The tableau round John's workstation was disturbed by the ringing of Anna's phone, this time it was Tanya looking for Irisha and her mum, as Ivan had given her the task of going with them on a property hunt, starting in about twenty minuets when the guy was due to show up from the agency, to give them a tour of available apartments.

The newcomers were staggered at the pace things were changing in their lives, but Anna assured them this was how it was in the fast lane, exciting, so hang on and enjoy the ride.

John had to leave as he had two more shoots to cover that afternoon, so the girls decided to see what was happening at the house, their arrival was well timed, coinciding with the start on one of their artistic illusions. The windows had been covered in one of the downstairs reception rooms to intensify the image of the slide projected on the wall, with the studio artist tracing the outlines to form a sketch of the scene he was to paint.

The image settled on was of the gazebo in the garden, which could just be seen from a window in the room, but it was not possible to view the image, and the real view at the same time from any place in the room adding to the illusion. In an odd case of life imitating art, the studio guy was going to paint the gazebo as if it had been restored, then the builders would work on the real structure and match it to his painting. The second illusion to be painted in another downstairs room also in a bricked up doorway, was to be based on a photograph from a park near Kiev, with a tree lined walkway leading down to a lake.

The third scene was at the end of an upstairs hallway, which the artist was going to make up from scratch using the girls idea for an amusing trick. Not wishing to get underfoot of all the busy workers within the house they went to check on the grounds, and to see where Marta's crew was now employed.

Taras and the rest of the lads were outside clearing around the gazebo in readiness for the carpenters and painters, so when they were free to determine what repairs were needed, it would be easier to work on the structure. As if they hadn't already voiced their gratitude to Marta before, they were even more exuberant now with regard to the additional clothing and boots, that would make the coming winter far less daunting. Taras bashfully admitted that the drama lessons had helped when introducing themselves to people in the neighbouring houses, and word was slowly spreading outwards as they gained local work cleaning cars and doing some basic gardening.

Marta was keen to hear from Taras about the customers they had gained, and if there had been any problems with payment, but it was all good, as many paid extra as the team were polite and efficient, they often got over the agreed sum. First checking to see where the other lads were Taras lowered his voice and asked if their friend Irisha would be over to visit the site this weekend. The girls were amused that the brash streetwise older boy seemed to colour up when asking about their new friend.

Marta said that they expected to see more of her as she would shortly be moving nearer to this side of the city, and asked if they should tell Irisha he was interested.

"No! I mean, well er, she wouldn't look at me twice, she's like rich and cute, and I'm just one more homeless guy with nothing to offer, I just thought she was really cute and pretty and stuff. Don't say anything, I was out of line, I wouldn't want to upset her or anything."

Marta sensed the boys genuine feeling not to cause their friend any distress, pleased he would take into consideration how the girl might react to his interest in her.

"Never say never, but Irisha has had a difficult time recently, with her mum being ill and the fact they are moving. That's partly due to having an old pervert that lives in the same block as them, so she has been stressed lately, she might not be ready for a 'boyfriend' at the moment, but I'm sure some new friends would help." Taras got back to work smiling.

Anna suggested as there was nothing they could do to help on site that afternoon, they should go home to continue their research, Marta agreeing they set off for home, thinking about the interesting things they may discover, and about the time she would get to spend with Karl the following day.

They had three hours before supper, so they immediately fired up their secure studio laptop to begin surfing, trying out a few more URLs they had not yet seen, which lead them on to following links to other boards and discussion forums. They were surprised to find pornography was a fairly modern concept only really coming into being in the mid 1800's before that anything with sexual nudity had been labelled as erotic art. This caused Marta to look at the linguistic etymology of some other sexual terms, till she found some interesting stuff about censorship.

Before the mid 1800's erotic art had been limited to those who were rich and powerful, able to afford paintings or carvings, but the advent of photography had changed things, causing those in power, that being church and state to take a hand in condemning or banning, what had up until then, been their own private domain. They found out about how sexual moires, thoughts on marriage, and the age of consent had changed, varied both over the course of time, and globally, as for instance with homosexuals, they had once been jailed or even hung, now in some regions it was not only legal but they could actually get married if they wanted to.

As their delving continued they came to the subject of child pornography, and found that it was an even more modern concept, originating from the mid 1970's, before that nobody had thought to make it an issue. Denmark up to that time had laws that strictly prohibited sexual censorship of any kind in the publishing industry, so one of the largest producers of adult magazines and 8mm films registered in that country, based there over the course of several years. They were allowed to publish pornographic material of any sort without restriction, and did so in vast quantities to keep pace with demand, much of their output was sent all over the world, to satisfy foreign markets.

