Friday Morning

One good thing about sleeping on the floor is that you hardly ever oversleep. Especially if it's a tile floor. I really should have checked that, I suppose. Or gone to Jonson's, except that I didn't want to push that situation too fast. Anyway, because Reb and Magic were still asleep, I stepped outside to make my calls.

Ted had left a message giving his number and urging me to call back any time. So, even though it was five AM his time, I saved his number in my address book and then called.

"Mmmf," Ted answered, scratching his head. At first the picture was dark, then he stumbled into the next room and turned on a light.

"You said to call back any time," I explained.

"Yeah, I did," he admitted, still scratching and squinting. "Gosh, though, it's good to see you again, Viv. What are you doing at a hotel named the Banana Tryst?"

"Nothing juicy, Ted. Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm here with Reb and Magic. They just got into town and they wanted someplace cheap and below the radar."

"I don't suppose you three are...?"

"No, Ted."

"Why don't you have any clothes on?"

"I gave 'em up. It's just easier this way. Look, Ted, I'm hoping you guys can help me out tomorrow. I know it's short notice; I'm just hoping you don't have another mission planned."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

I told him.

"Wow. What about traffic?"

"Olivia's here. She'll handle it," I reassured Ted.

"Well, you're right: This is definitely short notice," he continued. "It's been a while since we did anything this big, though. It'll probably be fun. I'll have to talk it over with Manny and the rest of the guys but sure, I think we can help you out. You know, we still have your name on..."

"Sorry, Ted, I gotta go. We'll need to talk at least once more today, OK?" I interrupted. Heading towards me was an unshaven guy wearing a plaid sport coat, lime green slacks, and ventilated gum-sole shoes. Right behind him was a tall black guy wearing a grimy baseball hat and a toolbelt.

"Oh, sure, I just gotta wake up, that's all. I had a dawn call anyway. You take care of yourself, huh?"

"Roger, wilco, and out," I signaled; then we both said Bang! and disconnected.

"How much?" said the creep in the plaid sport coat.

"More than you've got," I replied. "And sorry, I'm not in the market for a used car." Then I threw him and his pal The Glare.

"I like 'em a little spunky," said the pal with the toolbox. Then he took a step closer so I grabbed his arm, spun around, and shoulder-flipped him into the bushes. They were rose bushes, I believe. It felt good and he was lucky. I could have chosen the cactus. Then the guy in the sport coat charged me and I flipped him onto the cactus.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you don't hang around trouble. So before the creep's buddies showed up, or the cops, or whoever, I started the jeep and peeled out. After driving a few miles south and a few more east I found a busy parking lot and pulled in to make a call.

"Why, hello, Vivian," Cynthia greeted me warmly. "I'm surprised you're out this early in the morning."

"I, uh, had a couple of things to deal with before school," I explained. "Is Walt awake? I'm hoping he can help me with something."

"Oh, sure, he's right here. Vivian, did you get your sleep last night? You look tired," Cynthia remarked.

"Yeah, I slept OK," I stated, wishing the motel at least had vinyl tiles, not ceramic.

"Just remember you always have a place here," Cynthia offered warmly. Damn! She had me thinking of that beautiful guest room with the soft blanket, the cool fluffy pillow, the cozy sheets, the heavenly mattress, no bad spring and no tile floor. Perhaps, I thought, it might not hurt to speed that situation up a bit.

"OK, here's Walt," Cynthia announced. "Walt, it's Vivian."

Walt had his PDA set to transmit a shot of the whole kitchen. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Cynthia's sister Natasha Robinsong and a large-framed black woman with a buzz cut. I found out later she was Tanya Hayward, a co-worker of Cynthia's at Bogswamp's.

Cynthia, as it turned out, was half-leaning against the counter top. So were an Asian guy wearing a set of pilot's straps and a really buff blonde guy wearing an electrician's tool belt. Cynthia had one hand behind each of them and both had erections.

"Hello?" said Walt a couple of times. I guess I was off in space.

"Oh, hi Walt," I finally managed to stammer. "It's not too early, is it?"

"Not for me," Walt replied with a grin. Natasha was doing something under the table. This wasn't going well.

