Building a CAP Based FutureChapter 36 More School Hijinks
- 3 years ago
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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 showed up he would find a larger and larger area to run in. The day before our planned trip to the waterslide park, the route we ran was nearly three quarters of a mile per lap and Brandon expected six laps from each of us.
The letter from my mother sat for two days and then Matilda and I met over lunch. I read the full letter to her before we both composed long replies. Mine proved to be a journal of everything that was happening in my life. I wrote about my attachment to Ashley and my growing attachments to Lenore and Kelsey. I informed Mother of Father's trip out of the country and the troubles he found himself in. The only one I did not write about was Mike. He had called home once, but I answered and when I told him about Father's predicament Mike immediately hung up the phone. I had not heard from him since.
Matilda's letter was three pages. I did not ask my sister what she wrote. She had been pensive as she worked on the letter, chewing on her pencil and erasing many lines before finally coming up with a version she was happy with. When I told her that it might be weeks before we heard from Mother again, she hugged me. "I'm just happy that you are still willing to try," she whispered. The next day I dropped an express mail envelope off at the post office.
Lenore started smiling a lot more often. She was still very skittish about sex and my commitment. Beatrice did take the time to drive her to a health clinic so she could obtain a prescription for birth control pills. The security of knowing that the chances of pregnancy had been addressed helped her relax. I still found that I had to spend time just holding Lenore to help calm her great fears.
Finally, the Thursday of our trip to the waterpark arrived. Matilda and Kelsey had spent the night at home with me as Kyle refused to take a day off work to go and Katelyn was not allowing him out of her sight. The girls woke me at three in the morning by jumping onto my bed and causing it to shake.
"Wha?" I mumbled groggily as I grabbed at my pillow.
"Get up!" Matilda shouted. "We need to have breakfast. We want to be at the park when it opens."
"It opens at seven thirty and is only a two hour drive away," I protested.
"Breakfast!" Kelsey demanded.
"Fine," I muttered. "Leave me to get dressed and I'll cook up something."
"Bacon!" Matilda commanded. "You'll cook up bacon!" The bed stopped shaking as the girls got off and started to walk to my door.
"You'll get fat!" I pointed out.
I crawled from under the blankets and sat on the edge of my bed for a moment. I discovered that Matilda had already been in my room as a small pile of clothes was sitting on my desk chair. I could see my blue swimming trunks on top.
I stumbled to the door to make sure it was closed and then put the trunks on. The rest of the pile included a light t-shirt and socks. Finally Matilda had found an old backpack of mine and filled it with a spare pair of shorts, some underwear and several towels.
I finished dressing and picked up the bag to take downstairs. I only paused long enough to add my wallet to the backpack so I would have some money for emergencies. As I opened the door to my room I could hear a conversation from downstairs.
"He won't like this," Kelsey said.
"It's cute, he'll love it," Matilda responded.
"But it covers so much," Kelsey said mournfully. "Ashley and Lenore have suits that barely cover anything."
"They won't be wearing those," Matilda said. "Those suits wouldn't survive a trip down one of the waterslides."
"They still have suits that show more than I will," Kelsey responded.
"They are adults and you are not," I said as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
Kelsey had been sitting in a chair with her back to the stairs. She stood up and whirled around the chair. Her long black hair spun away from her body. She was wearing a black bikini. The top was more of a cropped tank top than the usual bra, and the bottoms had a high waist and low leg holes. It still was surprisingly attractive and I smiled as I set my bag on the stairs.
"You hate it," Kelsey said when she realized I was looking at her swim suit.
"I like it," I replied. "Its right for you. Now, I'm supposed to be cooking breakfast and I think you both wanted parsnips."
"Bacon!" Matilda contradicted me.
"So fried bananas with barley," I replied as I walked past Kelsey.
Kelsey threw her arms around me. "Bacon!" she cried.
I returned her hug and whispered in her ear. "Patience my love."
Matilda stomped her foot. "We want bacon!"
"Fine," I said as I released Kelsey. "Brussel sprouts, Broccoli and Botulism, coming up."
Matilda grabbed me by the ear as I tried to walk past her. I noticed she had a pink bikini of very similar cut to Kelsey's. "If you do not have bacon frying in a pan in the next five minutes," My sister whispered in a monotone. "I shall sneak into your room at night and tie you to the bedposts."
