Building a CAP Based FutureChapter 35 In at School
- 3 years ago
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We were surprised to find that less than a third of the desks in the classroom were filled when we filed into the room of our German class. Jessica and Kelsey grabbed seats in one row and immediately started pointing to the seats around them. I started to walk around Jessica to the far side of the room, only to have Matti grab my shoulder and drag me to the seat in front of Kelsey.
Jason sat down next to me. He shook his head as the others arranged themselves in the seats around Jessica. "They don't let you go do they?"
"You caught Letty, does she let you run free anymore?" I asked.
Jason laughed. "Run free? I'm lucky if I can sneak out to the corner store to grab a soda. She watches me closely."
"Part of that has to be fear that you'll get picked up when she is not around," I pointed out.
"True," Jason said. "And I don't mind that. She is very affectionate normally, but she's a bit of a tigress after I've been away."
I smiled thinking of the kisses I had received from Lenore after her work shifts. The second bell rang indicating the end of the break period. At this time everyone was sitting down and looking at the front of the classroom looking for a teacher. I was going to ask a question when a woman swept into the room.
She was wearing a white blouse and a dark tan skirt that came down to her knees. She was wearing glasses and had light brown hair in some kind of bun, so it was impossible to guess how long it was. Jason groaned. "Oh god, she's beautiful."
"Down boy," Jessica whispered from behind us as the woman tossed her purse onto the desk that took up the front part of the room. She turned to the class with a flustered expression on her face.
"Sorry," the woman said with a strong Germanic accent. "My name is Jana Kirke, and I'll be teaching first year German for you this school year."
"Are you a new teacher?' I asked.
The woman blushed. "I received my teaching credential last summer, and spent last year as a substitute teacher in several districts. This is my first year as a full-time teacher at one school. I may make a few mistakes."
"A few?" Jason asked. "I can think of two you made so far today."
Jana looked a bit surprised. She stared at my friend. "You seem to be the expert. Tell me the mistakes I made."
"Three," I heard Jessica whisper in my ear.
Jason held up his right index finger. "First, you never tell students that you are new. Students are like sharks. If they sense weakness they will attack it. By admitting that you are a first year teacher you threw down a challenge to us to see how much you'll let us get away with."
Jana appeared dismayed by this. "I merely told the truth," she said.
"A truth you should not have needed to tell us," Jason said. "Which is point two. You ran into the room after the bell and were obvious about your haste. A good teacher never shows that level of weakness, because again, students will attack a weakness."
Our teacher frowned. "I had some paperwork issues that had to be resolved before I could teach. Principal Franks thought it was all resolved, but yesterday afternoon the district lawyers called him and told him I needed to bring in some additional paperwork. A district representative was here this morning and helped me get the forms completed. It took all morning. Fortunately Principal Franks was able to cover my morning classes."
I was a bit surprised by this. Jana just shook her head as Jason sat back in his chair for a moment. "Well, not how I wanted to do the introduction," she said as she scanned the classroom. "As I said my name is Jana Kirke. I actually came to the United States a few years ago after I married a soldier who was stationed in Germany. He encouraged me to try going to college here and I obtained a credential to teach high school German. I was born in Germany and lived there for twenty years."
"So don't trust the textbook," Jessica whispered. "She'll want to teach us how German is really spoken rather than what's in the textbook."
Jana passed a clipboard to the boy sitting in the left most row of the classroom. "I'm passing around a seating chart. Please sign the chart. It will make taking attendance much easier in the future."
The chart started moving around the room. As it made slow progress Jana started to distribute textbooks to the class. This she started by handing me a stack of books and telling me to pass all but one to the person behind me. At that range I got a closer look at her face. She had expertly applied makeup that helped soften her features. Still there were some hard lines around her eyes that puzzled me. I was trying to figure this out as she moved over to Kelsey to hand her a second set of books.
"Are you still married to your soldier?" Kelsey asked innocently as she accepted the books.
Jana stood up. The fingers of her right hand started massaging her left hand's ring finger where an engagement and wedding ring should have been. "No," our teacher said sadly. "I'm afraid we got a divorce just after New Years. The marriage didn't work out."
Jana proceeded to ignore the follow on questions of several of our classmates as the distributed textbooks to the remaining rows of students. I set the book in front of me and watched the clipboard move through the rows, heading toward me. When it reached Jason he snorted.
"The first boy to pick up the clipboard must have thought he's cool or something. He included his CAP score with his name," my friend said.
"Is it a good score?" Jessica asked.
"Six point five," Jason said. "And the funny thing is everyone else in the class followed his example. All the names have CAP scores next to them."
The girl sitting behind Jason nudged him in the back. "Hurry up," she said. "Let's get this over with."
My friend scribbled something onto the seating chart and passed it to the girl. I watched as her eyes widened as she scanned the paper. She quickly filled out the form and passed it behind her. Then she loosened a button on her blouse and leaned forward. "So Jason, what kind of girls interest you?" the girl purred.
Jason smiled at the girl for a moment and then shrugged. "That's not a simple question," he replied. "There are more than a few factors I have to consider."