"Well, I realize you don't know me very well, but I was hoping you'd help me with something. A friend of mine is thinking of buying a plane and wants a second opinion. Would you be willing to meet him at Plummet Field on Saturday morning and have a look at it?"

"I'm not a mechanic, you know. I'm a pilot," Walt replied. "What kind of plane is it?"

"He didn't say but I get the impression it's not brand new."

"Well, OK; I guess I'm not doing anything else. What time?"

Yes! "Eight in the morning. If you like, I'll drive," I offered.

"Don't you and Adam have some kind of commitment at Bushie's Off-Road?" Walt asked.

"We'll be done in plenty time for that," I assured Walt. "In fact, he can come along if he wants. Is he there?"

"No, he just left for swim workouts," Walt explained. "Actually, he left a bit earlier than usual. Is everything OK between you two?"

"I hope so," I replied. "Shall we meet at seven tomorrow morning, then? That'll leave time for breakfast."

"Sure, that'll be fine," Walt agreed.

"OK, well, thanks for helping me out, Walt. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Vivian. This might even be interesting. Have a good day at school," said Walt, then he reached over to Tanya and disconnected.

Was Adam pissed at me? Is that why he left the house early? Because he was pissed, and he didn't want to talk to me, and he knew I was on the phone? Walt seemed to sense something was wrong... Shit.

Cynthia had noticed something, too, but I didn't need her comments to realize I looked a mess. Plus, I was starving. Fortunately, just down the street was a little Greek restaurant named Cupid's Pita. It even had a drive-through.

The guy working window had a great physique, a great tan, and curly black hair with just a touch of gray around the temples. He was wearing a white pleated miniskirt -- oh, excuse me, a foustanella -- held up by a gauzy sash. A badge on the sash claimed his name was Socrates. He gave me a funny look and a once-over but at least he spoke to my face.

"I think I recognize you," he began. Oh brother, I thought; now I even have to smile and wave at the drive-through workers. Then, to my great amazement he asked, "Aren't you Pietre's friend, Vivian?"

"Uh, yes, I have some classes with Pietre Agoras at Bald Mountain High School," I confessed.

"I thought so. Pietre talks about you so much. My name is Socrates Agoras. I'm Pietre's dad and I own this little Taverna. I think we met once before. Or maybe I saw you on television. A beautiful morning, eh? Now, what can I get for you?"

"I'm hungry enough to eat anything," I admitted. "Do you have a special?"

Well, go figure. Four minutes later I was driving away with two large -- no, huge -- catering chests full of baklava pastries, koulourakia cookies studded with nuts and raisins, spanakopita feta cheese pies, siphnopita cheesecake, karithopita walnut cake, a tray of spinach waffles, two platters of spinach quiche, dozens of pork, chicken, and goat pitas, gyros, and souvlaki, a half gross of shish kabobs, five pounds each of baked shrimp with garlic and spring onions, sardines with oregano and oil, mussels krasata, smoked trout in a dill and scallion marinade, several large bowls of grapes, oranges, and mangos, a tray of grape leaves stuffed with goat cheese and figs, and two huge cartons of tabouli salad with feta cheese and kalamata olives. Socrates also gave me a huge thermos of pitch-black coffee, another of frappe, and four cases of Ioli mineral water: two still and two sparkling. All costing nothing. Otherwise, Socrates said, he and his two girlfriends would have to throw it away.

I ate one pita and one shish kabob on the way to school but had no idea what to do with the rest. Then Rita Rodriguez and Serena Sanchez parked two spaces away from me.

"Is that all food?" Rita asked. Of course she'd smelled it and the catering chests were covered in stickers reading Eat At Cupid's Pita.

"Yeah, and I don't know what to do with it. I'd hate to throw it away," I explained.

"How about taking it inside and sharing?"

"Might as well," I agreed. Then the three of us lugged one catering chest into the athletic building rotunda and set it on a table near the refreshment stand.

Julio Sessums and two of his friends, Manuel Savona and Ali Manzueta, were also in the rotunda, just standing around. They helped us carry in the second catering chest and the drinks, then we all took what we wanted and followed Rita and Serena into the natatorium. I guess the two of them liked watching swim workouts but they seemed to like watching Ali Manzueta just as well.

