Tuesday Morning

About four in the morning I woke up a couple of times and couldn't get back to sleep. On the third try I decided I might as well get something done.

As quietly as possible I closed the hallway door, snapped on the desk light, and booted up the computer. First I reviewed the previous day's lecture material and it was scary how little seemed familiar. I must have been more spaced out than I realized. Anyway, I finished reviewing the lectures, did the assigned reading, and then whipped through the homework.

Next I checked messages. It was all spam except for the one I was really looking for: a message from Reb. She looked like she'd been through a wringer but it was definitely her.

"Hi Viv, this is Reb. I'll call back," was all she had to say. I tried returning the call but Reb has suppressed the sender address. That meant I couldn't send her a message, either. I'd just have to wait or, if that failed, try Magic again.

Rebecca Ribelle -- Reb -- was one of the few people in the world I truly trusted and respected. When I first met her she owned Borderline Dirt and Speed, she owned the beach house we later called Casa Velocidad, and for whatever reason she unofficially adopted any lost teenagers she found along the beach, sleeping by her door, or whatever. The beach house, after all, was quite a magnet. Reb was our unofficial den mother, camp counselor, sorority mother, and aunt. She made us work and she made us study, but she was always fair. She worked us; she rewarded us; she protected and defended us. She had her faults but she never screwed us over: not even once. That's a rare thing.

More often than not, kids drifted away rather than live up to Reb's standards. Those of us who remained were a tough bunch. We tended to be street smart, head smart, talented, and determined. We didn't hold back on ourselves or others. We were looking for a home, not running away from one. I suppose we drove away our share of drifters too: those who couldn't cut it.

Reb helped us find our talents and develop them to the max. That's how I got started doing a lot of things, such as racing dune buggies. Then, though no fault of Reb's, it all ended.

It was still early so I logged into Bogswamp's and resumed studying maps. The maps themselves were easy enough to read, and I knew what I was looking for. The problem was the amount of manual searching I had to do and the need to correlate data from different maps.

I tried browsing a couple of search engines for help, but all the solutions I found were expensive and required installing software on Bogswamp's servers. On a hunch, I sent Ben a message asking for help with mapping software. Of course he wasn't up yet so it just went into his queue.

With no immediate help available, I continued searching the maps visually. I guess I really got into it because when the door opened it sounded like a thunderbolt. First I nearly jumped out of my seat then I turned around and saw Adam peeking in.

"You startled me," I explained. "You shouldn't sneak up behind people like that."

"Look who's talking," Adam replied. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I started work at Bogswamp's yesterday, and I'd been up all night with my aunt who was sick, and Cynthia noticed how tired I looked. So I told her what happened, and that my aunt was in the hospital, and she asked me to stay here."

"Why did you call my mom Cynthia?"

"She told me to. She said everyone at Bogswamp's uses first names."

"Well, my mom told me the same story about your aunt when I got home last night and asked about the jeep. So I guess that jibes, and it also explains why you fell asleep so early. But what's the real reason you're here?"

"Adam, that's the real reason. I was working at Bogswamp's, which is something you helped bring about, and I fully expected to go home to Marjorie's apartment and clean it up and air it out and sleep there last night. My coming here was Cynthia's idea."

"You mean my mom's?"

"Yeah, Cynthia's. Look, this is crazy, you standing in the door and me twisting around in this chair. Why don't you come in?" I asked, standing up and moving toward the door.

"No, I need to eat breakfast and then go to swim workouts," he replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked, stretching back onto the bed.

"Yes, I am," he said, and then he was gone.

Moments later I head Adam's footsteps going down the stairs; then I guess he went into the kitchen. With Adam out of earshot I tried calling Olivia again and this time she was awake. I suppose that being on the swim team, she was on the same schedule as Adam.

"You again," Olivia answered.

"Yeah, sorry to keep buggin' you," I apologized, but Olivia didn't seem impressed. "Look, though, I'm tryin' to fix things up with Adam. I figure a nice surprise might do the trick. Has he ever told you anything he'd really like?"

"Do you mean, like, gifts, or favors, or sex, or something else?" Olivia asked.

"Sex, unless you think one of those others would be better."

"Nothing I recall. He really wasn't active until these last few weeks, you know."

"Would you ask him and then let me know?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"He's pissed at me right now. Uh, don't tell him you're asking because of me."

"Well, I don't know why I'm doing this, but OK," Olivia agreed. "Maybe it's because I didn't like that bad mood he was in yesterday."

"You and me both," I commiserated. Then, after I thanked her, we both said, "Bang!" and disconnected.

After that I made the bed, took a quick shower, and headed downstairs. Adam and Cynthia were having breakfast in the kitchen.

"Am I intruding?" I asked cautiously.

"No dear, not at all. Good morning," Cynthia greeted me warmly. "Come have a seat. Can I get you anything? Adam is having a ham and Swiss omelet."

"That sounds good, if it's not too much trouble," I replied.

"It's no trouble at all. The frying pan is still warm," Cynthia answered, rising from her seat. Absentmindedly I watched her take the eggs, ham, and cheese from the refrigerator, then crack and mix the eggs. I thought for a moment she was going to fry the omelet naked but at the last second she pulled on an old denim shirt.

"So, do you have a thing for my mom now?" Adam asked.

"What? No, not like that. I just never had a mom to cook me an omelet before, that's all. I'm just... I should have been looking at you. I'm sorry," I stammered. "Uh, look, Adam, I know things yesterday didn't go so well. I think we should talk about it."

"Not here," he whispered.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because my mom is here," Adam whispered, somewhat perturbed.

"What? You don't share your sex life with your mom?" I asked. By then, Cynthia was serving me the omelet and Adam turned ten shades of pink.

"Oh, I wish I'd known that yesterday," I admitted. Cynthia formed a little smile, shook her head softly, and rolled her eyes. Adam, however, went ballistic. He wolfed down the last of his omelet and rushed out of the house. Moments later I heard his car backing out of the driveway and then he was gone.

"Oops," I said to no one in particular, although Cynthia and I were the only ones present.

"You two certainly seem to operate on different wavelengths," Cynthia remarked.

"Do you think I'm in worse trouble now?" I asked her.

"I think the two of you will work it out," Cynthia consoled me. "The two of you just need to get better acquainted. Mentally and emotionally, I mean. You know, until the last few weeks, Adam was always shy around girls. He went on dates sometimes but they were just casual flings. He'd go to the movies or a dance with someone, and then he'd come home early. I think you were his first."

"Wait a minute. You just said he had other girlfriends."

"Yes, Vivian, I did, but I don't think Adam had actual sex with them."

"You mean, uh, vaginal intercourse?" I asked.

"Well, yes: going all the way, the real deal, hooking up, or whatever you kids call it these days. I don't think he did it with his earlier girlfriends. Of course, it's no secret with you and Adam. They showed the two of you doing it on the news."

Holy shit! If those two times up at the lake were Adam's first, then he did pretty well for himself. Of course, I hadn't been much of an expert at the time. It'd been the first time for me too, excluding other kinds of messing around. I'm not sure what I'd been waiting for but being stranded there on the beach with Adam turned out to be it. Maybe I trusted him even then, or at least wanted to.

"Are you OK, Vivian?" Cynthia asked.

"Oh, yeah, I was just thinking. Uh, look, I gotta finish some things before school starts. Is it OK if I keep using that computer upstairs?"

"Yes, that's fine. But Vivian, if you ever need help with Adam, or with anything else, will you consider coming to me? I don't know where this relationship between you and Adam will lead or how long it will last, but I think it's incredible how many obstacles you've faced in your life, and despite that how well you've done. I think you have the potential to do great things as long as you keep you head straight and don't get stuck along the way. Anyway, if you need something, I'm here. Now go and get ready for school."

"Thank, Cynthia," I replied quietly. It was a bit frightening, actually. I'd almost called her Mom.

Olivia called just as I was going upstairs. I didn't answer, though, until I'd returned to the spare bedroom and closed the door.

"What's up?" I asked Olivia. It was a few minutes past seven and of course, she was at the high school.

"Well, Adam seems to be over his funk, at least part way. We had our shower this morning."

"Good. And did you ask him?"

"Yeah, he said he wanted to keep making it with lots of girls."

"OK, good. Uh, look, what time do you guys shower after workouts?"

"Seven fifteen."

"Is it OK if I join you? Make it a three-way, I mean."

"I'm really not into girls," Olivia admitted.

"Me neither. We'll both concentrate on Adam. Is that OK?"

"Yeah, I guess. Uh, is this just for today or..."

"That depends on how Adam reacts but I don't see this goin' on and on. I'm just having some short-term problems with him, that's all. Oh, and keep this a secret, OK? I'm trying to surprise him."

"Well, all right, but you're gonna owe me a big favor," Olivia agreed.

"No problem. Can you be in the student lounge during first lunch today?"

"Yeah, but why...?"

"Keep it a secret but meet me there," I urged, then I said "Bang!", disconnected, and called Nadia.

"Yeah, Viv, what's happening?" she greeted me from in bed. It looked as if she'd just woken up.

"Can you reserve the big whoop during lunch today?"

"How would I do that?"

"I dunno. Maybe you could get somebody to put a Reserved or Out Of Order sign on it."

"Who's this for?"

"Adam. Do you want in?"

"What, you wanna swarm him?"

"Something like that."

"You're taking a big chance here, Viv. You sure about this?"

"Yeah."

"OK. Code of silence, right?"

"Right."

After that, I called Crystal and Sandra Samuels. They also agreed to meet me in the student lounge and to keep Adam in the dark.

I was just about to make another call when one came in from Ben. Like Nadia, he looked sleepy. I felt as if I'd been up half the day.

"So, what's up? Something about mapping software?" Ben began.

"Yeah, I'm looking at some topographical maps and I can't get the view I want. I thought maybe another viewer program would be better. Do you know where I should look?"

"Yeah, maybe. Is this on your PDA?"

"The viewer is on a desktop here, but the maps and databases are at Bogswamp Realty. You'd need a login account to access them."

"No problem. Copy my ID from this call into the desktop's user database, and then send me a message from the desktop. That way, I can connect back to your session."

Those steps only took a few seconds, and then Ben was able to see my screen.

"See, these topological maps show elevation, but it's hard to find places with various degrees of irregularity." I explained

"So, you're not really concerned with altitude; you're more concerned with irregularity. Local hilliness and flatness, for example," Ben verified.

"Yeah, that sounds right. If it had a query language and filters that would be even better."

"OK... Hang on a minute... Yeah, here. It's a program called MapTuity, and it was somebody's research project, so it's free. I'll send you the URL."

"How about overlaying one map with another?"

"Like what?"

"Well, here's another map that shows land ownership and zoning. And here's a highway map. And this one shows flood water drainage. How can I filter these, and then make the background transparent, and then display them on top of one another?"

"Uh, that's a program called Merge-a-Mapics. I've got a license key from the university that I'm not using right now. You can have it for a few weeks or whatever. You want me to send it?"

"Yes, that'd be great. Uh, look, one more thing: Have you ever done automotive or vehicular programming?"

"You mean computer-controlled ignition and anti-lock brakes and stuff like that?"

"Yeah."

"No, but I did some work on model plane controls last year. Basically, we put a TV camera and telemetry in the plane, piped the output into a computer, and hooked the remote control box into the same computer. It was like flight simulator, but with real wind factors and stuff. Why?"

"Do you know anything about maglev propulsion?"

"Only a little. That's where a train or a roller coaster floats on a magnetic field, right? And they also use magnetic fields to accelerate and slow the train?"

"Yeah, that's it. Do you know anything about the mathematics involved?"

"Some. I've been working with this grad student at the university, and he has a friend who's into that stuff. I've been helping him with the math. Why? Are you hoping to find right-of-way and lay down tracks?"

"That's closer to the truth than you might think," I remarked. "Uh, look, don't mention this to anyone, OK?"

"Sure, OK. There's not that much to say so far."

"If there's more, would you be interested?"

"Well, yeah, that was fun, working on that plane. Hey, thanks for not making a fuss over me."

"What do you mean?"

