Chapter 5

Friday night was date night. All of the usual hangouts for the teens had about normal traffic. The difference was that, for places that served alcohol, the opportunity to be served and to drink in public was irresistible for most of the kids. Pizza and beer was a lot more fun than pizza and cola. The restaurants also saw an uptick in their business, mainly families who wanted to celebrate with their newly-minted adult children. These guests showed grace, dignity and restraint.

Bob Minter made a show of holding the chair, helping first Sandy and then Kathy to be seated comfortably. Travis and Becky bounded into their chairs unaided. The restaurant was busy, mainly with families including their youngest adult members. When the waitress arrived, Bob made a point of asking both Sandy and Kathy their choice of beverage. When Kathy realized Sandy didn't know how to reply, she told her husband she would like a glass of white wine. With obvious relief, Sandy asked for the same. The younger kids each wanted a Shirley Temple, with extra maraschino cherries. Bob ordered a beer for himself.

Sandy reveled in her new-found status. She was delighted and proud of the respect and deference afforded her by her parents. Soon, two distinct conversation threads were underway simultaneously at the Minter table. The oblivious younger children happily chattered about kid stuff with their parents. The three adults explored the fringes of topics normally never spoken between parent and child, much less in a public place. Oblique references to the potential pitfalls inherent in adulthood went right over the heads of the younger children, but some of them brought a blush to Sandy's face.

The dinner progressed smoothly. When they had finished their meal, Bob ordered dessert for the two youngsters and, for the three adults, three different liqueurs served in pony glasses: Crème de Menthe, Gran Marnier and Amaretto. When these arrived, Bob instructed that all three be served to Sandy. He asked her to taste each and decide which one she preferred. The tastes of these three were very distinctive. The three talked about the flavors as Sandy explored them. Sandy happily settled on the Crèmes de Menthe. Kathy chose Amaretto. They enjoyed their choices and chatted.

When they had finished, Bob settled the bill and they made their way out the door. All agreed that a fine time had been had by all.

Elsewhere on that Friday night, some of the young people couldn't wait for their first opportunity to warm a barstool. The tavern was unusually busy. Thanks in large part to the visit from the Mayor, the owners didn't hesitate to serve the new adults, unescorted by their parents. In most places, the first round was 'on the house', delivered with the caveat that the town expected the youngsters to demonstrate the responsibility that went along with adulthood.

Of course, a number of the kids -- especially the jocks -- couldn't resist the temptation to overindulge. As suggested by the Mayor, the owners wound up having to encourage some of the parents to intervene. Sadly, some parents weren't willing to reel in their children. These were politely but firmly shown the door. Fortunately, there was no trouble in any of the public places.

The package liquor stores were also busy. A number of private parties had sprung up on short notice. Most of the jocks and their ilk who had been ejected from the bars and restaurants managed to find their way to one or the other of these parties. Some of these private parties got pretty well out of hand.

This being a very small town, the constabulary was tiny. It was very much in the interest of the entire community that the county sheriff not become involved in a town-wide flaunting of the state liquor laws. Mayor John Davis, Rev. Andy Evans, Fr. Frank Murray and a number of others patrolled the town until the not-so-wee hours of Saturday morning. Toning down the party was invariably preferred over having your minister invite himself to your party.

The mayor's team of 'enforcers' had a short debriefing before they retired for the night. While the night had passed without serious problems, it was apparent that Saturday night would be an even bigger event. Some discussion of a supervised keg party, in a controlled setting, suggested that it might be a wise investment.

Ellen Waters did a land-office business on Saturday, almost all of which was walk-in. A lot of girls took her up on her offer of birth control. Ellen was pleasantly surprised to encounter no resistance from parents. She learned that a lot of heart-to-heart talks had taken place in the past twenty-four hours. The virgins were put on the Pill, and the rest were allowed to choose between the Pill and an IUD.