"Ashley might like that," I said with a smirk as I knocked her hand away and ran to the refrigerator.
I opened the refrigerator and searched the shelves. I found a brand new package of bacon along with some fresh peppers, mushrooms and eggs. I pulled these items out and checked the pantry cupboard. There I found a fresh loaf of bread along with a small onion and a can of spam. I pulled these out and went looking for a couple of frying pans. One for the bacon was easy, but it took me a few minutes to dig out the omelet pan.
"What's all that for?" Matilda asked.
"Damn, I forgot to check for shredded cheese," I muttered. "Matilda, can you check the refrigerator for shredded cheese. I need to cut the peppers, onions and spam."
"What's all this for?' Matilda asked again.
"Omelets and toast," I said. "I thought a breakfast of just bacon was a bad idea."
"Oh," Matilda said. "Can I help?"
"Find the toaster and some jam," I said. I pulled out the cutting board and started placing the mushrooms and peppers down on the counter. Mother had always kept a knife block near the cutting board and I was able to grab a sharp knife and begin dicing the vegetables.
Kelsey moved into the room, looking at what I was doing. "You can cook?" she asked.
"Not too well," I admitted. "But I've cooked up a few omelets. Don't expect this to be restaurant grade though.
The two peppers made a small pile of cut pieces. I peeled the outer skin of the onion and started cutting. Kelsey backed away while wiping her eyes. "That burns," she complained.
"That happens when you cut an onion," I said. I used only half of the onion, finding a storage container to keep the other half before moving to open the tin of spam.
"Why spam?" my sister asked. She had set up the toaster and was placing slices of bread into it.
"Ham is a popular addition to omelets," I said. "Did you get the cheese?"
"I left it by the stove," Matilda said.
"Good," I said as I used some plastic bowls to hold my omelet ingredients. I moved to the stove and set everything on the counter next to the bag of shredded cheese before turning on two of the burners.
After getting the pans on the burners I started cooking breakfast. The first two omelets I made were filled with peppers, mushrooms and cheese. I placed these on plates and brought them over to Matilda and Kelsey. They begged for me to bring bacon. I checked on the progress of the bacon before starting a third omelet, this one filled with peppers, cut up spam, onions and cheese.
My omelet finished cooking just as the bacon finished frying. I left my omelet on the counter while I pulled the bacon from the stove and drained the grease into a small metal can. There were eight pieces of bacon, I put two on my own plate and then gave three each to Kelsey and Matilda. Then I turned off the stove and brought my plate over to the table so I could eat breakfast.
"These are good," Kelsey said. She had a mouthful of omelet and was smiling.
Matilda set her fork down. "New rule, Mark cooks breakfast every morning."
I laughed. "You realize that it will most likely be your job to do that in the future. I get a feeling that concubines have to prepare the meals. Perhaps we should have you learn."
"You wouldn't!" Matilda said.
"No," I pondered. "I think it is a good idea. I'll talk to Beatrice later today. She can organize classes for every girl who is interested. I'm sure Ashley will strive to please me with every meal she cooks."
Kelsey and my sister frowned. They ate the rest of their meals in silence as they watched me enjoy my own breakfast. When Kelsey finished she took her plate to the sink and rinsed it down. Then she walked over and carefully slipped around me to sit on my lap as I chewed on the last piece of bacon on my plate.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For?" I asked.
"You're right, I should have cooked breakfast. But I don't know how," Kelsey said with a sniffle. "I'm going to lose you aren't I. You won't wait until I test now."
"I'd be a bad man if I dropped you over something so little," I said. "Now go and get your towel and a change of clothes ready. It's early, but I'll clean up the kitchen and we can walk to Ashley's place. Hopefully, they will be awake."
Matilda put her hands on my shoulders. "You stay there. Kels and I will do the dishes. As for people being awake at Ashley's, I'd be amazed if Angelique let them go to sleep last night. She's looking forward to this trip."
"I'm not sure how much she can do," I said. "She's a bit small for most of the slides."
"We'll take her on the rides" Kelsey said. "She can't do most of the slides, but we can take her on the lazy river or into the wave pools. So we'll allow her to ride with us."
"There also is an area for making sand castles," Matilda said. "Angelique will love that."