"There must have been a thousand girls yesterday bugging me about my dicks. Oh, let me see. Oh, how did that happen? Oh, how do they feel? Oh, let me see you cum. Or piss. Or whatever. I feel like three pieces of meat, and only the first two count."

"If they bug you that much, maybe you should teach one or two of them a lesson," I suggested.

"Like what?"

"Uh, look, I'm gonna be late. I'll see you in school later. In the meantime, why don't you ask Teah for some ideas?" I suggested.

"Ooooohhh!" we both said together then we disconnected.

I wasn't kidding about running late, though. Quickly I looked around the room, hoping I wasn't leaving a mess; then I turned off the room lights and the computer monitor. The system unit, however, I let run. Then I dashed down the stairs, gave Cynthia a big thank you, flew into the jeep, and gunned it toward school.

Of course, I was just out of the driveway before discovering that the driver's seat was still soaked with rainwater. I tried bouncing up and down to shake the water out, but then a chartered bus full of firemen pulled next to me and I had to smile and wave to each and every one of them. That's not easy to do when you have the coldest and clammiest butt in the state.

When I got to the school the heat inside the building was heavenly. I was sorely tempted to roast my butt over a heating vent for a few minutes, but then I checked the time and realized I had none to spare. So instead, I headed directly to the athletic locker room.

Adam and Olivia were there, all right, sudsing and scrubbing each other under a showerhead near the entryway. Adam had his back to me, which meant Olivia saw me approach. Silently though, I gave her a sssh and held one finger in front of my mouth. Olivia got the idea and smoothly continued scrubbing Adam's, uh, abs, I believe.

Without comment I grabbed a bar of soap and began working on Adam's shoulders. It took him a moment to notice, then he jumped, then he twisted his head around and got some water in his eye. Eventually, though, he recognized me.

"Hi, there. Remember me?" I asked.

"You shouldn't sneak up behind people like that," he remarked. Olivia seemed to have moved a little lower, and so did I. Everybody wants a clean butt, right? "Anyway, why are you here?"

"I have a Reasonable Request," I explained. "I want to help wash you."

"What kind of Reasonable Request is that?" Adam asked.

"Hey, it's a lot more reasonable than most of what's goin' around," I observed. "You can either stand still or slowly spin around."

"I think I'll stand still," Adam decided, turning his face back to Olivia.

"That's fine," I replied. "I wouldn't say your butt is your best part, but it's not your worst."

Adam's whole back side was sudsy by then so I kind of massaged (what else?) his butt, the small of his back, the back of his ribs, his shoulder blades, the back of his neck, then back down to his butt, the back of his thighs, and the back of his calves. Olivia, however, seemed to think it was mostly Adam's cock that needed scrubbing. I suppose she did the rest before I got there.

Of course, with Adam, it never takes long. First I noticed all his muscles stiffen; then I saw his cum squirt out and hit Olivia. She didn't seem to mind, though; in fact, with all the shower water falling and splashing about, she hardly seemed to notice.

Fifteen or twenty seconds passed, during which I continued scrubbing Adam's back and butt. That's when I realized something else was going on: Adam was peeing in the shower, and so was Olivia! That was a little surprising but OK, so what, and I was ready to take a piss too, so I did. It seemed Adam and Olivia had been careful not to pee on each other, so I was careful too. Even so, Olivia gave me a funny look. I don't think Adam knew what happened.

After a few minutes of rinsing, Adam was ready to be dried. I was ready to make another Reasonable Request, but it turned out I didn't need to. Olivia dried his front and I dried his back, then we each gave him a pat on the butt and sent him off mumbling to his first period gym class.

"Thanks," I told Olivia.

"No problem," Olivia replied. "I have to admit, I was afraid you were butting in. You didn't though, at least not in the way I mean, so it was OK."

"Well, I don't expect this to be a regular thing."

"Oh, I know, but just once, or occasionally... Friday is the thirteenth, you know..."

"Well, maybe. But today you're meeting us in the student lounge during first lunch, right?" I asked Olivia.

"Oh, yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that. Are you planning another two-on-one with Adam? Is that it?"

"Actually, it's a five-on-one," I admitted. "Why? Are you still in?"

"I thought maybe my friends Rita and Serena could come."

"OK, but could you ask 'em at the last minute? Like just before lunch? Because if too many people know something, it always gets out."

"Got it. Did you ever find out what happened to Reb?"

"Yeah, the blues couldn't make a case against her so they gave her to the Federales. She spent the next year in some cárcel on a trumped-up charge, but now she's out and we're playing telephone tag."

"Are you guys thinking of putting the team back together?"

"Haven't decided."

"Yeah, right," said Olivia, then we did a little high five and said, "Bang!" together.

Tuesday at School

Period 1 - Honors Seminar

The bell rang just as I got to Honors Seminar. I barely got to my usual spot snuggling with Pietre when Holloway began her daily announcements.

"Good morning, students," she began as usual. "Today a student who's in The Program would like to present some information. I think you'll see why I've granted her request. Go ahead, Dee."

The picture changed and there was Dee, extra-tall frame, extra-long mouth, extra-long hair, extra-high heels, and extra whatever else. Her eyes looked strange, too. Some people apparently liked how she looked and some didn't, but they all took notice.

"Good morning. My name is Dee Muntz," she began. "I'm sure most of you have seen me around school. As to the rest, well, you're seeing me now.

"At the same time, I'm sure most of you don't remember me from my first two and a half years here. I was just a very plain girl, and because of that, no one ever noticed me. I tried making minor changes to my injection, but I was still plain.

"So, last fall, when it was time to review my injection, I asked the doctor about extreme makeovers. He gave me some nanobot catalogs and told me to discuss it with my parents.

"So we talked everything over, my parents and I, and they realized I'd never be happy unless I tried this. I picked Blackcomb-Weller because I liked their catalog the best, and during semester break my folks sent me to their extreme makeover center in Featherton.

"An extreme makeover center is where you select and receive the features you want. The first week you just talk to counselors and finalize your selections. They set up simulations of what you're going to look like, and you can keep adjusting that. The simulations only predict your outer appearance, though. They don't prepare you for how it's going to feel."

"How do you mean that, Dee?" Holloway asked. Dee's tongue flitted around inside her mouth as she turned toward Holloway, and that was kind of weird. As if the rest of her wasn't, but anyway...

"Well, part of it is your reaction to a strange new face and body size. Being so tall and always wearing spike heels, even simple movements like walking feel completely different. My heels make it harder to feel the floor, for example. That means I have to be more careful where I step."

"Why do you always wear spike heels?" asked Holloway.

"Oh, they changed my feet, heels, and ankles so that wearing high heels all the time is comfortable, even with my new size," Dee explained. "Here, you wanna zoom in?"

At that point Dee removed one shoe and the camera zoomed in for a close up. I'm not sure if her foot looked deformed or broken, but it was definitely weird. Her heel was just a small bump on the back of her leg. Her foot, despite being held straight, pointed downward at an impossible angle. The ball of her foot was much tougher-looking than normal, and her big toe was second from the inside, not first.

"Go on," urged Holloway.

"Well, most of the staff there have gone through makeovers, and you meet a lot of people who are growing their changes or getting adaptive therapy. That means you don't have to rely on the catalog pictures; you can see everything in real life. Also, you get an idea of what you'll be going through. A lot of people chicken out.

"Why didn't you chicken out, Dee?" Holloway asked.

"I was tired of being plain. I could have become one more duplicate of a movie star or supermodel, but there's no individuality in that. I didn't want psychological mods, either. Those are scary. I wanted an exotic body, not a new mind."

"Dee, why did you pick this specific look and how did it work out?" Holloway asked.

"I wanted more attention, but not because I looked like an animal or a mythical creature or some other weird thing. I wanted to look sexy. That's why I stuck mostly to human features, just bigger and better than I had originally. All together, I'm about a foot taller than I used to be, and much stronger."

"Did you intend to become that tall?" asked Holloway.

"Yes, I was so tired of being short and unnoticed that I decided to go for a big change. Anyway, it's better to increase bone size all at once. That makes it easier to keep everything else in proportion. The only drawback is that you can't ever get shorter. There's no treatment that makes your bones shrink."

"Are you stronger to support your greater weight, or did you need the extra bone mass to support the strength you wanted to have?"

"I chose the height first, and then optimized strength, endurance, body fat and so forth. The doctors kept everything in proportion. They improved my balance and coordination, too."

"Anything else?" Holloway prompted.

"Well, I have extra pussy muscles now," Dee explained. "Here, you wanna zoom in again?"

At that point Dee spread her legs and opened her crotch to the camera. Then, once her mons was full screen, she opened and closed her inner and outer lips and flexed them in various directions, no hands. "I have the same sort of muscles inside," she claimed but didn't demonstrate.

"Why are your eyes yellow today?" Holloway asked suddenly.

"Oh, those are easy. They're just contact lenses. I have a bunch of different colors I can wear. My teeth are prosthetic too. That means I can snap 'em in and out, wear longer or shorter ones, or whatever."

"Did everything turn out as you excepted?"

"No, I didn't think changing my mouth and throat would affect my voice so much. Guys have such big cocks these days that most girls can't fit it all in, you know? That's why I had everything lengthened. But somehow, it made my voice deep and raspy.

"Wearing flat shoes hurts my feet and ankles now. That's no big deal -- I expected to wear heels all the time anyway -- but I had a lot of trouble finding high heel house slippers and high heel gym shoes.

"The other thing was my hair. I thought having it grow down my back would make it look longer and fuller, and it does that. The problem is brushing it and then not crushing it. I wanted it curly, but now I can't sit in any sort of chair with a back. The curls get crushed and then I have to brush them again, and that's awkward. Cars, busses, and planes are especially difficult. So are classroom chairs. I can't lay on my back, either. I can sit upright or stand all day and not get tired, though.

"We need to wrap this up, Dee, but tell us: Are you happy with the results? Would you do it again?" Holloway asked.

"I'm still getting used to my new look, but yes, I'm happy with it. People notice me wherever I go, and I had more sex yesterday than I had in two and a half years before my change.

"Thank you, Dee," said Holloway. "Now, students, I allowed Dee this time because so many of you kept asking her the same questions yesterday. That was a poor use of her time, of your time, and of class time. Now, Dee wanted and expected to be noticed, and I'm sure you'll continue to do so. But the crowds surrounding her and blocking the hallways need to stop. Thank you again, Dee.

"Students, if you're having any sort of problem being in or around The Program, or just want to share your experiences, please visit the support group. It's in the drama shop every day after school.

"That's all for this morning. Have an enjoyable and productive day."

For the next half hour we discussed Dee's decision, especially the various connections between perception of one's inner self, self-perception of one's external appearance, and reaction to the perceived perception of others. That somehow led to a discussion of whether Dee's choices were self-mutilation or self-enhancement, keeping in mind that beauty lies in the mind of the beholder. I guess once they call you smart, they think you're gonna care about that kind of stuff.

I just figured if someone really wants to know what it's like, they should sign up for the same treatment. The long floppy tongue left me cold, though.

Period 2 - Communications

When class was over I disentangled from Pietre and headed straight to Communications, where I found Nadia. Then, after a brief discussion, we waited for Crystal and Adam. When they arrived, Nadia spoke up first.

"I have a Reasonable Request," she told Adam. "I think we should try a group hug."

Adam didn't seem to like the idea. "Is that legal?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is," I told him. Then the three of us surrounded him and more or less sandwiched him from head to toe. Then we began to sway back and forth a little, and glide our hands across him.

"I have a Reasonable Request," said Tess Palmer, the drama princess, who'd also arrived for Communions class. "Can anybody play?"

Tess wiggled her naked way onto Adam's right thigh, which pushed me over to his left. Nadia was next to me on the left butt cheek, and Crystal was on the right. I was already working Adam's balls, but Tess grabbed the bottom of his cock with predictable results. When Adam let fly, Tess got the bulk of it.

The four of us rocked and rolled Adam a little longer, then it was time for class. Tess, who still had a pretty good grip on Adam, made another Reasonable Request and then pulled him into the classroom with her. Both of them were still pretty messy, but they just plopped onto the nearest sofa. Crystal, Nadia, and I took the couch right behind them.