Jenny and Stacy Martin went together, and Ellen saw them both at the same time. Jenny hadn't had a lover for six years. She had stopped using birth control over four years earlier. Stacy had never used contraception. Both women bashfully requested a morning-after pill. Ellen couldn't resist a gibe, and the previous night's antics were revealed. Michael's invitation for them both was discussed. Ellen was very supportive of the idea. Stacy mentioned that she wasn't sure that she should go through with the Program. Ellen countered that, if nothing else, Stacy ought to do her very best for herself and for her entire team. Stacy agreed to work hard in the Program. A brief examination showed them both in good health. Both were fitted with an IUD and each received a morning-after pill.

Amy Rogers was another patient that day. Amy hadn't found a steady beau in the year or so she had been in town. Visits with her college boyfriend had trailed off, the physical distance taking some of the toll, and their diverging interests the rest. Amy had relied on condoms for her all-too-infrequent trysts. She had had no intention of sullying her reputation in her new hometown by making herself too available.

Amy was uncertain which method of contraception she should choose. When she asked Ellen which method she used, Ellen had answered with a wry smile that she didn't need contraception. Amy's quizzical look prompted Ellen to assure her that, without putting too fine a point on it, she wasn't celibate. Ellen wasn't certain that the naive Amy had made the proper connection, but she wasn't going to be explicit, either. On Ellen's recommendation, Amy chose to use an IUD. Amy blushed crimson and declined a dose of the morning-after pill.

Being popular meant cultivating her friendships. Stacy parted company with her mother and went in search of her gaggle of girlfriends. She found them at the burger joint, finishing their lunch. She slid into the booth and ordered her very first glass of wine in public.

The girls never tired of gossip. They went over all the events of yesterday's orientation and the exciting night last night. They were scandalized at having to strip and swim in the pool with the boys and, even worse, the adults. Catty comments on the revealed physical attributes of a lot of the boys, and some of the girls, were a source of much mirth. They felt fear and excitement at the prospect of sharing locker rooms, and showers, with the boys. This and much more kept them laughing and chattering for a long time.

"I got an IUD today," Stacy announced when the conversation hit a lull.

A shocked Alexis blurted out, "I thought you were a virgin?"

"I got an IUD today," Stacy repeated.

Her announcement caused chaos to erupt. All of the girls started talking at once. "All right," Lauren said, "spill!"

"I will, I will," smiled Stacy. "First, I want to ask you something. Chelsea, will you tell us what it was like to lose your cherry?"

"I'm not sure I want to do that. Why do you ask?" said Chelsea.

"How about I say how I think it went, and you tell me if I'm wrong?" asked Stacy. Several of the girls murmured their assent.

"Here it goes," said Stacy. "It was in the back seat of a car, or on a blanket in the park, or at the movies, or some other semi-public place. You were sure you'd have a flashlight shining in your eyes at any moment, held by a cop or a creep. You didn't even get fully undressed. You couldn't see worth a damn. It hurt like blazes, it lasted about 30 seconds, you didn't get off, the blood stained your clothes, and you were back in the front seat three minutes later. He probably didn't even say thank you. How far off am I?"

"Well," Chelsea allowed, "some of the details aren't quite right, but you got the general idea pretty well." A couple of the other girls shame-facedly agreed.

"How many of you haven't done it again since? How many got dumped by the guy right after that?" asked Stacy. Again, several of the girls admitted she was right.

"I think a girl's first time should be special, even magical. We all know we're going to be picked up by the Confederacy in a few months. If you thought your first time was awful, imagine being in that circus with your hymen intact. I, for one, think that is about my worst nightmare.

"Now, my brother invited my mother to come along with him as his concubine. She was unbelievably excited, and said 'yes,' but she needed some time. He agreed to give her all the time she needed. He invited me to join them, but he asked me to hold my decision in case The Man of My Dreams appears. I told him I would decide later.

"My mother hasn't had sex since my dad left, six years ago. My brother kept his promise to let Mom have the time she needs. But he has been flirting with her outrageously. She got all hot and bothered. I decided to help him tease her. I asked her to help my brother break my hymen."

"Your little brother?" squeaked Lauren.

"My younger brother isn't so little anymore," Stacy blushed. "So, anyways, one thing led to another, and Mom guided Michael and me through it. It was everything I had ever hoped for. I'm so glad it happened that way."