"Fine," I said. "Begone wench, and clean my dishes. I must ponder my latest scheme to conquer the heart of a fair damsel."
"Oh? You hoping to find another damsel in distress?" Kelsey asked.
"If it's the invisible one you are holding in your hands, certainly," I said with a smirk.
The two girls groaned and walked into the kitchen to start cleaning up. I walked over to Mother's old computer desk and powered up the system. It took a few minutes to check the various e-mail accounts. There was a message from Walter, complaining that Susan, one of the few girls who had appeared interested in him near the end of the school year, had abruptly left on a vacation and now was not answering her cell phone. He did not ask for a reply, so I did not send one and shut down the computer just as the girls emerged from the kitchen.
"Done," Matilda said. "Let's go Mark."
I stood up and walked over to my bag. As I picked it up I looked at the girls in their bikinis. "Did you pack sunscreen?" I asked.
"What?' Kelsey replied.
"Sunscreen," I said while shaking my head. "I'll get it. Mom always stored it in the main bathroom."
I went into the bathroom and pulled out two tubes of waterproof sunscreen. They were easy to slip into my bag and then I returned to the entry hall. Matilda had already opened the door and was waiting on the porch with her keys in her hand.
"No more stalling," she ordered as I stepped through the doorway.
My sister closed the door and then got behind me and pushed me down our walkway to the sidewalk. There she claimed my right hand while Kelsey took my left and the two girls started to pull me toward Ashley's house. The sky was still dark, although I could see a faint glow to the East as we walked.
I deliberately did not hurry, but Matilda and Kelsey prevented me from slowing our march too much. The sun was still behind the horizon when we set foot on the driveway to Ashley's house. Several lights were on and before we reached the front door it opened and Angelique ran out.
"Unca Mark! You're here!" she cried.
I knelt down to give the young girl a hug. She was wearing a simple one piece swimsuit and had on arm floats and a life jacket. Someone had braided her hair, pulling it tight against the back of her head.
"We go now," Angelique ordered.
"I am not the one driving," I said firmly. "Beatrice and Morgan will control when we leave."
Angelique slapped my chest. "Mom promise, you arrive, we go. You now here."
I tried to think of a way to argue with that when the garage door started to open. Angelique gave a squeal of joy and twisted in my arms to watch as the metal panels rose from the ground. As they did I could see several people moving around two minivans parked in the garage.
"Where is Morgan's truck?" I mused.
"Unca Morgan drove blue minivan home last night," Angelique said.
"They will be backing out soon. Let's get out of the way," I said as I picked up Angelique and stepped off the side of the driveway. Lenore came out from the garage and smiled when she saw her daughter in my arms.
"She didn't want to wait," Lenore said as she walked up to me. My black-haired love was wearing a white bikini that did not leave much to the imagination. The top had thick bands over her shoulders and around her chest, but the material covering her breasts was a bit narrow and the sides of her breasts were clearly visible. Her white bottoms were cut high on her hip and had less than an inch of fabric there before spreading out again to fully cover her ass. She had a light cover-up in her hands as she approached.
I said nothing as I looked over her awesome body. Lenore giggled and turned around slowly, holding her hands out to display her body.
"I like," I said.
"Ashley has this in blue; Letty has one in brown, which you wouldn't expect to look nice, but looks right on her. Bea and Becky have green ones," Lenore said.
"We're going to split up for the drive," Ashley shouted. "Let us back out Mom's minivan and you can get in. Mom will drive you, me, Angelique and Lenore. Morgan will take everyone else.
"Why not have Lenore drive and bring Jason and Letty along?" I asked.
"Maybe for the return trip," Lenore said. "I want to snuggle with my husband."
I looked over at Lenore who had a strangely satisfied look on her face. "You're married? When did this take place?"
Ashley giggled as the red minivan started to back out of the driveway. "Lenore decided that she's married to you," my blond haired lover said. "She said that if she's making love to you and is going to have your babies, she might as well consider herself married."
I looked at Lenore. Her face turned pale for a moment. I saw her raise a hand to her mouth as she bit her lower lip. Just before I could say something she threw herself at me, almost knocking Angelique from my arms. "I'm sorry! I won't ever say that again!" she wailed.