From our perch I could see Tess on the left, Adam in the middle, and the cotton-clad guy from Monday on the right of their sofa. Magnusson tossed Tess a box of tissues so that she and Adam could get cleaned up, but some of Adam's cum got on the cotton guy's white shirt and khaki slacks anyway. All in all, I don't think he enjoyed an hour sitting next to Adam very much. So you see, there is some justice in the world.

Magnusson began by showing some clips of people masturbating on television. In the first one Nicky Gavinski, the actress, was a talk show guest. She was naked, of course, and as the camera panned through the audience, several guys were clearly and openly stroking themselves. I guess that was supposed to convince the viewers that Gavinski was hot.

In the second clip Jarod Fogus, the news anchor, delivered the broadcast from a tall stool. He stayed flaccid for the first few stories, then began to stroke himself as if he were slightly bored. After glancing at Fogus, Elisa Leyh, the weather bunny, began stroking herself as well. By the end of the broadcast, both of them seemed ready to cum.

The third and final clip was from a sitcom called My So-Called Sex Life. It started with the main character, Elise Mammaro, waiting on a bus stop bench. Of course she got bored and started doing herself. In fact, she got into it so much that she missed the bus she was supposed to take.

Elise was just finishing herself when a businessman in a suit sat down. At the sight of Elise he began doing himself, and then Elise asked if he shouldn't keep his suit pants clean. That led to Elise helping him off with his pants, and both of them missing the next bus.

Someone did get off the bus, though. It was the businessman's next-door neighbor, wearing a fishnet smock. She got turned by what the guy was doing, then hiked her smock, leaned against the lamppost, and started doing likewise.

To make a long story short, they finally got a bus driver who jerked off watching all three of them jerk off, and then everybody got on that bus. Of course, Elise found herself sitting across from a naked hunk who was masturbating, so she began to masturbate again, and of course she missed her ending stop.

Magnusson went on to discuss the importance of ratings, and how this leads the networks and producers to give the viewers whatever they want, or at least whatever will get their attention.

The question I wondered about, however, was how all this affected families like Lonnie, Johnnie, Donnie, and Ronnie Delonnie. Did jack-off families like the Delonnies encourage such programming, or did those programs turn the Delonnies into jack-offs?

After class the four of us repeated our Reasonable Requests for a group hug with Adam, and then Crystal and Nadia whisked him down the hall toward English. Adam tried a Reasonable Request to be left alone, but Nadia convinced him The Program didn't work that way.

"So, do you really think there's a chance of me getting in the actor's guild like you guys?" Tess asked.

"Well, yeah, you could just talk to the same lawyer," I advised her. "You might wanna check, though, whether you can turn pro and still act in amateur productions like class and college plays."

"What were those names again?"

"Edgar Robinsong is the lawyer, and Hilda Clipperd is the producer. Hey, thanks again for helping us out," I hinted.

"Oh, no problem," Tess replied. "I'll let you know how this turns out. Meanwhile keep me in mind for those commercials."

"We will. Bye," I hinted again, then she was gone.

Time was getting short but then a call from Reb came in. Naturally, I answered.

"Oh, Viv, it's really you," she began. "Thanks for lookin' me up, hey?"

"No problem," I replied. "You look like shit; you know that? Are you off your injection or somethin'?"

"No, Magic somehow managed to send a doctor from the Red Cross with it. Twice, in fact. But those cárceles don't have the healthiest food, you know. Plus I lost the shop; I lost the beach house; I'm just kinda bummed out. Magic tells me you were lookin' for a certain item."

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No. In fact, I've had it with this town and this state. How's the lifestyle there?"

"Not bad. There's not much of a scene here, but I'm workin' with some people to put one together. Why?"

"Magic and I were talkin' and we thought we might deliver the item personally. Then, since we'd be in town, we could look around. Whadya think? Thursday be OK?"

"Thursday? Yeah, that'll work."

"OK, we'll call when we get in. Get us a hotel, OK? Low profile?"

"Are you broke? I mean, if they got everything...?"

"Ah, let's just say that between Magic and me, we can swing the room. Should I call this number when we get in?"

"Yeah, do. Hey Bang!, huh?"

"Yeah, Bang! See ya' Thursday," Reb promised, then she disconnected.

Things were definitely accelerating so I called Ollie Chan at Bushie's Off-Road. Fortunately, he answered right away.

"Hey Ollie, what's a cheap but clean hotel right near the shop, there?" I asked.

"When manufacturer's reps and salesmen come in from out of town, they usually stay at the Banana Tryst. I guess it must be OK," Ollie suggested.

"OK, thanks. Uh, there's somethin' else. Are all the shop bays there assigned, or is there an empty one?"

"Actually, we have two empty ones, "Ollie explained. "We had a guy quit last month and Mr. Bushman hasn't found a replacement yet. So that bay is open, plus there's a spare that's never been used. Why, you know somebody?"

"There's an outside chance," I replied, and then I thanked him and called the Banana Tryst. They were happy to reserve one double room for a week starting Thursday, contact Lucy Lastic at Soroban Accounting for the deposit.

After that I told my PDA to draw a map showing all storage companies that had drive-in garages available, and that were five-miles or less from Bushie's Off-Road. Then I called each one, starting with those in the oldest part of town, looking for a garage with brick or concrete walls, no windows, twenty-four hours access, and no visibility from the main road. The third company, Folsom Lockup, had just what I wanted. They agreed to hold the unit until Thursday, when I would stop by to pick up the access codes.

With time getting critical I sent a quick message to Lucy Lastic, asking her to pay any Banana Tryst or Folsom Lockup charges from my personal account and to keep them private. Then I rushed into College English and took my seat across from Pietre just as the bell rang.

Period 3 - College English

Surprisingly, nothing unusual happened in College English that day. Perhaps reading Thoreau was just a turn-off, or perhaps the word unusual was losing its meaning. Either way, I just paid attention and waited for the bell.

Lunch Period

When the long-awaited bell finally came, I was out of the room like a shot. The student lounge was two floors down and three wings over, but I made it in record time.

Of course, I shouldn't have worried. Nadia was already in line and just as her turn came, the maintenance superintendent removed a Danger - Men Working sign from the big whoop. The faculty monitor handed Nadia a clean sheet, Nadia told her PDA to pay for it, and then the two of us rushed to get things set up, grabbing pillows and towels along the way.

The lounge itself was part of the original building. Initially, it had been the girl's gym. Now it was filled with bed frames, mattresses, couches, ottomans, floor mats, wall shackles, and even some exercise equipment. The original locker room now contained hot tubs, pulsating shower heads, water jets, and a wide assortment of unusual sinks, toilets, urinals and more esoteric fixtures. The sound system and lighting tracks were killer. Plaques near the entrance indicated the donor of each piece.

The big whoop was a twelve-foot circular bed: the kind of thing they used to put in honeymoon suites for group marriages, I guess. Nowadays, they're pretty common in family motels, tropical reports, and houses with open floor plans. Anyway, an outgoing senior class donated one for the student lounge.

Nadia and I had just attached the clean sheet when Crystal showed up with Adam. The poor guy looked as if his life was running before his eyes, but Crystal, Nadia, and I nevertheless made our Reasonable Requests. Then, we pushed him onto the center of the whoop.

Crystal knelt next to Adam's head, swung one leg over his neck, and then lowered her cunt onto his mouth. Nadia began working his chest and abs. I crawled up between his legs and took his cock by mouth. Adam came within seconds but I swallowed most of it and used a towel to wipe up the rest. Adam, of course, remained perfectly hard and ready for more. What a guy! I scooted up, rose to my knees, and prepared to lower myself around him.

That's when Sandra, Olivia, Rita, and Serena arrived. Nadia spotted them too, and waved them over. Sandra was wearing a sheer little chemise and left it on. All the others were in The Program. Olivia picked a spot on Adam's chest across from Nadia, so Rita and Serena took opposite positions on his abs. Sandra slid in beneath me, licking Adam's balls. It beat the hell out of me how she could breathe in there but oh well.

Dan showed up with Teah and two kids from her gym class: Steve Owsley and Nicole Peterson. There were plenty of mattresses, floor pads, and ottomans left, but the four of them headed for the old locker room instead.

I was still rocking on Adam but it was tough to know how I was doing. All I could see was Crystal's back. Her back, however, was starting to flex and jerk, and she was starting to work her hips foreword and back as well.

Ben showed up with Petunia Pei and Yulan Yuan, who'd changed out of their schoolgirl outfits and were wearing thin, silk, highly ornate, and very sexy kimonos. Ben got the last king size bed, then Petunia and Yulan dropped their kimonos.

I knew both girls were tall -- six feet at least -- but I didn't know how taut and fit they were. Both had long silky hair, flawless skin, firm conical breasts, perfect nipples, and fabulous muscle tone.

I had no idea either girl knew Ben, but they rapidly pushed him onto the bed. Then, each girl crawled over one of Ben's shoulders and took one of his dicks in her mouth. Katie Sullivan and Erin Shaunessy were close behind. They crawled between the Chinese girls, smothered him in upside-down kisses, and massaged his chest and arms.

Crystal had finished cumming by then and slipped off Adam's face. Adam seemed surprised to find me riding him, but somehow relieved as well. I was pretty worked up and loose by then, so I rotated my hips to create friction between my pussy walls and Adam's dick. It worked! Adam arched his back, bucked his hips, cried out, and filled me so full of juice that the excess dribbled down on Sandra.

After that I moved up on Adam, assuming Crystal's former position. Sandra spun around and began sucking his cock. Nadia and Olivia moved down to Adam's abs so that Erin and Katie could get over his hands.

Ben came with Petunia and Yulan, who afterward surrendered their positions to Katie and Erin. Petunia dropped her pussy onto Ben's mouth. Yulan knelt over his abs so that he could reach her pussy with both hands.

Adam brought me off with a flourish, then I spun around to see him cumming on Sandra's chemise. Apparently she'd pulled away at the last moment.

Ben came again with Erin and Katie, and then he brought off Petunia, then Yulan. Then the first bell rang.

With no small resignation, everyone got untangled and stood up. Most of them blinked their eyes and stretched for a moment; then a stampede to the showers ensued.

Nadia and I gathered up the linens from the big whoop and dropped them into the gurney outside the old locker room. Erin and Katie did the same for the bed they, Ben, and the Chinese girls had been using.

Sandra skipped her shower and headed for class flaunting her sheer totally slopped little chemise. Erin and Katie skipped their showers as well. The rest of us joined Dan, Teah, Steve, and Nicole and about fifty other loungers for a mosh pit shower.

"You girls must work out," I mentioned to Yulan. It was weird being all soaped up and rubbing against her, but I was also rubbing against half a dozen other people and them with me.

"We've been taking Tai Chi Chuan since we were four years old," Yulan replied, then the crowd swept her away.

Petunia Pei, however, popped into view. "I didn't know you and Yulan were hanging around with Ben out of class," I commented.

"We first met him at Lavender Liu's house," Petunia explained. "Ginger, Heather, and Jasmine were there, too. We all like Ben."

Lavender, my cousin Ginger, Heather, and Jasmine were all athletes at Outer Midlands High School. They all competed in both swimming and volleyball, and they were all at least six feet tall. Ben had to be the most spoiled guy on the planet. Or the luckiest.

It was strange, though, that Ginger had never mentioned Petunia or Yulan.

When Adam finally swept into view, I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the spray. We were both a little sudsy but we dried off the best we could and then rushed to History class.

"What was that?" Adam asked as we streaked through the hallways.

"You've been swarmed on the big whoop," I explained, as if that explained anything.

"Why?"

"I thought it would be a surprise," I said.

We were just a short distance from the classroom by then. Adam stopped near the wall and pulled me over.

"A nice quiet lunch with no interruptions would have been better," he told me.

"I thought you wanted to keep making it with lots of girls," I explained. "You know, to get back at me for that business with Fischbak yesterday."

"Where did you get that idea? Is something going on with you and Olivia? Why were you in the shower after swim workouts this morning?" he demanded.

"With you fooling around with so many girls, I thought I might as well join the fun."