"Didn't it hurt?" asked Chelsea.

"It *stung* for a bit" answered Stacy. "That's all. I waited until I was used to him being inside me before I started moving. I felt so full! It felt so right! I've never had such a powerful orgasm, ever."

"Stacy, that's awesome!" tittered Kayla.

They gabbed for another hour. Finally, their chatter wound down and it was time to go. They paid their checks and walked out together. They made their goodbyes and left, walking in three different directions. Kayla walked with Stacy.

"Stacy," she said, "what you said about being a virgin during the pickup scares me. I don't want that to happen to me. No way am I gonna let Justin take my cherry. The whole school would know about it the next day. I don't want my dad to do it, either. What am I going to do?" she pleaded.

"Kayla, we've been friends since kindergarten. Did you just ask me if it's OK to borrow my brother?"

Kayla blushed crimson. She hid her face, but didn't answer.

"I'll ask him, Kayla," said Stacy. "I don't know what he'll say. If he will, I know you won't hear about it at school, unless you tell anyone. Michael won't, and I won't."

"I'm so freakin' embarrassed!" hissed Kayla. "Would you do that for me? Please?"

"I will," she answered. "I gotta tell ya, I'm kinda sore down there today. You might not want to do it on a school night. Are you on any birth control?"

"Yes," said Kayla, "my mother put me on the Pill last year because of my period."

"Speaking of which," said Stacy, "when does it start?"

Kayla answered, "It starts this Thursday."

"Well, do you want to do the deed tonight, or do you want to wait until the weekend after next?"

"What do you think is going to happen in the Program?" asked Kayla. "I know we have to locker, shower and swim naked with the boys. I just know that half the boys in sight will have hard-ons. Oh, God, Stacy, what if Justin or somebody sneaks up to me and just jams his cock into me? Stacy, I'm scared. I can't take that risk. Please, please, please, can we do it tonight?"

"I'll ask him for you. You don't have a date tonight?"

"Justin kinda sorta thought we should go out. He might not even show up, the creep. I can cancel it."

"Let me talk to Michael," said Stacy. "If I ask him as a favor to me, he'll probably do it. If he tries to squirm out of it, I'll tell him why he has to. I'll call you later. Why don't you plan on coming over at about eight o'clock? Tell your parents you're having a sleepover with me. For your first time, you deserve all the attention you can tolerate."

"Thank you *so much* Stacy. I'll find a way to pay you back, big time." Kayla hugged Stacy fiercely. Then, with a wave, Kayla turned and headed for her home.

Stacy headed for her own home. She knew Michael couldn't turn down sex with Kayla. She'd talk him into it. She knew she wanted to get her own, first. She'd tell Jenny to get some, too.

Michael was again hard at work on the database. He was meeting with Jean. "After we completed our interviews with the five mail carriers, we had identified 1,187 people in or near town," he said. Of those, there are 385 children younger than eighth grade. As you know, there are 144 kids from eighth through twelfth grades. There are 317 adult men and 341 adult women, a total of 658. We don't know yet how many of the women are above childbearing age.

"So, 658 adults and 144 students means there are 802 prospective volunteers. As of Thursday night, there were 438 cards scanned. As of now, we're up to 589 cards scanned. We now have self-serve scanning equipment in John's bakery and the two churches."

"Let's see how many more cards are scanned by Monday afternoon," said Jean. "We have the equipment well-placed all over town, and I have seen the fliers displayed in the businesses I've been in over the last few days. We should have captured scans for all of the Program participants when they check in on Monday morning. It was a good idea to use the database as an attendance and truancy report."

"Jean," said Michael, "we still haven't done anything for the eighth graders who have never had a CAP test. Do you have any ideas?"

"Did you capture the student ID number when you downloaded the school data?" asked Jean. Michael nodded his head. "If the ID number was entered, would it serve to identify the student?" Again he nodded. "Then how can we get a plastic card and encode the student ID?" she asked.

"There are web sites that will generate bar codes," said Michael. "I can sort out of the database all of the eighth graders, have bar codes generated, print them onto labels, paste the labels onto card stock and have the cards laminated at the office supply store," he grinned.

