminishing light signaled that it was time for the park to close. Morgan gathered everyone up and led...
“Captain Parker,” A voice growled out. “Dare I ask why you are in port today?” “Corsica ended its last patrol yesterday. The orders we received just before leaving Crucibleat were to visit several nearby systems and look for signs of Sa’arm incursions. We found none, although there was one system that my officers and I believe would be quite interesting to them. We left a warning buoy in the system as a way to provide advanced warning should an incursion occur. Our final orders were to visit...
Major Greenfeld was standing outside the door. He looked at me and shook his head. “You are just fifteen?” he asked. “I might be sixteen now,” I replied. “I’ve lost track of how many days have passed and which day we are on anymore. But I also don’t worry about it much.” “You don’t?” he asked as we started walking back to Corsica. “My age does not determine how well I can do my job,” I said. “No, but it does determine how others will view you,” Major Greenfeld said. “At least initially....
Once I sat down in the captain’s chair I found that the sleep training had shown me the location of every button. I tested out the ones activating the holographic data screens just in front of the chair. They came up, but showed no data. “AI? Is there a problem with the simulator?” I asked. “No simulation has been chosen,” the AI said. “Can we set up for a simple cruise in the Crucibleat system? We haven’t heard much about the system or the planet we will be on,” I replied. “Activating...
I knew of the grove and tree houses along Milford, but this was my first time looking past the road. The few times I had come out with friends, we had concentrated on the houses on the far side of the street. I scanned the trees ahead, watching for tree houses as Ashley and I moved away from the road. At first I saw nothing more than a couple of wooden platforms in the branches of a few of the bigger trees. Most of the trees on this side of the road were young and lacked the branches to hold...
Miss Kirke's revelations were the only thing that marred the dance and all of homecoming weekend. The girls met us at the decked out gym dressed in elaborate Victorian gowns. It meant that dancing to the faster songs was pretty much impossible, but the slow dances were great fun. Before the night was done, Kathy even won an award for the best costume. The next morning, Jessica reminded us that she was going to have her birthday on the upcoming Wednesday. Everyone in our group wanted to be...
I was surprised how much fun we all had. Lauren ended up spending the last hour coaxing many of us onto some of the intermediate slopes in the area. Erica was fearless on the slopes. Ashley, Jason, and I were the next group to start challenging the harder slopes. To my surprise Milli often joined us, although she was very tentative if there were moguls. Maurice struggled with stopping and turning. He often crossed his skis and wound up crashing. Still he kept smiling and was willing to race...
It was nearly twenty-four hours later that we finally arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport. Angelique was more than a little anxious. She really wanted to get out and run. Jason and I had done what we could to keep her entertained on the overnight flight, but it was clear she needed a bit of time just to run around. Of course, the first thing we had to do after arriving was go through customs. Liz, Morgan, Jessica, Jason, and I talked about this as we walked through the skyway and headed for...