"Those were all Reasonable Requests," Adam explained. "And not by me. I've had it with Reasonable Requests! I just want some peace and quiet."

"Is your name Adam?" a mousy girl wearing a tank top and shorts suddenly asked. Then, while removing her top, she continued, "I've been watching you ever since school started. I like the way your look. Anyway, I have a Reasonable Request."

"I already got him," I explained, throwing her The Glare.

"Well, you're just talking!" she pointed out.

"Right. I made a Reasonable Request for Adam here to talk dirty to me until class started. Now beat it."

"Vivian, you ignorant slut!" exclaimed Adam, as if to emphasize my point. At least, I think that's why he said it.

"You can't order me around. I'm not in The Program," the mousy chick claimed.

"A thousand hot bitches crave my raging pole of hot pulsing flesh! Does that make you jealous, cunt?" Adam asked.

"Isn't your name Dora Mussse?" I asked the mousy chick. "OK, look, Dora; you see that guy over there? His name is Gary Fischbak. I'm sure he's your type. He's in The Program. Go amuse yourself. Or him. Or both. Before I accidentally step on your foot."

Fortunately, Dora got the message. "Suck his trembling stiff warrior of passion!" Adam advised as she approached Fischbak.

Adam then turned to me and explained, "My naked torso and hot rock-hard manhood entice red-hot bitches at every turn! Passionately they demand satisfaction of their lewd carnal desires! On and on they cum, even now!"

"Hi, there, big guy," began Indira Kuciemba, a tall creamy-skinned girl wearing only an unfastened bolero vest. "I have a Reasonable Request."

Next in line behind Indira was Esther Dillingham, a black girl wearing a lime green cupless bra with streamers that hung to her knees.

Behind Esther was a goth chick named Lakisha Hinokawa. She had nose, lip, nipple, and pussy rings, not to mention combat boots, a waist cincher, a Mohawk, and dozens of earrings.

"Look here, ladies, the bell's about to ring," I announced. "Check back later when I'm done with him, OK?"

"I crave the awesome sight of your sloppy rock-hard body mud-wrestling those demented sex-crazed vixens!" Adam exclaimed.

"Very funny, stud. Let's talk some more after class, OK?"

Just then, however, the second bell rang and we had to take our seats. Adam winked at me but I was lost in thought, imagining what kind of movies and television shows he watched.

Period 4 - History

All through class Adam threw glances at me. Sometimes he looked pissed; other times he looked apologetic, relaxed, or indifferent.

He definitely had the attention of all the girls around him, though. Erin Shaunessy and Katie Sullivan kept staring at him and writhing in their seats. Noreen Tallarico kept opening her blouse and lifting her skirt to give Adam a peek. Lakisha Hinokawa, Indira Kuciemba, and Esther Dillingham kept winking and waving.

Was it really true that with the possible exception of Olivia, all of Adam's encounters had been Reasonable Requests he didn't initiate? If so, he hadn't been trying to spite me at all. And if that were true, I'd compounded the problem by fighting back at something that didn't exist.

About halfway through the class, Laitle had Gary Fischbak stand in front of the class and point out the routes of early English voyages to the New World. Fischbak wasn't exactly the world's definitive male model, of course, but he was in The Program and I thought some of the girls around Adam would have watched Fischbak instead. But no.

Of course, when the closing bell rang, there was a rush to Adam's desk. Nevertheless, with a little pushing and shoving, I managed to get there first.

"What now? Do I have to talk dirty again?" Adam whispered.

"No," I stated. "Adam, I have a Reasonable Request. I want you to hold me and whisper softly in my ear until you have to leave for your next class."

It worked. Erin, Katie, Noreen, Lakisha, Indira, and Esther all left the room and headed to their next classes. Dora Mussse and the other three chicks from the hallway were waiting by the door, but they moved along as well. Fischbak was crestfallen.

"Thanks," Adam whispered. We were holding each other a little askew, so his dick rubbed against my hip and his thigh pressed against my cunt.

"What class do you have next?," I whispered in his ear. "Math, isn't it? How long will it take you to get there?"

"About two minutes," he whispered.

"All right. I can get to Law in two minutes as well. So, tell me about all those girls you made it with yesterday. Did they all get you with Reasonable Requests?"

"Yeah, except Olivia," Adam barely spoke. I started to appreciate our little game more and more.

"I thought you were trying to piss me off, to get back for that business with Fischbak. That's why I tried to monopolize you this morning," I explained in his ear.

"And during lunch?" he asked in mine.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Well, I did feel a bit used, but it was fun anyway," Adam told me.

"Do you need to go to the washroom?" I asked.

"No, I went in the lounge shower."

"Weren't people jammed against you on all sides?"

"Nobody seemed to notice," Adam explained quietly. "Or maybe they did, but it was Teah or one of her friends from gym."

"So, I guess you want the Reasonable Requests to stop, eh?" I suggested.

"Yeah, but the Program rules..."

"Never mind," I told him. "When I say go, pull apart, hold out your arm, and record a video. OK? Go!"

As soon as we pulled apart a couple of girls started moving toward Adam. Fortunately, though, I had it covered.

"Adam, I have a Reasonable Request," I began. The two girls stopped their advance. "I want to see what happens if you remain celibate until the start of swim practice." Then I glanced at his PDA and he stopped the recording. The two girls moaned and then walked away.

"So, your Reasonable Request is for me not to have sex with anyone?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, that's it. If anybody tries to lay another request on you, tell 'em you're not done with mine. You have the recording to prove it."

"I'm surprised there's not a rule against that," Adam remarked, shaking his head.

"Well, if they add one next week, I guess we don't care. This is our last year of high school and our last week in The Program. See you later, eh?"

"Yeah, later. Uh, thanks," Adam said.

"Have fun," I encouraged him.

Period 5 - Law

In Law class I tried hiding in the back row of the jury box but Julio found me anyway.

"Feeling any better today?" he asked, taking the seat next to mine.

"Yeah, hungry is better than tired. I spent lunch period in the lounge" I explained.

"I heard somebody got swarmed on the big whoop," said Julio.

"Yeah, uh, you might wanna check your pants, there."

"You didn't miss much at lunch. The choices were spaghetti and barf balls or road kill on rubber bands. I took the spaghetti. Then this makeover chick's tits caught my eye and I tripped on her spike heel. Sitting in spaghetti was bad enough, but the barf balls corked it. My pants were ruined and I had to throw them away. You like?"

Just then the fifth period bell rang and Consuelo waltzed in wearing black lace-up sandals and a black baby doll nightie with white lace around the collar. With no hesitation she skipped putting on her judicial smock, sat down, and gaveled the class to order.

In the course of an hour Consuelo finished the unit on Sources of Law and launched into unit two: The Role of Precedent. Yada, yada, yada. I paid attention the best I could, but ever since the first couple of days it'd been obvious she lectured straight from the book. Julio's cock was a lot more interesting.

Julio had a lot of pubic hair, so at first his cock was hard to see. Then I stroked the inside of his thigh a little bit and his cock became, uh, more visible.

It was nice and straight, average size, about seven inches I guess. He was circumcised. As usual, the head reminded me of a Chinese mushroom. His pubic hair still concealed the base and balls.

I didn't want to create a scene there in Law class so I backed off Julio's thing. He, in return, glanced over at me and then went to work on my thigh. Any other time I might have fooled around a little bit, but I was worried about Consuelo and about Adam. So, I crossed my legs and made a show of paying attention to the lecture.

The last ten minutes of class passed quickly. When the bell rang, Julio was all questions.

"What was that all about?" he wanted to know.

"I was just curious, that's all. I mean, you can look at me any day. This is the first chance I got to look at you that's all," I explained.

"Yeah, but you rubbed my leg..."

"Sorry. It was easier than giving you a haircut."

"Do you think I should? You know, uh, get a haircut...?"

"Well, if you're gonna stop wearin' pants, then yeah, that seems to be the style. To, uh, show what you got, you know? You got a nice one. You know that?"

"Do you really think so?" Julio asked, suddenly looking down at himself.

"Yeah, I do. Uh, look, I hafta get to Calculus. See you tomorrow, OK?" I hinted.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Uh, look, where would I get that done?"

"The bathroom. The back yard. You can do it yourself, get some girl to help you, or get it done at the mall. Look, I gotta go. Tomorrow, eh?"

"Yeah, tomorrow," Julio muttered, still looking down at himself. Melinda Robideau, dressed in only a spaghetti-strap t-shirt, was taking a good look as well.

I was halfway to calculus when my PDA announced a call from Crystal. "What's up"? I answered.

"I just wanted you to know that Adam's been turning away Reasonable Requests at the rate of about ten a minute," said Crystal. "It's weird. He says you gave him a Reasonable Request not to have sex with anyone. Is that right?"

"That's what he wanted," I explained.

"Is he going brain dead? Most guys would love to get that kind of attention," Crystal observed.

"I guess it's true. You can have too much of a good thing," I observed. "Or maybe he's tired of being pestered. Or maybe he feels out of control. Or maybe he's just a really nice, shy, sincere guy, despite the way he looks. Is everything OK there?"

"Oh, yeah, it's just kind of crowded. I've got three lines going: Reasonable Requests to check out my butt, Reasonable Requests to check out my tits, and Reasonable Requests to check out my pussy. Later, huh?"

"Yeah, later. I might call you this evening. Enjoy yourself, eh?"

"For sure," Crystal replied, then we disconnected.

Period 6 - Calculus

In Calculus, Petunia Pei and Yulan Yuan were still wearing their silk kimonos. The girls were so tall and the robes were so short that even standing, it was hard for them to keep everything covered. Sitting down they had no chance and didn't even try. Ben sat next to them and all three seemed happy about it.

The class was pretty normal. Leibniz continued her lecture for the Limits and Continuity unit and with her, you had to pay attention. For one thing, she didn't always follow the book. For another, she had an uncanny sense of whose mind was drifting, and of which question they wouldn't be able to answer.

By the time class ended I was really starting to get hungry. On a long shot I passed by Nadia's locker on the way to the drama shop, but she wasn't there. Then I passed by Crystal's locker. She was there but had nothing to eat.

Tuesday After School

The drama shop was a zoo. OK, sure, Dee Muntz was there, but so were about a hundred other kids, all trying to jam into that little room. Nadia and Ben seemed to be getting things organized all right so I decided it might be a good time to take a pee.

Mistake. The lavatory was just as crowded and Reasonable Requests were rampant. Somehow I avoided getting propositioned on my way to a toilet, but then some guy wearing a football jersey, a pleated skirt, and bobby socks insisted on watching me. If you ask me he could've seen more by watching Teah and Dan piss in the shower, which they were doing right across from me, but no, that would have been too easy. Or he could have watched the girl at my left try to piss into a urinal by holding her labia away from her piss hole. Or the girl further down who insisted on holding this guy's dick while he pissed, except that she was giving him a hard-on so he couldn't piss. At least skirt-man didn't stay to watch me wipe. Dee Muntz had come in by then and was trying to stay balanced as she bent over a squat hole. I don't know if it was the curly blonde mane or what but I guess she couldn't sit on a toilet like normal people.

The sinks were just as crowded. I paused for a moment to look for the shortest line, and then Crystal waved me down. She was washing her face with a damp paper towel and Ken Stikowski was washing his dick with another. They both let me in to wash my hands, then I was out of there.

The support group session got started a little late because of all the people who'd arrived. Sitting in a circle was out of the question, so Nadia and Ben had set seven tall stools in the stage area and arranged all the folding chairs in rows. Even so, about half of those who showed up had to stand in the back.

I was relieved that Nadia and Ben hadn't set out a stool for Dee Muntz, but she took one anyway and sat in the front corner of the room. At least she was off-stage.

"Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for coming," Nurse Nystrom began. "With so many of you here, I should remind you that these sessions are only for students having trouble coping with The Program. They're not for entertainment or rumor-gathering. If anyone's here for that reason, please leave the room now."

Of course, nobody left. It seemed odd, thought, that out of the hundred or so students who came, only the seven of us on stage and eight more in the audience were in The Program.