"Do it," she said with glee. "The next thing we need is an analysis of CAP sub-scores to help us identify adults who have a good chance of improving their CAP scores."

"Let me research the database," said Michael, and see if I can find any useful patterns or other clues. I'll come back to see you when I think I have something to show you."

John Davis had had a rough night on Friday. He thought a repeat performance was inevitable unless the adults did something. He was working on arrangements for an enormous party for the kids that night. He had firmly in his mind's eye the passage in Walt Disney's film 'Pinocchio' where the bad boys were lured with cigars and drink. They wound up on the Island of Donkeys, or some such, being changed into donkeys. If his plan worked, the rowdy kids would get so drunk they'd still be hung over on Monday.

John had drafted Steve Carpenter and Sarah Edwards to make arrangements for the actual party. He wanted Sarah involved to ensure that the fly trap he was setting would be irresistible, especially to the jocks. He had turned them loose with a generous budget for beer kegs, boxes of wine, bottles of whiskey and other spirits, cups, food, and supplies. He had asked them to enlist as much help as they needed, both for hauling, set-up and decoration as well as for scavenging music systems, tables and chairs, and the like.

Once that element was well under way, he arranged to meet with Jean Stevens, the principal, and Jim Beatty, the attorney. When they had gathered, he described the previous night from his point of view. He then candidly described the party he was pulling together.

"I'm planning on giving them enough rope to hang themselves," he told them. "I don't want them to know in advance. I'm thinking of it as a sort of aversion therapy. I hope they get so drunk, they won't want to drink again anytime soon. The kids won't be able to blame us -- it'll be self-inflicted injury. My concern is, how much trouble will the parents give us?"

"I think you have a good idea," said Jean. "The problem, as I see it, is what happens to them when the party is over?"

"To me," said Jim, "this entire extraction plan opens up an astonishing number of paradoxes. At the community meeting, we told the town that these kids should be made adults. We had a spirited discussion about whether we should do that. We made it abundantly clear that there is a reason that adulthood has long been withheld until age 21. Everyone knew that not all of the children had the maturity and self-control necessary to act like adults all the time. Everyone knew that some of the children would stumble, some more than others. In the end, the decision was overwhelmingly approved. So be it. Adults are responsible for their own actions."

"If we arrange to keep them overnight," said Jean, "I should think we would be almost entirely blameless. Can we quickly collect enough stuff so the kids can camp out -- or pass out -- on the floor and be comfortable enough?"

They thrashed that out for a while. They decided to make it crystal clear that each and every partygoer would be required to remain in the building until eight o'clock the following morning. They would encourage the kids to bring their own blankets and pillows. Because many would inevitably fail to bring blankets, John thought they could borrow enough moving company furniture blankets to serve. Something or other could be made to work for pillows.

They discussed whether to serve breakfast the following morning, but rejected that idea. The adults at least would have had enough by then and would want to see the place cleared out as early as possible.

Every high school has at least one girl with round heels. The slightest effort would have the girl on her back, sans panties, knees wide apart, willing to take on all comers. (Jean especially enjoyed the pun.) They decided that that was another paradox. These were now truly adults. As long as the parties weren't being coerced, and there was little apparent risk of injury, they would not interfere with sexual activity at the party.

Finally, they discussed which, and how many, of the adults would be conscripted for overnight duty at the party. There were a dozen dozen prospective attendees. They estimated that perhaps half that number would come to the party. Six adults for perhaps seventy-two partiers seemed reasonable. They elected 'volunteers' and decided on several more for backup. Jean volunteered herself and her husband Mike. They wanted Ellen Waters, due in part to her being the doctor. They cast about until they agreed on the remaining three participants and three reservists.

John agreed to circle around to all of the bars and restaurants to suggest that they encourage their young patrons go to the party and enjoy the free booze. He would remind the owners to say that the price of admission was that they bring pillows and blankets. Jean agreed to enlist a number of young people to spread the word.

Stacy walked in the back door to find her mother apparently preparing dinner, although it was rather early. "Welcome home, Slut!" her mom greeted her.