"Hold! Stop!" I shouted, while bending down to put Angelique on the ground. The frightened girl clung to me as her mother held my neck and sobbed. "Lenore, cease the sobbing for a moment."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Lenore kept blubbering.
"Did I say that I didn't like the idea?" I asked.
"I'm sorry," was all that Lenore said, although the sobbing stopped.
"Ashley, do you feel the same way?" I asked.
"Of course," she replied. "Why do you ask?"
"We never had a ceremony," I pointed out.
"I don't need one," Lenore mumbled before wiping her face on my shoulder.
"I want you to have one, but ideally we'd have one once I have all my ladies. That way they can each feel equal," I said.
"But you appeared lost in thought about it," Lenore moaned.
"Of course I was. I had never thought I'd be lucky enough to marry one beautiful woman and all of a sudden I hear that two love me enough to marry me." I snapped. The minivan had finished rolling backward and I slipped from Lenore's arms long enough to open the door.
Angelique gave a cheer and clambered inside. She needed to be lifted into her car seat. In her excitement she kicked her shoes off as I locked in the fasteners. Ashley climbed into the passenger seat as I completed my task.
Lenore watched patiently and once I was sure Angelique was secure, pushed me into the minivan. She stopped long enough to grab my bag and throw it into the backseat before climbing in to sit next to me.
Jason walked up and looked inside the minivan. "Have fun storming the castle," he said mockingly before he closed the door.
The second minivan was backing out of the garage. "I'm sorry you had to drive just us," I said to Beatrice as we watched the other minivan pull onto the driveway.
The door to the second minivan was opened. Jason helped my sister and Kelsey get into the back seat before pulling Letty up into the middle seat and closing the door. "I don't mind," Beatrice said. "Either Lenore or Becky will drive you back. I'll ride back with Morgan. Besides, I wanted to spend time with my favorite son-in-law."
"I'll never be your official son-in-law," I pointed out. "From what we've heard concubines aren't married to the men who own them."
"She will be your wife in everything important," Beatrice pointed out. "And you will love her."
"I try," I said causing Ashley to giggle.
Lenore put her arms around me. "You do more than try. Mark, you know how things were for me. I was convinced that to get off Earth and give my Angel a chance at a future that I would have to accept being a plaything of some arrogant ass who fucked me without caring if I enjoyed it. Instead I find myself thinking of a boy who puts my needs ahead of his when he can and who actually loves my daughter. Tell me, how much time do you expect to spend with my daughter at the park?"
"As much as is necessary to ensure she has a good time," I said. "She deserves some happy memories of Earth before she leaves this planet forever. Who knows when or even if we will return."
"You have ideas for more activities," Ashley said.
"Of course," I said. "I'm going to play sports in high school, but I also want to get out and ski at least once. I was thinking in the early spring we could try to visit Japan when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. We also really should do a long trip to all the Florida resorts."
"And you have tried to get us tickets to two shows," Lenore said. "But can we afford all of that."
"Unless we spend three million in the next four years, we are fine," Beatrice said. "And Mark, you won't need to spend too much time with Angelique. Matilda and Kelsey have said they'll babysit her some, and Morgan and I don't really expect to want to spend too much time on the slides, so we can watch her as well. Make sure that you enjoy this trip."
"Thanks, grandma," I said.
"I'm not a grandmother yet!" Beatrice snapped.
"Jason or I could solve that anytime," Ashley said with another giggle.
"Don't you dare!" Beatrice growled. "I have enough competition for Morgan's attention and love. I don't need him reminded that I'm older than many of the sluts throwing themselves at him."
"Do you really think Morgan is that shallow?" Lenore asked quietly.
"No," Beatrice admitted. "But I do worry some. I'm thirty-seven. Some men won't even look at me because I have two teenage children."
Ashley giggled. "But Jason and I are both adults now. I have a man who will do anything to protect me and Jason has found a gem in Letty. Those two are a riot."
"Letty might start a riot," Lenore said with a giggle. "She's going to have any man's jaw on the floor when they see her walk in that bikini."
"A few girls too," Ashley admitted.
"Is my girl thinking of turning lesbian on me?" I asked mockingly.
Ashley turned to stare at me. There was fear in her eyes. "Never! Mark, I just wonder. Ever since I got my first taste of Lenore, I've wanted to try another woman."