"OK, you there, in the back: Yes, you; the guy in the Fancy Pants t-shirt. Please step forward, tell us your first name, and tell us what's bothering you."

Fancy Pants looked confused and glanced around a couple of times, but finally figured out he had to say something.

"Uh, my name's, uh, Bill and The Program, uh, it just freaks me out," he stammered, staring directly at Crystal all the while.

"OK, thank you, Bill," Nystrom replied. "I guess you changed your name since last week, didn't you? As I recall, you came to my office looking for a suppository, and your name then was Biron Sweezey."

"Uh, Bill is sort of a nickname," Fancy Pants explained.

"Well, Bill, or Biron, or whatever your name is this minute, if the mere sight of naked people freaks you out, then I think you need to spend time at the mall or watching television until you get used to it. Would you like me to speak with your parents about this problem? Or get you into The Program next week?"

"Uh, no, that's OK. Can I leave now?"

"Yes, you may. In fact, if anyone else has the same problem, the same advice will apply. There's no need for you to stay," urged Nystrom. Then about ninety of the onlookers rushed out of the room and into the hall.

"The rest of you, thanks for staying. I'm sorry this happened, and I hope it's not embarrassing to anyone. I'll figure out some way to avoid this in the future. Now, would anyone like to talk about a real problem?" Nystrom asked.

After a few moments, an average-looking naked girl with a pixie haircut stood up and announced, "My name is Latoya Erwin and I'm Naked In School this week."

"Hello, Latoya," everyone droned.

"Well, being in The Program is very hard for me. I'm not used to being naked at all. I've never been naked except, like, in the bathroom or in my room, and neither has anyone in my family. So, walking around school here, naked, naked, well, all day I thought I was going to lose it. I was kind of pretending I wasn't really here, or it wasn't really me."

"When I got home, though, I just couldn't hold it back any more. I just ran into my room and cried and cried and cried. Eventually my mom asked me what the trouble was, and of course I told her."

"I never went naked either, until just recently," Adam commented. "The first day can be the worst."

"Well, things got worse all right," Latoya continued. "After I calmed down, my mom stood up and took off all her clothes!"

"Did she say why?" Nadia asked.

"Yeah, I asked her. She said she wanted to be my partner in this, and to show how natural being naked can be. But I don't want her to be naked. I don't want to be naked. I don't want to get used to it. I want my clothes!"

"So afterward, did your mom get dressed?" Nadia asked.

"No! She cooked dinner naked, and she let my brother and sister see her naked and greeted my dad naked when he got home, and then she ate dinner naked! Now I guess she's not going to wear clothes anywhere. My dad took her shopping, and then they went to a movie, and she stayed naked the whole time. This morning she was naked at breakfast and drove me to school naked."

"You know, in some ways, you're lucky," Crystal told Latoya. "I wish one or both of my parents would change their mind about being naked. Then I wouldn't have to wear clothes around the house, and sneak around to take 'em off when I go out."

"That's fine for you but I don't want to go naked," Latoya replied. "And I don't like seeing my mother naked."

"Did you feel any better today?" Ben asked.

"Not really. I'm still so embarrassed," said Latoya. "I'm a virgin, you know."

"Well you could just do it with somebody," I suggested.

"Latoya, you need to remember that you're in charge of your own life," suggested Nadia. "Whether your mom goes naked or wears clothes, that shouldn't affect your self-image. Now, you've proven you can do this for two days. There are only three days left. Get those out of the way and then make a fresh start."

"OK, thanks," said Latoya then she sat down.

"My name is Tony Mulcahy," said the next guy to stand up. He wore a polo shirt, pleated pants, dark socks, and loafers.

"Hi, Tony," everyone replied.

"Well, my girlfriend is in The Program this week and she seems to be drifting away from me. She says she feels so exposed being the only naked one when she's with me and my friends. She's the only one in The Program, see? But when she's not with us, she gets too many Reasonable Requests."

"Maybe you and some of your friends should go naked," I suggested. "That way she won't feel so isolated. And who knows? You might get lucky."

"Yeah, that might work," said Tony, then he sat down.

My name is Emily Tamblyn and I'm Naked In School," began the next girl. Her hair was elaborately set, and she had expensive-looking acrylics on both her fingernails and her toenails.

"Hi, Emily," everyone replied.

"My problem is that when I'm in The Program, I look the same every day," she explained. "Like today, I look the same as yesterday, and I'm going to keep on looking the same all week. It just doesn't seem right. Nobody wears the same outfit two days in a row, let alone a whole week. What can I do?"

"Do you have a lot of outfits?" Crystal asked.

"Not really. Just a few dozen," Emily explained. Oh brother. This chick reminded me why I stopped wearing clothes. There's no way of keeping up with people like her.

"Have you considered jewelry?" Teah asked.

"I don't have a lot of jewelry; just a couple of rings," Emily replied. "Is jewelry allowed under The Program?"

"Oh sure," Teah replied. "See, I have this labia ring and Nadia here has two. She has her nipples pierced, too. Adam has earrings, Vivian has a nose ring, and Dan there has a PA."

"The PA is the penis piercing, right?" asked Emily. "Doesn't that hurt a lot?"

"Yes, PA is short for Prince Albert, who supposedly had one," Teah explained. "And no, I never noticed that it was painful."

"The rule is that the jewelry can't really cover anything," Nadia added. "Like, I usually wear nipple shields, but those cover too much for The Program. But I can leave my barbells in. And it doesn't have to be pierced jewelry. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, and clip-on earrings are all OK."

"If I wanted pierced jewelry, where should I go?" Emily asked.

"Needles and Pins is a good shop," Nadia recommended. "Once you get pierced jewelry, though, you can't change it for six weeks or even a year, depending on where you put it. You have to wait for the skin to grow around the whole inside of the hole."

"OK, thanks," Emily told everyone, then she sat down and started pinching her ears, her nose, and various other parts of her body.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Valene Hosten and I'm Naked In School," began the next malcontent.

"Hi, Valene," everyone responded.

"This one guy keeps watching me pee," Valene complained.

"So, just kinda accidentally spill some on him," I suggested.

"No, I'm afraid that might backfire. I think he might like that," Valene replied.

"So masturbate. That makes some guys uncomfortable," suggested Nadia.

"No, I'm afraid that might backfire too."

"Let him see you make it with your boyfriend. Maybe that'll convince him you're taken," suggested Ben.

"I don't have a boyfriend. I usually like girls," Valene admitted.

"So make it with one of your girlfriends."

"No, that might backfire too."

"Maybe you and your friends should all start watching him pee. Do you think that might drive him away?"

"No, I'm afraid it would encourage him."

"Well, I guess you'll have to tell the office," Nadia suggested. "Do you know who this guy is?"

"Yes, it's him," Valene stated, pointing to Dan. Teah really looked offended.

"Look, Valene; I'm sorry. I guess I didn't realize I was watching you that much, or that it bothered you. I promise I'll stop."

"No, that's the problem. I don't want you to stop," Valene replied. "I mean, this is so awkward, but what else do you have in mind?"

"Ah, Valene, I think we can help you," Teah suddenly proposed. "After the session here is done, can you meet Dan and me outside the lavatory?"

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ronnie Delonnie and I'm Naked In School," began the next speaker. Clearly, she'd been masturbating before she stood up, and she continued doing herself in full view of everyone.

"Hi, Ronnie," we all answered a bit shakily.

"Weren't you here yesterday under the name Rhonda?" Nurse Nystronm asked.

"Uh, yeah, some people call me Ronnie, and some call me Rhonda. And yeah, I was here complaining about my perverted masturbating brother, and the fact that I had to be naked around him. Whoa! Pfew! Oh, excuse me; I'm trying to keep this under control."

"So, do you still have the problem?" Crystal asked. On the one hand, it was kind of a dumb question. But on the other, what else are you going to ask?

"Uh, you're Vivian, right?" she asked me.

"Yeah, you might say that," I confirmed.

"Didn't you and another girl bring some real estate papers for my mom and dad to sign yesterday?"

"Yes, we did," I allowed.

"So, you've seen my perverted little brother, then,"

"Yeah, I remember," I admitted.

"And you saw how my mom and dad started masturbating along with my perverted little brother, and they wanted me to join in."

"Ah, yeah, that's about when we left. The papers were signed and everything."

"Well, after you left, I told my mom that it wasn't fair for all of them to masturbate in their clothes when I had to do it naked. Oh, wow! Hang on just a minute," Ronnie urged, then she backed off her stroking for a few moments.

"So what happened?" Crystal asked.

"I thought my mom would back off, but she didn't! Instead, she thought about it for a while, and then she took off her clothes. She made my dad and my perverted little brother strip, too, and oh were they pissed! All of a sudden they had to be careful where it went."

"So is that the end?" Nadia asked with some trepidation. I mean, this was getting weird.

"No, we all did it there in the living room, and then we had dinner and did it under the dining room table. Then my mom decided we should all stay naked and go out for ice cream! My dad and my perverted brother were spent by then, but my mom and I did it twice more at the ice cream shop. Then, when we got home, she took me in her room and we watched each other do it for most of the night. Oooh, shit! Oh! Excuse me a minute," Ronnie said, and then she removed her hand just long enough to wipe her cunt with a towel.

"Where was your dad during all this?" Adam asked.

"He was in his room," Ronnie explained.

"Does your mom make most of the decisions in your house?" Dan suddenly wondered.

"Well, yeah. She runs a cement factory. My dad is a secretary at a flower shop."

"So is this a status report or do you still have a problem?" Dan asked.

"Well, do you really think masturbating is natural, and that all teenagers do it?" Ronnie asked. She was getting herself pretty worked up again, and she backed against the wall for support.

"Just don't abrade your delicate tissues," Nurse Nystrom advised, then it was a quarter to four and I had to leave for Bogswamp's.

By then I was famished. Fortunately, traffic was light and I didn't have to spend that much time smiling and waving at people. OK, there was a fire truck, and I have a thing for firemen, but there were only five of them. After that was over, I still had enough time for a quick run through the drive-up lane at Guido's Quick Fill.

"Ciao and welcome to Guido's," came the voice over the lousy intercom. "How can we serve you?"

"Is Guido there?" I demanded.

"Un momento," said the voice. Then, half a minute later, another voice came over the intercom. "This is Guido," it said.

"Guido, this is Vivian," I explained. "What's the special today?"

"Vivian! Where you been? We all miss you so much! Emelio! It's Vivian! Now Vivian, what can we do for you?"

"I haven't eaten all day," I explained, "I came to ask about the special."

"For antipasto, Mussels Casino," Guido began. "That's fresh steamed mussels with bacon, sweet pepper and onion in a roasted garlic sauce. Eccellente!

"For insalata, Spring Mix. That's field greens topped with artichoke heart, roasted red pepper, crumbled bleu cheese, and our special home-made balsamic vinaigrette. Molto bene!

"For entrata, Veal Stuffed Portabella. That's sautéed scaloppini of veal with roasted shallots, Roma tomatoes, and tomato sauce over enorme portabella mushroom cap. We put that on a bed of spinaci and top it with provolone. Magnifico!

"OK, I'll have the special," I decided. "What kind of coffee is in the Caramel Macchiato?"

"We only use Segafredo. It's the best," came the squawky voice.

"OK, I'll take a large."

"Some dessert signorina? We have Biscotti Napolitano, Biscotti Cioccolato e Pistachio, many kinds of Cannoli, Tiramisu, Tortoni, Zabaglione ..."

"How's the chocolate in the Tiramisu?" I asked.

"It's genuine Amedei from Italy. Numero uno," said the voice.

"OK, make that two large Caramel Macchiatos and two Tiramisus," I decided.

"Can I get you anything else?" asked the voice.

"Nope, that's all," I stated.

"Pull up to the first window, per favore," Guido commanded.

"You're the best, Guido," I commended him.

When I got to the realty office it was three seconds to four: on-time and good enough for me. The minute I entered the lobby, though, I knew there was trouble. Sitting cross-legged on the daybed with Marlene was Donnie Delonnie, Ronnie's perverted little brother, now fully naked.