"I love you too, Slut," she answered with a laugh. "I walked home in the rain, but that's not why my panties are soaked. I'm kinda sore, but it's the best sore I've ever felt. I want more!" She poured herself a glass of water and sat at the breakfast bar to be with Jenny.

"What's all this 'slut' about, anyway?" asked Michael as he entered the kitchen.

"Hello, Lover, I'm glad you came in," chirped Stacy. "I have to talk to you both. 'Slut' is one of those charged words that are reserved. If a man uses it, it is a deep insult. Women use it mostly as a term of endearment. It's like only the African-Americans can use the 'N' word; it is forbidden for a white person to use. Only a man can call a man a pussy."

"Yeah, OK, I get it," said Michael. "So, I'm out of luck. What do I use instead?"

"You just crook your finger," Jenny giggled. "You know, like 'come here'? We'll understand what you want." They all laughed.

That 'hello, lover' has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" asked Michael. Both women heartily agreed.

"I heard what you said about walking home in the rain," smirked Michael. "You should get out of your wet clothes. I'd hate for you to catch a chill!"

"I will, I will," laughed Stacy. "But first I want you to pay attention to these lips, not those lips. I need to talk to you."

"So talk, so talk!" chuckled Michael. "I've got a really hard problem I need you to help me with!"

"Do you know what became of my children?" giggled Jenny. "You look like them, but you don't act like them."

"Someone gave me an injection, Jenny," and Stacy emphasized the name, "and I became a sex-crazed zombie." Everyone laughed.

"So, anyway, I have kind of a shaggy-dog story I need to tell you, leading up to my point," said Stacy. "After we left Ellen's office, I went and found my friends. I got served my first glass of wine in a public place! We were talking away. I was so excited that I blurted out that I got an IUD this morning. They immediately challenged me, saying they thought I was a virgin."

"What does an IUD have to do with being a virgin?" asked Michael.

Jenny put her hand over Michael's. "A girl's hymen blocks access to the womb. The IUD can't be fitted. Virgins usually use other contraceptive methods, if they use any at all."

"Oh, I get it," blushed Michael. "Sorry for the interruption."

"That's OK," chuckled Stacy. "So, anyway, that made my friends demand the juicy details. And I gave them a roundabout answer. First, I asked them what it was like for their first time. They didn't want to describe it, so I did it for them. I said I bet it was in the back seat of a car or some other semi-public place, that they were frightened, that it hurt like hell, lasted less than a minute, and he didn't even say 'thank you'. I said I bet the guy dumped them right after that, and told the whole school he'd scored. Sadly, most of them admitted I was pretty much right on target."

"I had no idea that's what usually happens!" cried Michael.

Jenny said, "Some girls don't know that often happens. Some girls know that happened to their friends, and they try not to let it happen to them, but it does anyway. Some girls know that happens but they don't see any alternative."

"Well," Stacy continued, "then I pointed out that we're all gonna be in a pickup soon and, if they thought their experience was awful, then what would it be like to be in a pickup circus as a virgin. They agreed it would be ten times worse than what they'd suffered.

"I changed direction and told them my brother had invited our mom to be his concubine, that you were excited but wanted more time, that Michael had agreed to let you take your time but had flirted outrageously. I admitted I had piled on with your torture by asking you to help Michael break my cherry. One thing led to another and you did help Michael. I told them it was the most magical, wonderful experience of my life. And it was! I told them it was everything I had ever hoped for.

"So, and here's the point of my shaggy-dog story, when we left, Kayla went with me. She told me I had scared the hell out of her. She's still a virgin. Her boyfriend is an asshole. She doesn't have a brother, and she'd never ask her dad. She begged me to ask you, Michael, to do the deed for her. I told her I would ask. Then, it came out that her period starts next week. I asked her if the weekend after next would be OK. She's terrified that somebody will sneak up on her in the pool or the shower and just jam his dick in her. I don't know if that is a valid worry or not, but she's terrified.

"She wants you to do her tonight, Michael."

Jenny and Michael sat in stunned silence. "Tonight?" croaked Michael.