"It will happen," Lenore affirmed. "And I don't think Mark took it badly. He just was a bit surprised. You never said a thing when we are together."
"I am now," Ashley pointed out.
I had raised my hand to cover my mouth and hide my smile. "Very well. Let's concentrate on having fun. Beatrice how about some music we can sing to."
"Not Bohemian Rhapsody," Lenore groaned. "I don't want to headbang in the car today."
Beatrice snorted. "Fine, we'll go with oldies instead." She reached out and raised the volume on the radio. As the minivan backed out of the driveway and started to follow Morgan's vehicle we sang along to the voice of Elvis Presley.
Beatrice had an incredible selection on her player. For the next two hours we sang out song after song as we followed the other minivan down the interstate. There were a few times that Ashley and I stopped and just tried to pick up the words, but Beatrice sang every song. When we finally pulled into the parking lot of the waterpark, Beatrice was serenading us as she harmonized with Gretchen Wilson.
She pulled her minivan into the spot right next to the blue one Morgan had driven. The singing had raised the spirits of Lenore and Ashley. The two giggled as we opened doors and began to exit the minivan. I looked at the other minivan as I put my feet on the ground and could see Letty and Kelsey glare at each other as they retrieved their bags and started to walk to the park entrance.
Matilda ran around the minivan and put her hand on my arm. "We have a problem," she told me.
"Who started it and what is it about?" I asked.
Matilda looked down at the ground. "I think I started it. We were all talking about our plans for next year and I mentioned my efforts to skip junior high."
"How did that start a fight between Letty and Kelsey?" I asked as Lenore lifted Angelique from her car seat. The child struggled and demanded to be put on the ground.
Lenore set Angelique down and the girl started to run towards the park entrance. Ashley gave chase, making sure that no cars threatened the cheerful child. "Park!" Angelique shouted.
"She doesn't have a clue," Matilda observed. "Anyway, Letty mentioned her belief that most children should never skip a grade as it means leaving friends behind and perhaps destroying relationships."
The doors to the two minivans were closed and everyone was now walking toward the entrance. "When we catch up to Angelique we need to stick together," Morgan said as he carried a small cooler. "We want to set up a central point that everyone can rest at."
"Letty is expressing a reasonable concern," I said. "You are leaving friends behind by skipping two grades the way you are. Although, I also believe that you need to do this."
"Kelsey saw it as an attack on you, since it was your suggestion that I skip the two grades," Matilda said. "They argued for the last hour."
I nodded. "Well, I doubt they want to spend much time together in the park. And we'll change up who is in which van on the way home so we don't have a problem."
Matilda smiled. "I knew you'd know what to do. I'll get Kelsey on some of the speed slides first thing. Once she gets wet she won't worry about it."
I nodded again as Matilda ran forward to catch up to Kelsey. The argument seemed easily defused. Lenore caught me and put a hand on my arm. "Mark, don't you ever worry or get things wrong?"
"I worry all the time," I said. "That was why I initially concealed my CAP score. I don't do that now mostly because my father isn't around to cause trouble. But it sounded like the argument was small. I expect Letty and Kelsey will have forgiven each other by tomorrow."
We arrived at the entrance. Morgan made a big production of counting off everyone for the ticket seller. Angelique insisted that she had to go through the turnstile first, so once the tickets were paid for she led us over to the main entrance and held out one of the adult tickets Morgan had purchased. The park employee smiled at the little girl and accepted the ticket. Becky followed Angelique. She had no ticket but pointed to the one Angelique had turned over without speaking. The employee smiled and then the rest of us passed through the gate.
Becky had kept a hand on Angelique as we entered. She was pointing out some of the few rides the child would be permitted on when I passed through and joined up with the rest of the group. Beatrice noticed that I was there and smiled.
"Right," she said. "We haven't been here in ages. I checked and there is a picnic area across from several of the splashdown pools and next to the sand castle courtyard. I figure we can claim a table near the sand castle area and then get started."
Ashley shivered slightly. It was not yet eight in the morning and there was still a chill in the air. "I'm going to take Angel to make sand castles first. It's a bit too cold to jump on a waterslide."
"What's a sand castle?" Angelique asked.
We started walking again. Ashley claimed one of Angelique's hands from Becky and looked down at the girl. "We'll show you. It will be fun."