Marlene glanced up and waved as I passed. I guess that proved I'd become an insider. Or maybe that she was having a really great time amusing Donnie.

Cynthia and Lonnie Delonnie were sitting on a pair of ottomans in the client lounge, They were both substantially naked, both watching a slide show of kitchen and bath designs, and both masturbating. Cynthia was wearing her sandals and Lonnie was wearing four necklaces: two that reached to her breasts and two that reached to her hips.

"Vivian, isn't it?" Lonnie asked between thrusts and gasps. "You didn't need to buy all that for me." She was referring, of course, to my dinner from Guido's. "Maybe just the drinks and something light. Let the staff have the rest."

Cynthia turned away from Lonnie, then grimaced and rolled her eyes so Lonnie couldn't see. Still, what could I do? I gave them the two Caramel Macchiatos and two Tiramisus, and then headed for the break room.

"Vivian, there you are!" exclaimed Courtney the moment I entered the staff area. "We need to make four stops by five thirty today, so we need to get going right away. Watcha got there?"

"My dinner," I explained. Then I took a marker from Cynthia's desk, wrote my name on the bag from Guido's, and put it in the break room refrigerator. It seemed like a crime to reheat food like that but oh well. On our way out, I bought a little package of crackers and gooey artificial cheese-like spread.

Our first stop was a house of prudes. A boy, probably a 7th or 8th grader, answered the door wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. It took him about one second to realize we were naked, and then he closed his eyes and slammed the door.

"Oh, it's going to be one of those," Courtney remarked, then she called the house with her video suppressed.

"Hi, I'm from Bogswamp Realty," Courtney explained. "My partner and I are outside your front door. We have some papers you need to sign."

"Is there any way you can put something on?" asked a disembodied female voice. She had her video suppressed as well.

Courtney look at me, but I had to shake my head No. "Sorry, ma'am; it's a warm day, you know."

"Can you leave the papers between the house door and the screen, then drive around the block?" asked the voice.

"All right. We'll stay on line in case your have any questions, and then you can tell us when you're done," Courtney explained. Then she put the envelope of papers between the two doors and we drove around the block.

At the second house, no one came to the door at all. Instead, an intercom speaker came to life.

"Who is it?" asked the voice in the speaker.

"Hi, I'm from Bogswamp Realty," Courtney explained. "My partner and I are outside your front door. We have some papers you need to sign."

"Ah, OK, well, you see, we all happen to be naked right now. Can you leave the papers between the house door and the screen, and then drive around the block?" asked the voice.

Same ole, same ole. Courtney called the house on her PDA, left the papers between the door, and coached the clients from around the corner. Then we retrieved the papers from the same spot and headed to the next stop.

At the next house a naked kid maybe ten years old strolled out from the back. He had a killer suntan, and didn't seem self-conscious at all. His blue waist-length hair was a little unusual but oh well.

"We're from Bogswamp Realty. We have some papers your parents need to sign," Courtney explained.

"Oh yeah, I think they were expecting you. You'll have to wait a few minutes, though, 'cause they're fucking. C'mon in. You want a drink or some cookies?"

I had to give the kid credit; he knew what he was talking about. As he walked us from the foyer through the living room and into the kitchen, there were his mom and dad grinding away on the living room floor. After seating Courtney and me at the kitchen table, he took three sodas from the refrigerator and fetched a plate of cookies from the counter.

We made small talk for about five minutes, and then I heard a series of shouts and groans from the living room. A few minutes later, mom and dad found us, wiped their crotches with kitchen towels, and signed all the required places.

A cute little girl wearing a frilly dress answered the door at the last house. This time, I did the honors, namely "Hi. We're from Bogswamp Realty. We have some papers your parents need to sign."

"OK, but you'll have to wait a few minutes," the girl explained. "They're fucking. You can come in, though. I'll get you some milk and cake."

The parents were clothed this time, but the guy's pants were down around his ankles and the woman's skirt was up around her waist. Plus, they were in the family room.

I'm not sure which was better: the cookies at the third house or the cake at the fourth house. All I remember was being really hungry.

The parents showed up with their clothes partly fastened and completely rumpled. Each of them threw away a wad of paper towels, and then signed on all the dotted lines. Done.

"Those were all easy ones," Courtney explained as we drove back to the office.

"What's a hard one? When they want you to do it with them?" I asked.

"No, a hard one is when the client insists on reading and questioning every line of the contract, or wants their lawyer to do it. I mean, it's their right to do that, but these forms are all very standard. We're not out to cheat anyone. If we did something sneaky or illegal, the court costs would far exceed any gain. These clients aren't freakin' you out, are they?"

"No, I saw just as much and more when I was delivering pizzas. I mean, it's their house; people live the way they want. Of course, with pizzas, you don't have to hang around and wait for them to sign. I could just leave the pizza on the porch or somthin' and wait for the people to transfer the payment. Well, here we are."

At Bogswamp's that is. I parked the jeep in an employee parking spot that was visible from the street, and then carried all the signed paperwork inside. Courtney clocked out from the parking lot and jumped in her car to go home. Her car was just a plain compact model but at least you could drive it in the rain and not get drenched.

It was five thirty by then and I was starving. I dropped the signed paperwork on Neil's desk, then headed for the break room.

Fortunately, my dinner from Guido's was undisturbed. I tossed the spring mix salad on the table and popped the mussels casino in the microwave. The machine coffee was a far cry from Caramel Macchiato but at least it was hot and wet. With a plastic fork and no little enthusiasm I tore into my salad.

"There you are," said Cynthia, peeking around the corner.

"Mmph," I said with my mouth full. "Sorry, I'm famished. You want some mussels casino? It's good."

"Not if you're so hungry," Cynthia empathized.

"No, it's OK. I've also got a Veal Stuffed Portabella. You know: veal scaloppini, shallots, Roma tomatoes, tomato sauce, a portabella cap, bed of spinach, topping of provolone. Wonderful seasoning. I probably won't finish it all."

"This is from Guido's? I always thought of them as a pizza and sub sandwich joint."

"There's a basement that connects under the alley to a building on the next street. That's where Rabottini Brothers is. You know that place?"

"Why yes! That's the best Italian restaurant in town. Walt and I go there on special occasions. Very special occasions. So Guido's and Rabottini Brothers sell the same food?"

"It's the same kitchen but no, not the same food. Unless, of course, you know Guido Rabottini. Are you sure you don't want some of these mussels?" I asked again, pushing the plate toward Cynthia and rising to heat the veal stuffed portabella.

"Well, maybe just one," Cynthia decided. "Oh, these are heavenly! How did you get to know Guido Rabottini?"

"Actually, it started with his cousin Vinnie from San Diego. Vinnie introduced me to Carmine from Caracas, and Carmine introduced me to Guido. That's private, by the way. I'd appreciate you're not spreading it around."

"No problem. My, these are delicious," she replied, taking her third mussel. "Listen, I want to thank you for saving the Delonnie sale yesterday. I owe you part of my commission."

"For what? Saying a few sentences? Don't worry about it. I owe you a favor for last night. That Delonnie family is a bunch of characters, though, aren't they? What was going on with her in the client room today? Or is that -- you know -- private?"

"No, it wasn't private. Not even close. She used to sit there in her clothes and masturbate, but today for some reason she showed up naked and did it. On top of that, she's on some kind of masturbation campaign. She wants everyone around her to do it. If you want to do business with her, you have to play along.

"Now that they're buying that house, they want to remodel the kitchen and combine all the bathrooms. Of course we'd like them to go through Bogswamp. That way, we get a commission and they can finance the renovation as part of their first mortgage."

"So you masturbated with her?" This was nothing like the nice, traditional, naked mother I'd imagined Cynthia to be.

"Just between you and me, no, I faked it," Cynthia confessed.

"Does this kind of thing come up often?" I asked. "I'm not trying to pry; I'm just wondering what I might be in for." The beeper on the microwave oven sounded, so I got up and retrieved my veal stuffed portabella.

"No, not often. Most of the clients just look. It's all kind of crazy, really. You seem very comfortable without your clothes, though. How long has it been?"

"Over a year now," I revealed. "I never had good clothes, and people would look down on me for that. So when I left town and came here, I just left my clothes behind. We all did. Travelin' light, you might say."

"You all did? I thought you didn't have a family?"

"Well, this is kinda private again, but there were a whole bunch of people living at this beach house. Then, the woman who owned it -- I called her my aunt even though she wasn't -- well, she teed off the wrong people. They sicced the cops on her, but the cops couldn't make a case, so the cops sent her to the Mexican police and guess what, she ended up in a Mexican jail."

"What was she guilty of?" Cynthia asked.

"Nothing. Or rather, of hot wiring a Mexican police car. But think about it; when's the last time you saw a car with an ignition switch?

"Anyway, once they got my aunt, the rest of us figured we were next so we all left town."

"And then you came here, and you found this Marjorie who's not really your aunt, and you've been living with her." Cynthia concluded. "What about the others?"

"They're doing OK, at least those I know about, but we promised not to blab on each other. I probably shouldn't have told you this. It's private, OK?"

"You've had a hard life, haven't you, Vivian? Bounced around, traveling form city to city on your own, always getting started in a new place. And yet, look at you! You're smart; you're healthy; Adam says you take honors classes at school and you make friends with the Rabottini family and get gourmet food at pizza joint prices. You're a remarkable girl, Vivian. I hope you don't believe that driving pizzas or paperwork around is the top of the line for you."

At that point, I didn't know what to say. Instead, I made a big show of eating for a few minutes, trying to pick up vibes from Cynthia. How much could I really tell her? Whatever I did tell her, how would she react? If I wasn't careful, I'd probably end up riding the rails again, and I didn't want that. At least, not just yet.

"It's a problem knowing what to aim for and how to get there," I finally told her. "It's true I've bounced around quite a bit. I've had some good times and some bad, some successes and some failures. I know I'm smart. But to become a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or a real estate agent, or an airline pilot, or hell even the President: How would I do that? It's a lot different from landing in a new town, asking around, and trying to make myself useful to someone."

"Not as different as you might think, Vivian," Cynthia remarked. "Is there anything else you want to talk about? Adam's at swim practice, Walt's out of town, and the twins are with friends. I'll be going home to an empty house."

"Oh, have some of this veal, then," I offered. "See, I haven't touched this side of the plate. The cheese is a little flat from being reheated but it's still really good.

"OK, you talked me into it," Cynthia allowed. "I seem to have finished those mussels."

"So how long have you been going naked?" I asked.

"Oh, about five months, I guess. Bogswamp's was always a fairly conservative agency, you know, but every month we were selling fewer houses. And it wasn't the market; home sales in general were up.

"We knew what was going on, of course. Millennium 3, Hotbacker, and most of the other national agencies were encouraging agents to go naked, and those agents were cornering the market. Some experts thought a naked agent signaled new freedom and independence in the new home. Others thought the buyers just enjoyed or expected a naked agent to look at.

"Anyway, last April, four agents volunteered to work naked: two men and two women. That was freaky, let me tell you. You work with someone for ten or fifteen years and then all of a sudden there they are, walking around the office completely naked. It was freaky for the four agents too, but they all beat their previous sales records. The rest of us had our worst months ever.

"Well, what's a person to do? Of course I talked it over with Walt and he was very understanding. It's been years since flight attendants wore clothes, you know, and he works with them every day. My injection came due the first week of April, so I got slimmed down, toned up, and buffed out. Walt liked that. I nuked my body hair too, so I wouldn't have to shave every day.

"The first day was terrible. I wore my normal clothes to work, and then used a stall in the ladies room to take them off. Yeah, that was before we remodeled the washrooms. Then I stood in the ladies room for ten minutes, hoping no one would come and trying not to see myself in the mirror.

"Eventually, of course, someone did come. It was Tanya Hayward, who I'd known for quite a while. She was still wearing clothes at the time but she gave me a big hug, helped me fold my clothes, and then walked me out to my desk. Everyone smiled and was friendly, of course, but I knew they were looking me over. I was mortified but I knew that going naked was something I needed to accept.