"I told her she'd be sore the next day and told her she might not want to do it on a school night. She can't do it next weekend because of her period."

Jenny gathered herself and said, "I don't know whether to be outraged, or proud of you, Stacy. You've been friends with Kayla for a long, long time."

"Since kindergarten," said Stacy.

"As this starts to sink in," said Jenny, "I think I'm gonna have to say I'm proud of you, Stacy. I think that's the nicest thing you've ever done for her."

"I was hoping you'd think that," said a plainly relieved Stacy. "The alternative is too awful to think about. But I also think we need to make this help us, too."

"What do you mean?" asked Michael.

"Michael," said Stacy earnestly, "Jenny is going to have to share you with at least two other women. I know you'll work hard on this Program. I think you will add enough to your CAP score to qualify for two more women. You don't need much to go from 6.8 to 7.0. Even if I decide to join you two, there will be three other women joining us in our bed."

"And you want Kayla to be one of those women?" asked Michael.

"That isn't the point at all," answered Stacy. "Kayla might wind up being one of those women, or she might not. I might decide to join you, or I might not. For me, these next few months are a chance to learn about and enjoy sex with a man, and sex with a woman. Just about the same thing applies to both of you. Kayla represents an opportunity for all of us to see what it's like to go to bed with someone who isn't already in our family, to see how we might learn to get along with someone else, and have her join our family."

Stacy stopped talking and let her thoughts sink in with Michael and Jenny.

"My God, Stacy," said Jenny, "that's really wise of you. If it's OK with you, Michael, I think that's what we should do."

"I've gotta agree," said Michael. "Stacy, you seem to have been able to think this through pretty well so far. How do you think this will work?"

"Well," Stacy said, "you might have to change some parts of it, but here's what I think we should do. First, this has made me so horny I want to fuck you both right now. Then, we should get up, shower, dress in tops, panties and pants, and wait for Kayla to arrive at about eight. I told Kayla to plan on a sleepover, so we'll have a lot of time. We should all sit in the living room, with some wine, and talk. We should tell Kayla this is her night, but it's doubling as an experiment for ourselves -- we know we will have another woman or more in our family and we want to find out what it might be like. I'd like this to be everything Kayla has ever dreamed of, so we have to find out what she's ever dreamed of. We'll try our best to fulfill her dreams."

"That sounds like a very good plan, Stacy," said Jenny.

"I like the first part a lot!" grinned Michael.

"I thought you would," smiled Stacy.

The hall looked great. They had done a lot of work in a short amount of time. Sarah saw Mike and Jean Stevens inspecting the facilities and moved to join them.

"Hi there, Sarah," said Jean brightly. "You guys have done a super job getting this place ready for the party."

Sarah answered, "It was a lot of work, but everybody pitched in. Are you staying for the duration, or do you get an exit pass later?"

"We're about the first ones here," said Mike, "and we're planning on being the last to leave. Has anyone made arrangements to shovel out this place tomorrow? I don't think we'll have much left in us if this party goes as billed."

"John volunteered himself and a number of others," said Sarah. "I wonder whether they'll need a fire hose to wash the whole place down? Did you bring your pillows and blankets?"

"We're too old to sleep on the hard floor," laughed Jean. "We brought air mattresses and sleeping bags."

"If you say you're too old at your age," smiled Sarah, "then you make me feel like I'm too young. I just got promoted to adult!"

"And you are an adult," said Mike. "You exude maturity. Not to say you don't also exude youth and vitality!"

"Thank you," she smiled. "If you'll excuse me, I better put my pillow and blanket away and get ready to party."

By 7:30, the party was beginning to get under way in earnest. Some of the guys were already on their second beer. Kids were arriving in twos and threes. They were directed to put their blankets in a side room. Ellen captured the attention of those already present and made an announcement.

"Welcome to your party!" she began. "As you know, one of the conditions of the party is that it's a one-way door -- you're here until morning, for your own safety and protection. All of the other building exits have alarms. If you open a door, the alarm will sound. We will use your CAP cards to determine who is no longer here, and the culprits are in deep shit.