The seating chart was coming back up the row I sat in. I tried to figure out why it missed Kelsey's row and looked back. Several chairs in that row were empty. Our teacher was now writing something on the board.
"Class," she said. "I know most of you have not encountered German much. It's not the most popular language. However, I can promise you that if you put some effort in, I can make you fluent in three years. We will be working hard though. Most language classes I sat in on during my studies failed to really push the students."
"Won't going fast increase the difficulty?" I asked.
"I am going to use an immersion method for many of our lessons. I have several German language television programs recorded. We will be watching them and seeing how much you can grasp. Also there will be days when all conversation will be in German," Jana said firmly.
Jessica poked me in the back and then handed me the clipboard with the seating chart. I took a look and had to laugh as I discovered that every student had included their CAP score with their name. I glanced at the list and found that three other students had CAP scores better than six point four. All were male, but I did not recognize any of the names. I filled out my information and then handed the clipboard to Kelsey.
"Fine, I'll be last," she said with a loud sigh. Her pained expression did not last and she giggled as she filled out the form. "My guy is tops in the class," she added as she held the clipboard out for Jana.
Our teacher accepted the clipboard back. She scanned the names as she walked back to her desk and pulled out the class listing. Her pen darted over the class list, checking off that every student had shown up. She made notes by a few of the names as she worked her way through the seating chart and then looked at the class. "It looks like everyone who is supposed to be here has shown up."
Jana's gaze settled on me for a moment. Her look was intense and full of a hunger that made me more than a bit uncomfortable. I turned around to look at Jessica. My friend shook her head at me. "You shouldn't have put your CAP down."
"Water under the bridge and it's not like people weren't going to find out," I replied in a whisper.
Our teacher appeared prepared to say more when the bell rang. Most of the students jumped to their feet as Miss Kirke held up her hands. "Everyone, read the opening chapter and be prepared for a quiz on the words in the chapter tomorrow." she cried over the thunder of the students bolting for the door.
I stood up along with Jessica. We started to move to the door as Jason headed toward Miss Kirke. "Jason?" I hissed.
He looked back with a smirk on his face. "She is hot and appears to be interested in a high CAP boy."
"I'm telling Letty," Kathy called out as the rest of us left the room. We paused in the hallway.
"Home economics next," Matilda said. "I get to watch my brother look like a fool."
"Ashley will be there," I reminded her. "Let's go."
All the girls giggled as I dodged around them and led us through a set of doors leading into the main building of the school. The hallways inside were quiet as we headed to the home economics classroom. Ahead we could see Letty and Ashley waiting by the door.
Ashley ran forward to give me a hug. She held the embrace, making it seem as if we had not seen one another in days rather than just a single period. I laughed and hugged her back as the rest of the group slipped inside.
"Where's Jason?" I heard Letty ask.
"The teacher we had for the last period seemed interested in everyone's CAP score. Jason stayed behind. I'm betting he was going to try to chat with her briefly," I admitted as Ashley finally relaxed her grip so we could hurry inside.
Inside the classroom was divided up by several large tables. Each one had five or six chairs surrounding it. Jessica and her group had already claimed one table while Kelsey was defending the empty chairs at a second table. Ashley and I walked over to join her as Letty shuffled her feet and followed.
"Why didn't he talk to me first?" Letty asked
"Because I wasn't sure how much time I'd get before a dozen other boys tried to make themselves noticed," an out of breath Jason said as he ran up behind Letty and offered her a brief hug. "Besides, this was just to greet her and see if she might be interested."
"Well?" Kelsey asked.
Jason smiled. "She is definitely looking for the right man to take her from this planet, and is willing to meet Letty. I told her about the courtyard where we met for morning break. That's where we are having lunch right?"
"A lunch we will make ourselves soon," I said. "That's why we are taking this class."
Jason looked around the room. There were only two other boys in the class along with more than twenty girls. He frowned for a moment. "This is a girly class," he muttered.
"So?" I asked. "It's a chance for you to be with Letty and to enjoy something with her. We are on the football team and doing well, don't worry about what people might think."
Letty gave Jason a kiss on the cheek. "My hero," she said lovingly.
An old woman stood up from the back of the room. She looked at the filled tables and smiled. "Greetings, I am Brigid O'Neill. I will be your instructor in home economics. Which basically means I'll be teaching how to do things in a kitchen. This is not women's work and if you boys in this class call it that you'll be sent to the office and transferred to auto shop class. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mrs. O'Neill," Jason and I caroled back. The other two boys in the class sat quietly as she looked around the room.
She nodded. "Good. Now I'm going to take roll. I don't use assigned seating so please respond. Usually after about four weeks I can recognize you and it will go faster. Adams, Kathy?"
Kathy responded. I allowed my mind to wander as our teacher worked her way through the class list, responding when Ashley elbowed me in the side. My friends giggled as I sputtered out my response. Finally she had called out every name and nodded.
"We don't use traditional textbooks in this class. They would be meaningless," Brigid said. "Instead I'll tell you of recipe books that you might find useful, or you can use the internet. Just about anything we try cooking here will have recipes posted on the internet."