The article said it included normal sex acts between adults, sexual acts between adults and animals, sex between adults and children and sexual acts between children and other children. The company was still in existence, but nowadays they did not make the stuff with kids as the laws changed due to outside pressures, but many of the thirty or more regular magazine titles from the past were now rare, highly sort after collectors items. From what they had seen it looked like the pages from those early magazines had been scanned, for they had seen several of the titles talked about in forums and bulletin boards.

Another article they saw was written by an academic, claiming how in the current climate of paranoia, it was now almost impossible to write any learned papers on the subject of adult child sexual relations. He had years of research on loving consensual relationships, that proved more harm than good was caused by the law stepping in to split up these happy people, but although his peers respected his work, no one would stand up and openly support him. He said it was like trying to post anti-smoking research in former times, years ago tobacco companies would pressure people to dry up your funding, and make it hard for you to find an academic post. Now it was misguided religious right wingers, that were forcing the issue, not content with laws on a subject, but also condemning any valid research that might prove them wrong. He saw official publication of his work was unlikely in the near future, unless the moral pendulum again started to keep pace with reality.

Anna was curious about the age of consent so they looked up information as to how that currently varied across the globe, they knew in their own country it was supposed to be 15 but no one took it seriously, but they were shocked to find the lowest age of twelve was set in Vatican city. Marta made jokes about all the bishops and cardinals chasing all the poor choirboys around after prayers.

Anna wondered why there were always news stories about catholic priests forcing orphans or choirboys to do stuff with them. Marta said she thought it was because they were made to stay celibate, which was very unnatural and they must find it too difficult, so they did it with youngsters they thought they could control, and sometimes they got found out. Apparently hundreds of years ago before TV or newspapers, many priests and lots of the popes had mistresses, and even had children by them, but they were too powerful for anyone to say anything about it, and they could hush it up by threatening people.

Having seen enough about stupid hypocritical religious people Anna chose the next URL from the list pasting it into the browser, this site had lots of stuff about the culture of Japan. It didn't take long looking at the site and chasing some of the links, before the girls came to realise that the Japanese were obsessed with what they called 'Lolita complex' an almost reverent worship of young teen and pre-teen girls. The more popular Idols were treated like legendary superstars from the movies, and earned enormous sums of money.

These people were totally preoccupied with youth and beauty, but they had strange laws on censorship, for any pictures where girls were naked a leaf or even a sticking plaster was adhered between the girl's legs to cover her pussy, or the picture was made blurry or pixelated to hide the view. Anna laughed that this was crazy, stating if you had gone to the trouble of taking naked pictures it was silly to add a leaf, they might just as well do all the pictures with swimsuits, gym kit or schoolgirl outfits which all seemed to be very popular.

One link lead them to an article stating how the Japanese legislature was being pressured to ban practically any material other than girls seen in the most conservative of swimwear. The crux of the issue was that it was radical right wing christian fundamentalists from the USA that were spearheading the move, despite the fact Japanese religious culture was mostly Shinto or Buddhist, noted for their peaceful live and let live attitudes, never trying to force their views upon others with different beliefs.

They took a break from their surfing for supper, where the main subject was progress on the house, after the boys left the table to go and watch TV, Ella and Igor got an update of studio news, about how they had looked into the practical issues of running the new Forum with the various world time zones. Then there was the news of Yana's new job, the result of the combined photo shoot, and about the pair of them off on a property hunt that afternoon with Tanya. Later when Marta was on the phone to Karl, Anna called Irisha to enquire if they had found anywhere they wanted to move into.

The girl's excitement was evident from the moment she answered the call, telling Anna of the apartments they had viewed, any of which she would have loved to live in, but Tanya had insisted they needed to see a selection, and to consider the local amenities that each location had to offer. Without Tanya's guidance they would have been happy to accept anything, as all were several steps upwards from where they now lived, which by most western standards would be regarded as an awful slum tenement building ready for demolition. The happy outcome was there had been a unit available in the twin building adjacent to the block where the studio had their apartments for out of town visitors.

Anna said how on her first visits to the city she had stayed in one of them, and how she fell in love with the bathroom, with the endless hot water and warmed stone floors. Their unit was on the seventh floor with views over the little park area where she had first met Ivan, and they were pleased that it had a smart working lift, unlike where they lived now.

It did of course have a convenient Metro link for the studio, and the other good news was that Tanya said Ivan had the necessary influence to get her a place in the same school that Anna and Marta attended. This lead Anna to talk about the school and about the other models who went there, saying what good fun they would have together, and how she would have a ready made network of girls there that would befriend her. They had lots to talk about, and eventually Anna suggested that Irisha come over to visit the following day for a Forum practice, as sessions were arranged for several hours each day at weekends.