"Well, that first day I sure didn't make any money by being naked. I just sat in my cube, not accepting any new customers and not sending video on any phone calls. I barely made it to the drinking fountain and the washroom when I needed them. Going out to lunch with everyone was out of the question. Then, at the end of the day, I took my clothes back in the ladies room stall, put them on, rushed home, and had a good cry.

"After that it was one day at a time. By the third or fourth day I didn't feel too bad walking around the office, and I started letting the video go out with phone calls. Then I started taking second chair on new clients."

"What's second chair?" I asked Cynthia.

"Oh, when a man and woman come in together, we try to have both a male and a female agent meet with them. Otherwise, the female client gets snippy because her partner is looking at the female agent, or vice versa. Greeting clients in pairs also cuts down on the number of people who aren't buyers or sellers at all; they just come in looking for sex.

"Anyway, it was still really freaky the first few times I went out with clients. There was just so much at once. First you walk outside naked for the first time, then you stand there naked and hold the car door for the clients, then you drive around town naked, then you go in someone's house naked, and it just goes on and on.

"Obviously, though, I finally got used to it. I even stopped dressing and undressing in a toilet stall. First I moved out into the ladies room, and then I realized that since everyone was going to see me naked anyway, I might as well do it in my office. That freaked the clients, though.

"Why?" I wondered aloud.

"First impressions are important. If you have clothes on when you meet a client, they just think of you as a clothed person. If you later show up naked or worse yet get undressed in front of them, they think you're doing something wrong.

"The same thing happened among the agents. The first time someone went naked, they felt ashamed to be walking around the office that way, and the other agents felt ashamed to be looking at them. But none of us reacted that way to clients who walked in naked, or to naked people you see on the street.

"After a while, I noticed that clients even got freaky if they saw clothes folded and stacked on my desk, or in a drawer, or hanging on a coat rack, or even in a closet. So for a while, I got undressed and dressed in the parking lot. That way, I could leave my clothes in the car trunk. I guess that was silly, but that's what I did.

"Things really changed when Adam stopped in the office a couple of weeks ago and caught me naked. I tried to play it straight and cool but Adam got very upset. So that evening we had a family meeting and I told everyone what was going on. Then I told everyone they should get used to seeing me leave for work naked and arrive home naked.

"Well, it turned out the twins were looking for an excuse to go naked themselves. The airline eliminated pants from the pilots' uniforms, so Walt ending up going bottomless or naked a lot. Then, as you know, one crazy event after another kept Adam from wearing any clothes for the past two weeks. He hardly talks about clothes at all now, you know. I think he's going to stay naked for quite a while."

"So, do you get pushed into having sex with the clients?" I asked. "Like today, with that Delonnie woman?"

"I try to avoid or deflect those things, but I'm not always successful," Cynthia admitted. "The other agents are pretty much in the same boat.

"Walt has the same problem, you know. Occasionally an important passenger wants sex with the pilot, but more often it's other people from the airline. His boss throws out-of-town sex parties, for example, and employees who don't participate fall out of favor.

"It's a shame that either of you has to do that against your will," I remarked.

"Well, I fake it a lot. That's tougher for Walt, of course. He has to claim he can't get it up and who wants to tell people that? Especially with all the treatments they have today. Can I share a secret with you?"

"OK, if you want," I replied. "I keep secrets very well. I won't tell."

"Well, my consolation is this: I've never had vaginal sex with anyone but Walt. I'm pretty sure Walt has been true in that respect as well. We save that, at least, for each other."

At that, I didn't know what to say. Believe it or not, I just choked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I offend you?" Cynthia finally asked.

"Uh, no, it's just that I have a secret too. Until I got stranded on the beach there with Adam, ten days ago or whatever it was, I never had vaginal sex with anyone either. He was my first in that way, and there hasn't been anyone since. I hope you don't mind my telling you that. It's just, well, I guess I understand how you and Walt probably feel about it."

"Oh, Vivian, I'm glad you told me. You've become very trusting in a very short time, haven't you? Especially for someone who's been without a real mother for most of her life. Do you think Adam has kept himself that way for you?"

"Well, I know what he did with a lot of girls, and it's never been that," I said.

"You probably know more than I about Adam's sex life, then, but I'm not aware of any cases either. Maybe the two of you should discuss this. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose we should. It's scary, though. He might think I'm trying to hold him down, or that I'm asking if it's OK to mess around with other guys. And lately, we hardly ever find a quiet place to talk. If it's not school or work or swim practice, it's the damn Program," I explained.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way. Speaking of Adam and swim practice, he'll be coming home soon and I promised to get some tacos on the way home. Will you stay with us again tonight?"

"Uh, I don't know. I might have to work on a project with one of my classmates. If it gets late, I usually stay at her house," I explained.

"Well, if ever you need a place to stay, just call me a few minutes ahead of time," Cynthia reminded me.

"OK, I will," I replied, and somehow that made me feel really good. I couldn't explain it, but that's the way it was.

"Where are you going to buy those tacos?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Cynthia replied. "All those places seem alike, and none of them are very good. Burrito Gong is on the way home."

"Try Erubio's," I suggested. Do you know where it is?"

"Is it a tiny little place over on Encanto Street?"

"Yeah, that's it," I confirmed. "Try it and let me know if you like it."

"OK, but it's a little out of my way. I really need to get going. Take care, Vivian," she encouraged.

"You too," I wished her, then she rushed out to her car.

"Call Erubio's," I told my PDA.

"Erubio's Super Mex," replied a geeky kid wearing a terrible-looking sombrero.

"This is Vivian," I stated. "Let me talk to Ruby."

"Just a minute," said the kid doubtfully, then the face of Erubio appeared on-screen.

"Vivian! Where have you been? We've missed you!" cried Erubio.

"Ruby, I'll make it up to you," I promised. "Listen, though; I wonder if you can help me out. There's a real nice lady who's gonna be coming through to buy some tacos in five or ten minutes."

"How will I know her?" Ruby asked.

"She's gonna be naked and driving a light green Fukushima. Her hair is collar-length, brunette, and she has a permanent."

"OK, what you want?"

"Whatever she orders, add in two specials. Then put everything in the car for her, so she doesn't notice the extra. Call me back and I'll pay you for it."

"Vivian, Vivian, you insult me! What's dinero between friends, eh? I take care of this for you. But don't be a stranger, eh?"

"OK, I won't. Hey, Ruby, thanks a million!"

"No problem. But, eh, Vivian, how are things?"

"I talked to a couple of people about a certain item, but who knows for sure? Quizá mañana."

"Buenas noches," said Ruby. Then we exchanged glances, said, "Bang!" and disconnected.

After cleaning up my dinner stuff in the break room, I settled down with the study guides for the Bonded Courier and Notary Public exams. Finishing them took only about twenty minutes, and then I looked up the testing schedule. It was Monday through Friday, nine to five, at city hall. Big surprise.

After that I set up the MapTuity and Merge-a-Mapics programs I'd gotten from Ben and started searching geographic databases. For starters I searched for an irregular landscape, government-owned, one square mile or larger, few if any environmental restrictions, away from any near-term development, and preferably within the county.

Bingo. Every now and then you get lucky and that evening was my turn. The county owned a piece of land called Shallow Chasm that was too rocky and irregular for normal development. The property was too dry, too remote, and just not scenic enough to be used as a county park.

According to public records, the county had once used the property as a dump. Within three months, however, the feds came in, told the county that dumping in that spot violated federal regulations, and made them stop and clean up the dump site. So it wasn't contaminated, but it wasn't environmentally pristine, either. The county had tried several times to sell the property but there were no reasonable offers.

Next I searched for photographs. The aerial shots looked good. Ground photographs weren't as plentiful, but those I could find revealed no obvious problems.

Using Merge-a-Mapics, I applied the most recent topographical map to one of the aerial photographs and created a three-dimensional rendering. Then I told it to draw new isobars that were continuous yet avoided impassable obstacles and drop-offs. Solutions appeared and disappeared as I varied the permissible elevation delta, but I was definitely getting excited. This was going to work.

Ozzie Bogswamp was working late so, to double-check myself, I printed out a few of my maps and isobar solutions, explained my concept, and asked him what he thought.

"Vivian, did you come up with this yourself?" he asked.

"Well, I've seen a few projects like this after they were completed," I explained. "That's where the general concept came from. But as far as identifying this location and deciding it has possibilities, yes, I did that."

"You're not thinking of actually doing this, are you?" Bogswamp asked. "That would take a lot of planning and funding."

"It's just an exercise," I claimed. "My classmates and I need to identify a project like this, plan it out, and develop a business plan.

"But just for the sake of planning," I continued, "it seems the whole project could be done without adding any permanent structures to the property. That would reduce the amount of up-front funding, wouldn't it?"

"Well, yes, if these were all portable buildings or trailers, and if you could get permits or a lease from the county, you could save a lot of front money. Actually, this is an interesting proposition. If someone found financing, I almost think it could work."

"Thanks, Mr. Bogswamp," I offered. "Have I missed any major issues?"

"Call me Ozzie," Bogswamp insisted. "We're all on a first-name basis here. As to major issues, uh, let's see. Oh, you'd need to consider vehicle access and utilities. Unless you can get a variance from the county, you're going to need concrete, asphalt, or gravel access roads and parking lots. One way or another, you're going to need electricity, water, and waste control."

"Thanks, Ozzie," I corrected myself. "Based on what you've said, I think I'm going to recommend this project to my classmates. If we have any questions, is it OK to ask you for help?"

"Sure. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know," Ozzie agreed. "If you need to talk to anyone at city hall or the county, for example, I can get you a meeting. We've been operating in town long enough that I know who to deal with and they know me."

"That would be great," I told him. "Uh, there's one more thing: We're going to be competing with some other groups on this, so I hope we can keep this private: you know, just between us."

"No problem," Bogswamp promised. "How are you doing on that material for the Bonded Courier and Notary Public exams?"

"Oh, I'm just about finished," I told him. "I'm sure I'll be taking the test Thursday or Friday."

"Well, don't forget that's what I hired you for. Learning about the business is fine but work comes first."

"I understand, Ozzie. Thanks again," I reassured him, and then I sashayed back to the staff room and made a show of studying for a few minutes.

Once I was reasonably sure Bogswamp wouldn't be coming back to check on me, I pulled up the maps for the area surrounding Bushie's Off-Road. In the satellite photos, the neighborhood resembled a ring of about twenty businesses surrounding an undeveloped oval field. Apparently because of a creek, some above-grade railroad tracks, and limited access from the nearby streets, the interior, about fifteen acres, had never been developed. It was fairly flat except for a couple of large dirt hills left over from adjoining construction. The property would never accommodate a large race but it looked just right for an off-road demo track. Hmm.

Such is the seed of implausible schemes. Just for curiosity, I looked up the owner. According to city records, it was none other than Otto Bushman. Hmm again.

Still watching for Bogswamp, I started the computer's instant messaging program, gave it temporary access to the address book on my PDA, and tried connecting to Nadia.

"What's up?" came her response.

"BLAC," I typed. Boss listening around corner. "Can we meet with Dan and Crystal at your house at nine o'clock?"

"OK by me," came Nadia's response. "Do they know?"

"Not yet," I replied.

"OK, I'll call them," Nadia replied. What about Teah? What's this about?"

"Dan still doesn't trust you," I typed. "See if you can get Crystal to call him. We don't need Teah yet. This is top secret. Keep the group small and don't let anybody know it exists. Meet me outside at eight forty-five," I typed, then I disconnected.

A few minutes later a message arrived from Nadia, stating Dan and Crystal would be at her house at nine o'clock. Cool. I worked on maps and task plans until eight o'clock, then clocked out, grabbed my map printouts, and drove over to Aunt Marjorie's apartment to get a few things from my box.

When you don't own any clothes, it's amazing how little stuff you need to get by. With all the advances in cosmetology, you don't need hair dryers, curling irons, or other bulky items either. As a result, everything I owned and needed to keep fit in one small box. If anybody happened to see it, they'd probably think it was a small, tough, metal suitcase. But to me it was just my box -- the accomplishments and mementos of a lifetime packed into one cubic foot.