One of the other students raised a hand and Brigid immediately waved towards the girl. "Let me finish, I'll probably answer your question before I'm done," our teacher said gruffly. "I'm always here before school officially starts. If you want you can bring any ingredients from home for any of the recipes we will be testing. If you don't bring your own, you will have to work from the communal supply. This supply tends to be limited and you'll end up having to partner up to complete tasks. I do grade based on taste and look so fresh ingredients are key. If you bring them, I recommend a labeled plastic container. Most students get a Tupperware style container. I put them in the refrigerator in the class and only I will take things out of the refrigerator. Please note, that I do not open it in the second half of a class or during lunch, so don't ask me to store food for you to eat at lunchtime."
The girl lowered her hand. I saw her frown. One of the boys raised his hand. "But what if the preparation time for the dish we are making means we can't complete it during class."
Mrs. O'Neil smiled. It was more of a smirk than a smile. "Oh, if you want to wait for something to cook I won't stop you. If you leave it for me to pull out of the oven, use a timer to indicate that it is done and I will be here during lunch. But I won't save it for you. If you aren't here to pick it up after the taste test, any food will be taken to the teacher's lounge."
"In other words, we provide lunch and dessert for the teachers if we aren't here to claim our dishes." I observed.
"I can live with that," Ashley said.
I could see Millicent whispering something to Jessica. Matti leaned over to our table and smiled. "Millicent is offering to purchase all the ingredients for us."
"That's nice of her," Letty answered. "And I guess I can offer to help everyone. I mean, I was helping my mother in the kitchen for years. This should not be too difficult."
We all smiled. Meanwhile, Mrs. O'Neil started talking about how she broke up the school year into segments. The first segment was going to be cookies and other baked goods that could be simply prepared. Later classes would add cakes and the decorating of them. For those Mrs. O'Neil assured us that we usually could find some volunteers to help take cakes out of the oven and move them into storage so they could be decorated the next class.
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Back around 1969 I had medical problems and was sent to a military hospital (which I won’t name) for treatment. While there I engaged in some hijinks with the wife of a member of the military who had been sent on assignment for several months at a remote duty station. After all these years since then I cannot recall her name because at my age my memory is even shorter than my pecker. I will just call her Edna for the purpose of relating our sexual activities together. Edna was from South...
Back around 1969 I had medical problems and was sent to a military hospital (which I won't name) for treatment. While there I engaged in some hijinks with the wife of a member of the military who had been sent on assignment for several months at a remote duty station. After all these years since then I cannot recall her name because at my age my memory is even shorter than my pecker. I will just call her Edna for the purpose of relating our sexual activities together. Edna was from South...
MasturbationThe 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...
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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...
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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,...
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...
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...
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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...
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...
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...
I’m not a very sexual person. Alright, that’s actually a lie. I’m a big fan of sex, but I have a few problems. It’s messy, it may or may not create a smaller human being inside of me, and a lot of people are bad at it. I’m not saying I’m bad at it, I think I’m pretty good, but so do a lot of people. I will say I’m experienced, and that I’ve had a few memorable escapades. And so, I’ve decided to tell my story. This is me, for real. I hope you enjoy it. But first, I’ll tell you a little...
Travis wandered through the Megamart, heading on a roundabout path to the men's clothing department. He did it on purpose, cutting into the smaller aisles through the petites and women's departments, subtly sneaking peeks into the racks and displays of sleepwear, lingerie, and panties and bras of all sizes. Like other teenage guys, he already had a consuming interest in the female form, but while the internet had more than enough on the subject to offer, there was something visceral about all...
You park your car and head towards the backstage door to get into the moderately sized local theatre. You punch in the code, and step up the stairs towards the dressing room, your brain swimming around with the thought of the show coming up soon. Tonight's only the dress rehearsal, but you're here early to make sure all your stuff is ready. You've learnt from experience not to piss off your director Claire. Claire may be a smoking hot MILF, with long flowing dark hair and a slender figure to...
During my junior year at Harvard I had the good fortune of living in a co-ed dorm, and the great fortune of having my girlfriend, a beautiful brunette, living just down the hall. One night, after a South House party, Jess and I retired to her room where we started making out. Maybe it was the wine, but Jess had a lascivious gleam in her eye as she broke the kiss and got up off the bed to stand in front of me. "So what would you like me to do tonight?" she asked. "Well, you could start by...
Eureka!!! After years of relentless research, you finally pulled it off. Your heart is beating a hundred times a second as you walk over to the test area. This makes up for all the time you spent buried in books, your almost total lack of utter human interaction, and the last 10 years of being so busy working you hadn't even had a single date. You lowered your head to eye level with the cage that looks to contain only a pet exercise wheel, food/water combo dish, and a motionless plane of cider...
Introduction Theo: Hey, I have nothing to do today. You got any ideas? In an inconspicuous corner, two teenagers are sitting around during their lunch break. For most, it may seem that there is hardly any time to do anything. But for these two bored teenagers, it feels like time has stopped in its tracks. Cody: What about the usual? After hearing his friend complain over and over, Cody answered with a smirk on his face. Although he didn't say what activity it was, his best friend Theo...
FetishMajor 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....
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...