Matilda and Kelsey ran on ahead. They seemed to be trying to warm up their bodies a little as we made our way past employees who were still sweeping up walkways. We arrived at the edge of a large sandy area. The center of this area was set up as a volleyball court. Beyond that there were several stone picnic tables. Matilda and Kelsey looked around and then ran to one that was positioned beyond the end line of one side of the court. I could see that the bench they chose was in the sun for now, but had nearby trees which would shade it once the sun reached its zenith and into the afternoon.
Becky laughed. "That's a perfect bench. Sunny for now when we want to warm up and shade in the afternoon once it gets too hot to sit in the sun."
"Everyone, someone needs to be at the bench all day to watch things, but otherwise have fun. We have snacks and I'll pay for lunches later," Morgan said.
Everyone cheered, disturbing the peaceful morning. I saw several birds take flight from the nearby trees as everyone moved to the table and began setting their bags and towels down. Ashley's bag was still falling over when she turned to Angelique and picked up the girl, setting her against her hip. "Ready to make sand castles?" my blond love asked.
"What's a sand castle?" Angelique asked again.
Ashley smiled. "Let's show you." She walked from the table and across a pathway that was covered in blue foam that was both rough and soft at the same time. I followed Ashley as she carried Angelique. She headed to the other side of the path where there was a sandy opening in the border. The opening led to a large square pool of sand. A young brown haired woman wearing the teal swimsuit that was the uniform for park employees was standing at the edge of the sand and hooking up a hose.
The woman looked at us. "Oh, you are early."
"We wanted to make a full day of it," I said. "The park is open correct?"
"Yes, but most people wait for the day to warm up," the woman said. "I guess I can understand coming here first."
Ashley set Angelique down on the edge of the sand. The child looked around at the clean sand and then looked up at me. "What's a sand castle?" she asked again.
The woman looked down at Angelique. "What an adorable little girl! You've never made a sand castle?"
Angelique suddenly turned shy. She hid behind me, peeking out from behind my thigh and shaking her head. The park employee smiled and turned the water on, sending a fine spray out over the sand.
"What?" Ashley said as we moved back to avoid the spray.
"We try to keep the sand here moist so that it's perfect for castle making, but it dries out at night. I just need a moment more and I can show your daughter how to make a sand castle. If you want, you can grab some tools from our supply." The woman pointed towards a box next to the entrance to the area.
I walked over there. Angelique stayed next to me and kept a hand on my back as I opened the box and looked inside. The contents were well organized and it took only a moment to pull out a bucket and two small shovels.
Angelique's eyes were wide as I walked back near the park employee. The woman was shutting off the water and coiling the hose. She looked at what I had brought and laughed. "Starting small I see."
"Angelique has never done this before," I said.
"She's adorable," the woman said as she knelt down to look Angelique in the eye. "Hi, I'm Rachel. Do you want to try making a sandcastle?"
Angelique shook her head into my thigh, but did not run away. I knelt down and set the bucket on the now wet sand. Rachel smiled and claimed one of the shovels. She began using one of the shovels to pile sand up against the side of the bucket.
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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....
100% fiction! Rebeca walked slowly into the studio, she was surprised at how small it was, only about twelve feet by ten, it was small, the floor was covered with a thick rubber mat which gave way slightly as she walked on it, she stood in the middle of the room looking around. She noticed a small window in the wall, the glass was dark, Rebeca walked over to it and pushed her face hard against it, she pulled back eyes wide open in horror, "oh my god, no, no no" she had seen her mother in there...
IncestOnce 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...
We ended up spending only one more hour in the park. Many of the partiers were drinking heavily. Once darkness fell the park started to feel a bit unsafe. Miki helped guide us back to the subway station so we could catch a ride back to the hotel. During the ride back to the hotel, I finally managed to introduce Miki to everyone. She was intimidated by Morgan and Maurice but started up a lively conversation with Jessica about the merits of a couple of old anime series. By the time we reached...
I used my cell phone to find an e-mail address for the US consulate in Tokyo. I sent an e-mail before we slept that night. At the time I figured I would have to call in the morning. Miki asked if she could sleep alone. I noticed that she was blushing when she did and finally asked her how much experience she had. I think Ashley and Lenore both gasped when she told us that she had never had a real boyfriend, and her only experience with sex had been when she had been forced to use her body as...