"There is lots of food and drink. You should enjoy all of the former you want. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate self-restraint, because we aren't going to restrain you unless someone is in danger. We're not going to tell you you've had too much to drink or anything like that. You are prohibited from rest rooms of the opposite sex. There are no other private places in the building. There will be no dark places, either, even when we've all faded for the night. If you want to engage in some slap-and-tickle, be prepared to have an audience. And if you pressure your girlfriend into doing something she doesn't want to do, you'll have me to deal with.

"I know it's still early. I hope a lot more of you show up soon. Please advise your friends of my words of wisdom when they get here. Now, have a blast!"

There were two round tables set up for poker. There were a number of card tables. Some had decks of cards, some had Monopoly and similar games. There was a round table with a Tripoli board. There was a dartboard on one wall. There were lots of other entertainments. There was food galore and, of course, there were kegs of beer and boxes of wine. There were even soft drinks on the odd chance that some of the kids might curb their alcohol consumption.

Soon, the party was in full swing. The noise level was held down to a dull roar in deference to the chaperones if not the neighbors. A good time was being had by all. Sarah's current beau made his appearance and spent some time with her before wandering off to be with the other jocks.

All high school class officer elections are popularity contests. Being senior class president meant that Sarah was one of the more popular kids in school. Part of being popular was having a boyfriend who was also popular. Ryan Napier was a cornerback on the football team and the shortstop on the baseball team. Ryan didn't have the CAP score to volunteer. Sarah doubted whether the CAP enhancement program would benefit Ryan. She had recently been troubled at the prospect of her selecting Ryan as her concubine. Ryan was accustomed to the adulation due those who appeared to be on top of the heap. He was fun to be with, in high school. He certainly was not a considerate lover, although they had sex as frequently as Ryan could.

Sarah wanted to use the occasion of the party to begin finding (but not choosing) candidates for her harem. Her 7.1 CAP score allowed her four concubines plus the supernumerary 'motherly' concubine. Counting herself, that was six people. She had been considering the selection of two males, which would leave herself and three other women. Two men and four women seemed to her a better family unit than one male and five females. She wanted a mature 'mother' but she began to realize that a mature 'dad' would be a very good investment for her and for all of their children.

She saw that Bob Minter had attended the party with his daughter, Sandy. Sarah was impressed with Bob. He had really single-handedly hatched the plan that had blossomed into the upcoming town-wide extraction and the CAP enhancement program. He was an important and respected member of the Core Group to which she herself belonged. She knew how hard he had worked in arranging equipment and other elements of the Program. She saw his attentiveness and care during the orientation session. She knew he would devote all of his time and energy to the Program, each and every day until it ended.

She didn't know Sandy very well at all. Sandy was only thirteen, an eighth grader. It was obvious that Bob doted on her, as well as his two younger children. She didn't really know Kathy, although Sarah had babysat for them on a couple of occasions. Kathy seemed a nice enough person. Sarah had no real sense of who or what Kathy was, although if she was a good match for Bob it seemed very unlikely that she had serious personality faults.

Sarah began weighing the implications of her selecting Bob. First, she would almost have to select Kathy as well. And what about Sandy? She was fairly sure she wanted another male, but he could be a student. She had to think about her own mother, and her father. Her father was very strong-willed and opinionated. He was extremely smart though. Sarah realized that, as a member of the Core Group, she would have early access to details revealed in the database. She promised herself she would investigate at her earliest opportunity. She filed Bob away for future consideration.

Sarah wasn't senior class president only because she was pretty, popular and intelligent. Crossing swords with her father had brought her an inner toughness that had served her well. She wasn't afraid that the male she selected would usurp control from her. She did worry about frequent and extended bouts that with such a man could severely unsettle the entire family. She didn't need that, she didn't want that, and she wouldn't have that. Her first priority for the mature man she wanted was that he be supportive and attentive to the needs of all of the family, but especially the children. She didn't doubt that she would wind up with children from the onset. There would be many, many more, she knew.

A clutch of Sarah's friends descended on her. 'Enough mental heavy-lifting for now,' she thought to herself. She engaged with her friends and set out to have a good time.