As Irisha's train approached her destination she reflected how often she had walked in the recent past not having even the cost of a Metro ticket in her pocket, but now she didn't need to worry about travelling by train or even by cab. Anna had described the route from the station to her house, but Irisha was grateful to find her waiting on the street outside to lead the way, though it was fairly simple to find just as she had said it would be.

On the walk Anna pointed out the park where her brothers played football and where they occasionally cycled, and the road where Eve lived, a model who went to the same school.

Looking around Irisha loved all the beautiful houses, and found out from Anna the house that they were working on was not too many streets away, but higher up the slope of the valley with better views, though you couldn't actually see the river. It seemed crazy that she was hanging out with a new friend that lived in a five bedroomed house, she knew of larger families in her building that had the same size units she and her mother currently lived in, and this was not at all uncommon.

Ella, Anna's mum hugged her real tight, welcoming her to their home, even after releasing her she still held her hand leading her through to the kitchen. It was embarrassing that this woman must know about what she had been doing when Marta had found her, but it was as if she didn't care, instead just talking of what lay ahead for girls who joined the studio. At the table she was offered a tempting selection of Ella's home made cakes, while she made them some tea, out in the garden she could see two boys playing on a climbing frame, that must be the Anna's younger brothers. When Irisha said it looked like the boys were enjoying themselves, Ella replied how thankful she was that all her children could now look forward to a better future filled with exciting opportunities.

They both gave her a tour of the house, it had so many rooms, and everyone had their own bedroom, the boys rooms were magnificent she couldn't think of any other word, they were beyond anything she had ever seen before. Few enough people ever painted a room or put up new wallpaper, but hand painted murals reminded her of the backdrop scenery used in the studio, this lead on to the story of when the family had moved to Kiev.

When the girls were alone in Anna's room, Anna told her more about the changes in her life, and how it really was true their dad was only a week away from loosing his job just at the time they had the chance to come to Kiev. She heard of how the family dare not show any sign they had a new form of income in their old town, or they would have been robbed, then when they moved here, they had hardly any clothes that fitted with their new life and the neighbourhood where they now lived. Smiling she said that Irisha would have to join them when they next went out clothes shopping, saying it was a shock, but a nice one, to go and buy new stuff, rather than haggle for old second-hand tat at the market stalls.

Anna started up the laptop which she had seen before on the day she first met Ivan, Anna explained it had lots of security stuff on it that meant they could take part in the Forum from anywhere they could get an internet connection, but that no one could see any studio related things without the extra plug-in thingy and the special password.

Soon they were taking part with four other girls and five pretend members, with Irisha starting her entries with the name Laura so everyone could tell who was typing from Anna's laptop. When Irisha spoke about the other girls poor use of grammar or spelling it was pointed out how their teacher who was also helping the studio said the members wouldn't mind as they didn't expect perfection, and how they also liked the girl's accents on the videos that the studio made.

Irisha thought it ironic that although she was the eldest, and had 'practical' experience of men, it was the younger girl that was her mentor, first in the artistry of posing on the set of a photo shoot, and now in how to talk to their artificial audience, using a language Irisha was supposedly more proficient in using. Ivan had said Anna was one of the top three girls at the studio, and with the effort she put in, plus her boundless enthusiasm, it was hardly surprising this was the case, so it would be hard for her to find a better role model.

She met the boys when they all sat down for a tasty lunch, easier when you had more choice than bread, cabbage and potatoes, at least they were now eating properly at home. The brothers were a revelation, never having any siblings herself, noisy and curious darting from one subject to the next, but when they found their sister's new friend was another person who spoke English, they had someone else to play with, for to them it was still more of a game, not a subject taught in school. They ended up entertaining the boys for an hour after lunch, then Ella took them out to go round to play with Victor while she and Magda got together for a chat.

Wanting a break from the Forum, Anna showed her picture galleries of girls from other web sites, in most cases the difference between these others, and that of their own studio was quite stark. To think she might have been grateful to work at one of those other sites if the offer had been there, but it was obvious that she had landed on her feet, ending up with the premium brand operator. For a laugh Anna had called someone at the studio that morning to get an update on their joint photo set, the numbers had been going up right through the night, Marta was right, she was earning money while fast asleep.

In another humours vein, Anna played an older video from the studio where a girl just gave a very stilted English introduction, which was probably learned by rote, this had been the spark causing the sisters to consider making videos with a complete English dialogue.

As their conversation continued Anna spoke of all the research they had done, then spoke of their recent trawl on the net through a list of web sites, and the stuff they had discovered which had really opened their eyes. Anna began skipping through a selection of the sites she had seen since she began this new line of enquiry, until she suddenly realised the image on the screen could be upsetting to her guest.

"Oh, sorry I didn't think about that!"