Ali was a tall black guy, completely bald, with a pretty good set of muscles, gold earrings, and a gold PA. That's a problem black guys tend to have, you know. If their skin is really dark it's hard to see their package. The PA made up a little for that.

Rita and Serena steered Ali to one of the back bleachers, then sat on either side of him and started discussing, of all things, their hair! From what I overheard, both of them were kind of frizzed out. I'm sure Ali would have been completely bored except that Rita and Serena kept rubbing his heads.

About thirty or forty people had been watching the swim workouts but most of them left when they heard about the free food in the rotunda. I took a seat thinking perhaps I'd join Adam and Olivia in the showers later. Damn, though, those aluminum bleacher benches were cold! And I was sure they'd leave lines in my butt.

"Care for a towel?" Julio asked. When I accepted he took a seat to my left. Manuel took the right.

"Rough night?" asked Julio.

"Not rough, hard. I had a hard time sleeping, you might say. Then everyone else was asleep and I had to leave without taking a shower. I'm sure I look a mess. Thanks for asking but I hate you for noticing."

That led to a pregnant pause so I continued, "I was gonna take a shower on the way to school, then I got sidetracked by all that food. I guess I'll take a shower with Adam and Olivia after workouts."

"Yeah, what's with that food?" Manuel wanted to know.

"I dunno. I guess they were going to throw it away, and then I happened along."

"It looked pretty fresh," Manuel observed.

"Yeah, I guess they realized they made too much. Uh, look, guys: thanks for helping to carry that in, but you don't have to hang around."

This led to another long pause, so I added, "unless you want to."

Julio's dick was looking better and better. It was nice and long, and it had a good thickness. I don't like those real thick ones. I don't like a lot of baggy skin, either. But Julio's was always snug and powerful looking. The head had a nice cap, like a Chinese mushroom. Plus, it was getting harder by the second. I mean, between the swimmers and the onlookers, there were about a hundred naked kids in there, and Julio could have been thinking about any of them. But somehow I thought it was me. I mean, he was looking at me, not at anyone else, and mostly my eyes. But all over, too. Rita and Serena were still carrying on with smooth bald Ali Manzueta and their rotten hair. Julio ran his finger down my thigh and looked over at Manuel. I guess the two of them were hanging out a lot at that time. I grabbed a piece of Julio's thigh and looked over at Manuel.

Manuel had a light overall coating of body hair, which I usually don't like. On him, though, it seemed to fit. His build was OK but he didn't look like an athlete. His dick wasn't as nice as Julio's, either. It was a little shorter and thicker, and it just didn't have that proportion to it. Still, it wasn't bad.

"You're tense," Manuel informed me. Of course I was tense! With all the stuff I was planning for Saturday and Sunday, and all the people who were involved, and all the things that could go wrong, oh yeah, I was tense all right. Not to mention Magic and Reb blowing into town, me spending the night on a hard tile floor, and that jerk with the plaid sport coat and his tool belt buddy coming after me at Banana Tryst.

"Let me feel your back," Manuel continued, and then he gently probed up and down my spine. Almost immediately, something about his touch started feeling really good. "It hurts here, doesn't it?" he asked. "And here? And especially here?"

"Argh!" I replied, but I had to admit he seemed to know what he was talking about. It seemed he knew what I was feeling better than I did myself. "You seem to have a real talent, there," I remarked.

"My parents run a massage shop," said Manuel as he slid onto the bleacher behind me. "They're both licensed massage therapists, and so is my older sister. They taught me a lot. Now, try to hold still. When you need to flex, just tell me. I'm going to start gently."

Oh, it was heavenly. Manuel worked his magic fingers, or knuckles, or palms, or whatever up and down my spine, deep into my shoulders, up and down my sides, into the small of my back. Julio was still hanging onto my thigh but I hardly noticed. The massage felt that good.

For a few minutes I'd watch the swimmers, then I'd trance out, then I'd close my eyes and just concentrate on Manuel's magic rub down. Stroke by wonderful stroke, the tension and stiffness just melted away. Then he went deeper.

"Ooooohh!" I moaned involuntarily. "Oh yes! Right there! Ooooohh yeessss! Oooh, that's heavenly! No, don't stop! Yeessss, yeessss, that's the spoooot! Yeessss, deeeeperr! Ooooohh, yeeesss, that's it! Move up. Oh, yes! Move down. Even better! Now faster. Faster! Faaaassterrr! Yes! Yes!"