I opened it. There was no sign of tampering. Inside were the usual kinds of things that people keep: old ID cards, old letters, old photos, old newspaper clippings, a few carefully folded posters, a few key chains and other trinkets, assorted backup discs, an old hat. I paused a moment, put on the hat, and waited to see how it would feel.

First came a thousand bittersweet memories of days gone by, of paradise lost, of the bitterness and hate, and finally of the moving on. I looked in the mirror and hardly recognized the stranger who stared back with a tear in her eye. With a sigh I fell into the easy chair, closed my eyes, and searched for my inner self. Eventually I found it, back in those wonderful days, those days that might never return. Those days I was trying to recreate, no matter how slim the odds.

Marjorie's dirty things, two days ripe in waste and vomit, were getting serious. I suppose I could've thrown them away but I doubted Marjorie could spare them. They might have been her last. So instead I called Nadia and asked if it would be OK to use her washing machine while I was there. It was.

By some miracle I managed to get all of Marjorie's dirty things in the jeep without getting anything serious on myself. Then I went back upstairs, opened all the back windows a couple of inches, and started the ventilation fan.

Taking the hat off was almost as difficult as putting it on. OK I would keep it. I locked my box, jammed it into its usual hiding place, grabbed an old grocery bag, and locked up. When I got to the jeep I pulled the hat off my head, stuffed it in the bag, and shoved the bag under the driver's seat. Then I called Cynthia.

"Vivian, I'm glad you called," Cynthia answered brightly. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well, and thanks," I replied, thoughts of an old hat still running through my head. "I just wanted you to know that I do need to work on that project tonight, so I'll be staying at my friend's house."

"Oh, that's fine. Thanks for letting me know," Cynthia said. "Oh say, as long as I've got you online, Adam wanted to talk with you. Hang on a minute and I'll transfer you.

Adam's face appeared a moment later. "Oh, hi," he began. "I guess you're not staying over again, huh?"

"No, not tonight. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to talk about some things, but not on the phone. Uh, listen, can you meet me after swim workouts tomorrow morning? Near the showers?"

"Sure. Can you give me a hint?"

"Not on the phone," Adam explained again. "OK, then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," I agreed, then we disconnected.

"Call Olivia," I told my PDA.

"Viv, what's up?" Olivia answered.

"I was hoping you could tell me," I stated. "What's going on with Adam? I just had this spooky call with him, as if he was hiding something. And he wants me to meet him near the showers tomorrow after swim workouts. Is something going on?"

"Not that I know of," Olivia claimed.

"If something was going on, would you tell me?"

"Sure, Viv. I mean, we go back together. Remember Carlos? And Keith? And..."

"Yeah, I remember. OK, thanks for the info."

"No problem," Olivia reassured me, then we both said, "Bang!" and disconnected. Too late, I realized I should have put my hat back on.

It was already ten to nine when I arrived at Nadia's house. As rapidly as I could, I fished a load of Marjorie's things from the pile, threw them in the washer, and started the cycle. Then I motioned Nadia back outside and away from the house.

"What's the big secret?" Nadia obviously wanted to know.

"Well, remember how last Saturday you and I helped Bushman and Ollie Chan come up with the idea of going into dune buggies?"

"Yeah, sure," Nadia replied.

"Well, in order for that to work, there has to be somewhere people can go and bounce around the countryside. Something like a track, at least. So I did some research and I think I can make that happen. I'm gonna need some help, though."

"Is that where Dan and Crystal and I come in?" Nadia asked.

"You three and more. This is gonna get big. But for now, we have to keep it quiet. There are way too many people who could try to muscle in and eat our lunch. So you and I and Dan and Crystal need to keep a lot of things secret. I just want you to know that. You won't know everything right away. Dan and Crystal will know less. Just don't get freaked or ask tricky questions in front of people, OK?"

"This is about Shallow Chasm, right?" Nadia asked.

"Very funny. How'd you know that?" I insisted.

"It's printed in the corner of those maps you've got in the back of your jeep," Nadia explained. "You should roll them with the printing inside. C'mon, take what you need and let's go inside. Dang!"

"What did you just say?" I demanded.

"I said dang!" Nadia replied. "I scraped my toe on the pavement."

"Oh, that's better," I said without thinking.

"Next time you need a band aid or a relaxant for someone, don't come to me," Nadia threatened.

"Who else is home?" I asked Nadia.

"My aunt and uncle are in the living room watching television," Nadia answered. "My cousin is upstairs in his room. Why do you ask?"

"Could they overhear us?"

"Not if we go in the screen porch and keep our voices down," Nadia assured me.

"OK, let's do that, then," I agreed, just as Dan and Crystal walked up the driveway. They must have arrived within seconds of each other.

"Thanks for coming," I began quietly after everyone was seated in the screen porch. "As you know, Adam, Nadia, and I have formed a partnership to promote Bushy's Off-Road. This happened because Otto Bushman, the owner, saw the television coverage of Adam and me getting rescued from that beach on Labor Day. I guess he thinks we're minor celebrities now. Last weekend we returned to the lake and made some commercials. You'll be seeing them on TV this week.

"Now, during that filming, Bushman somehow got the idea of selling dune buggies as well as jeeps and other off-road vehicles. He tried that once before and it didn't work. If you think about it, the reason is obvious: There's nowhere people can go and actually drive dune buggies.

"Well, I've found a place. It's a piece of land called Shallow Chasm. The county owns it, it's not developed, the terrain is irregular, there are no environmental restrictions, and the county's got no other use for the land. They tried to sell it a couple of times and there were no takers.

"It seems to me we should start with racing. People can come out, spend ten or twenty bucks to watch the races, and maybe get the bug. That also provides seed money to develop the property further. It only takes half a dozen buggies to stage a race, and that exposes the sport to thousands of people. Later, we can let people on the track during the week, or open up the back part of the property."

"That's fine for Bushman, but how does it affect us?" Dan asked.

"This can be our project, not Bushie's Off-Road or anyone else's," I explained. "Look. This was my idea, and there's no reason to hand all the profits to someone else. I'm sure we'll add partners along the way, and Bushman will probably be one of them. But this can still be our baby."

"How can we do that? We're not even eighteen," Crystal asked.

"We form a partnership -- a company -- and then work through the company," I explained. "That's what we did with the commercials and other publicity appearances. All the contracts and money flow through a company named VAN Enterprises."

"VAN -- Vivian, Adam, Nadia, right?" asked Dan. "Nadia, what's your role in that?"

"I'm the vice president of marketing," Nadia explained. "That means I do all the sales and contract negotiations."

"Whooah!" exclaimed Dan. "I think you've found your calling. But where's Adam? Shouldn't he be here?"

"Well, I owe Adam a ton of favors right now, and I want his involvement in this to be a surprise gift. I'm sure he'll love it. Both he and his dad seem to think dune buggies are a kick. So, please help me out here and don't mention this to anyone, especially Adam. I promise he won't be left out. Is that OK?"

It was, so I rolled out a few maps and explained the markings I'd added. Within moments, Nadia, Dan, and Crystal were entranced.

"This could really work, couldn't it?" Dan asked.

"Yes, I think it could," I confirmed. "And really, it shouldn't require that much front money. There are a few things we'd need to lease or get permits for, but at the same time we'll be selling permits and collecting admissions. Meanwhile, for our group, there'll be plenty of fun, plenty of excitement, and plenty of money for everyone.

"Those of us here are getting in on the ground floor. More people will get involved as the project grows, but you'll meet them later. We need to keep this really secret so that no one gets wind of it and tries to beat us out. Are you in?"

"I'm in," stated Nadia.

"I'm in," followed Crystal. "This sounds neat."

"What would we have to do?" Dan asked.

"For starters, we need to get permits to use the Shallow Chasm property ourselves and keep any possible competitors out. We don't want any flack later on because we need to grade the track or the public areas, and we don't want any flack for chewing up the trails a bit. We also want exclusive use of the property, at least for motor sports.

"Isn't that going to be expensive?" Dan asked.

"Remember, the county considers this unusable, surplus land. And maybe we can sign up for a month at a time at first, with options to renew. Dan, you seem to be a really good organizer. Can you work on that with Nadia?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin," he protested.

"If you need help finding the right people in the county land department or getting appointments with them, call Ozzie Bogswamp at Bogswamp realty. He's agreed to help us and keep our secret. Tell him you're classmates of mine, and that we're doing a project together. Use that exact wording. You're classmates of mine, and we're doing a project together.

"If you need help with contracts, call Edgar Robinsong. Edgar is the lawyer who helped us organize VAN Enterprises. Nadia, you have the number. Just make sure he understands that at this point, it's you and me and Dan talking to him as individuals, and that client confidentiality applies. That'll keep him from saying anything to Adam," I explained.

"Does he even know Adam?" Dan asked.

"Yes, he's Adam's uncle. Don't worry. In a week at the most, Adam will be totally involved. If you need any help with accounting or financing, our accountant is Lucy Lastic. Again, make sure she doesn't say anything to Adam, the Jonsons, or anyone else. She's Adam's aunt.

"If you need anything from Bushman, let Nadia be the contact. Nadia, don't let Bushman know that we've organized our little group here. At least not yet. He'll be on board soon enough. If we fail at this, there's no reason to do so in public.

"Dan, I have another job for you. We need to find a shop that does precision titanium welding. If they don't do it right the metal gets brittle, and in a dune buggy that's not good. We need a shop that can weld both alpha alloys and beta alloys. That means they'll need electron beam welding equipment and an electron microscope to check the results. That's expensive equipment and it'll be hard to find. If you run into difficulty, ask Ben to help you search the Internet or whatever. But don't tell Ben or anyone else why you need to know."

"That's easy," said Dan, "because I don't know myself."

"Well, don't even tell him that the four of us are working together, or that we had this meeting tonight. That goes for everyone," I stated.

"Gotcha," said the others.

"Crystal, I have a special job for you. We'll talk about it outside. Dan and Nadia, I'll leave the two of you to start talking. We should probably meet again tomorrow, but I'm not sure when or where. I'll be in touch. Is there anything else?"

There wasn't. Every cell in my body wanted to stand up and lead a high-five ending in, "Bang!" but somehow I held back. Instead, I led Crystal outside and withdrew the bag containing my hat.

"Crystal, you're the sewing expert. I need to get some of these hats duplicated. The exact style doesn't matter, but they have to be solid red baseball caps with this logo embroidered on the front in silver."

"What is it? It looks like a goofy submarine with wheels."

"It's been called worse but that doesn't matter right now. I just need the design duplicated and kept secret. Don't let the embroiderer keep one as a sample, for example. If you can find someone who never does business on this side of town, so much the better. Same thing for off-road shops, auto parts stores, and so forth; keep away from those if possible, especially if they do business with Trans-Cal."

"Who's Trans-Cal?" Crystal asked.

"A competitor. An ugly competitor. When the time comes, I'm sure you'll get to know them. So, can you do the hats?"

"Yeah, one batch of top secret hats comin' up," Crystal agreed. "How many do you want, and when?"

"Oh, a couple dozen, thirty, whatever makes a standard lot. The important thing is to keep them secret. Don't show 'em to anyone, and don't wear one yourself."

"OK. How will I pay for these?"

"When you know the amount and the payee, let me know where to send the money and I'll do it."

"It seems you gave Nadia and Ben a lot more work," Crystal pouted.

"Crystal, these are going to be our team uniform. I can't overstate how important that's going to be," I reassured her. "Plus, there are a lot more projects coming up for you. Here's the bag and the hat. See you tomorrow."

"Uh, I have to wait for Dan," Crystal explained. "I guess he and Nadia are talking about secret stuff, huh?"

"Not necessarily" I remarked. "Go in and sit with him. It's all right. Just keep things to yourself, eh?"

"No problem," Crystal assured me, heading back to the screen porch.

I reminded Nadia and Ben to put the maps away safely when they were done, then grabbed the rest of Marjorie's dirty sheets, dragged them inside, and popped them in the washer. Nadia's aunt and uncle were still watching television and there was no sign of her cousin. I used Nadia's computer to do my homework, set my PDA to wake me at five o'clock in the morning, and fell asleep on the floor of Nadia's room. That was the usual arrangement.