"It's OK, it's not your fault, though that girl seems to be enjoying it, how old do you think she is, ten, eleven? Look another picture of the same girl, she's smiling, and in that shot licking her lips. Wow who'd have thought."

"Was it really horrible for you? No you don't have to answer, I just find all this stuff so confusing, sort of scary and I don't know, exciting as well, is it gross?"

"I hated it, every one, and I hated myself, there didn't seem any option, so many people are out there begging, I tried that, but it's like I became invisible, then I saw these older girls doing it one evening. I spoke to one, she seemed so blasé about it, or maybe she just didn't care any more, so she gave me a few tips then said fuck off and find your own spot."

"I was so scared the first time, took me totally by surprise when it spurted in my mouth, then I started heaving and threw up all over the place, not that I'd eaten much to chuck up, but by then I couldn't think of any other way I could bring some cash home cause mum was so ill, I really thought she might die."

Anna passed across a box of tissues her eyes were wet too.

Irisha continued, "It must be the context, I mean lots of girls do that with their boyfriends, I know some of the girls at school do, they say you have to put out a bit or they dump you for some other girl who will. Well I never had a real boyfriend, I was trying to study hard at school, but then when mum got sick it was so frightening. Anyway what I meant was if it was someone who I cared about, not some smelly stranger, it would probably be different and I might even get to like it - but don't bet any money on that"

By now the two girls were grinning as they continued with their surfing, Anna picking up on some new links, as they talked about the images, and read the accompanying text, with each of them having questions or comments. Eventually they got to the Japanese web sites that Anna and Marta had been looking at the previous day, carrying on trying out links they couldn't read till they came to an article in English on the subject of 'Enjo kosai' or compensated dating where schoolgirls as young as thirteen or fourteen were accepting money to go out with older men. It was all very up front, with the girls posting adds on local chat forums stating what they would or wouldn't do, and 'suggesting' what they considered to be a suitable cash 'present' for spending time with them. Most girls offered a minimum of kissing and groping, going on to hand relief or blow jobs, full blown sex, or even in some cases anal sex.

"Maybe I would have done better in Japan." Quipped Irisha.

Another spin off from the sites they were looking at were other articles about shops that sold girls worn underwear in little plastic bags which often included the girls photo, and were priced on how stained the items were, both girls were fascinated by this and Anna went on to tell the joke about throwing your panties at the wall to see if they stuck, so you could prove it had been an exciting night out. They had thought the shop was the limit, but then they found another entry about vending machines with the same goods.

The next discovery they made were several web sites aimed at at the Japanese which they could see from the text, but featuring schoolgirls of a European appearance, causing Anna's interest to be perked up. Many of the girls were in uniform or gym kit as they had been with girls from their own nation, there didn't seem to be any nudes, but there were some where the girls were wearing some strange sorts of clothing. Delving on they found this was called fetish wear, something they needed to look up to find out what it was all about, though after reading it still made little sense to them.

The girls began speculating if each country had there own special likes when it came to nudity or porn, but one thing that was plain to see, in each region there was a strong interest in young teen or pre-teen girls, that was with clothes or without, though giggling they felt without was the preference.

They heard the front door, and ran downstairs to greet Marta who had been out on a mystery trip with Karl, who had taken her to a horse riding stables near the edge of the city. As they sat in the kitchen she told them about her wonderful surprise, though Karl unfortunately found he didn't enjoy the experience, complaining how it banged against his sensitive 'boy parts', that set them all off laughing. They had then gone on to a late lunch and cruised the shops before he had to head back and study.

Irisha went to get something from her bag, after finding their new apartment the day before she and her mother had done a little shopping of their own, Yana had been dumbfounded by the shop Irisha had chosen to visit until she heard why her daughter was there and what she was looking for.

She had expected both sisters to be home, but on hearing Marta was out had held back on revealing the box, preferring to wait until both sisters were there. Nervously she handed the girls a gift wrapped box about 20cm high and 4cm square apologising that it was a silly gift but it held a special meaning.

With the paper removed the box had the name of the store where Marta had got her MMC sweatshirts from, inside was a sports trophy similar to their joke awards from Dmitri.

Lifting out the cup it was pre-engraved, obviously for a swimming club - Lifesavers Award. Below the shop had added the names Marta and Anna.

The three girls hugged, tears all round as the sisters said they would treasure the gift and that it would take pride of place in their cabinet, true to their word on a later visit to the sports shop Marta bought a plinth for the cup so it stood above the other two.

---

Thanks to those who made recent comments, I would appreciate feedback as to whether certain aspects of my writing work or not, you might get a better story as a result.

Not having my own 'on topic' blog, website, or e-mail address, I often visit the forum on this site to join the current subjects under debate, as there will be less posting for a while come and join in.