Have you ever noticed how quiet can be louder than noise? When Manuel started his massage, the natatorium was full of sound: the swimmers diving and stroking, the coach blowing her whistle and shouting instructions, the people in the bleachers coming, going, and taking amongst themselves. Rita and Serena complaining about their hair. Ali gasping as he came on, well, on their hair. But suddenly, the whole room was quiet except for me!

Much as I hated to interrupt Manuel's ministrations, I opened my eyes. Everywhere I looked, eyes stared back at me. Even the swimmers in the water, including Adam, had come to a stop and were treading water, staring up at me. Especially Adam.

"I bet I was getting kind of loud there, huh?" I asked Julio.

"Well, yeah, and of course the sound echoes off the walls in here," he replied sheepishly.

"You wanna finish the massage?" Manuel asked.

"I dunno. Is there a hole we can crawl into?" I replied.

"We could go in the locker room and use a training table," Manuel suggested. That's where I usually work. I'm the head trainer for the football team, you know."

By then most people had figured out the show was over and gone back to their usual activities. Then, barely whispering, I thanked Manuel, assured him I felt much better, and stated firmly that that was enough for the day.

Ali Manzueta was pretty well spent by then. Rita and Serena, of course, were pretty well soaked. It didn't seem like the sort of treatment that would improve their hair very much.

Polyna Faka'osifolau and Zahina Ukiru, both bald, had paired up with Drew Baca, by far the hairiest guy in school. The two girls had taken just as much cum as Rita and Serena but on them, of course, it was more visible and less messy. In passing I overheard Rita admiring the way Drew's cum stood out on Zahina's very dark head. The whole group of six was making plans for the afternoon and evening.

As for me, I just headed back toward the rotunda for a koulourakia cookie and some of that Ioli mineral water. I had enough plans for the day as it was.

At eight fifteen the onlookers filed out of the natatorium and into the rotunda. Swim workouts, apparently, were finished. It was time to head for the shower room and look for Adam.

Adam was there, all right, but he was already showering with Olivia and Caitlin Vegas. "So, did you have a good time watching us?" he asked.

"That wasn't what you think," I explained. "My back was stiff and Manuel Savona gave me a massage. That's all."

"Hey look, it doesn't matter," Adam reassured me. "Nobody ever mentioned the word exclusive. Remember?"

Yeah, I remembered all right. So did Olivia and Caitlin, who were scrubbing him up pretty good. Strangely, though, the more enthusiastically Caitlin scrubbed Adam, the more she glared at Ethan Beahmerri.

"Care to join us?" Ethan suddenly asked me. He and Paul Aquino were under the next shower head and apparently neither had much enthusiasm for scrubbing the other.

"Sure, why not?" I replied, looking straight at Adam.

"Well come on in, the water's fine," Ethan assured me absently. Most of his attention was on Caitlin, who by then was scrubbing Adam's ever-hard cock and letting the cum drip down her leg.

"You want another massage?" Paul asked as he lathered up my shoulders and butt.

"That really was a massage there in the natatorium, you know," I explained as I slobbered a handful of soap across Ethan's chest and abs. Adam watched me do it, too, even though he was cumming in Olivia's mouth at the time. Some of it oozed out of her lips, onto her cheeks, and down her chin.

"What about you? Don't I owe you a favor for sharing this stall?" I asked Paul as Olivia stood up and Caitlin dropped to her knees.

"I'll let Ethan be first," Paul acceded.

Fine, I thought. I already knew Ethan was ready because a few moments earlier I'd finished his abs and moved lower. So now it was me who knelt, making sure Adam had the best possible view. Paul came up behind me and laid his cock on my shoulder.

Like all swimmers, Ethan kept himself hairless from the nose and nape down. Water was flowing freely over his shoulders, chest, abs, and cock, quickly washing away any soap. The head was dark red. The shaft was long and taut. His balls were pulled up tight against his crotch. Altogether, it made quite a sight. Whether for me or for Caitlin, however, Ethan anxiously moved closer. With one motion I used my right hand to press Paul's cock against my shoulder, my left to stroke the spot behind Ethan's balls, my mouth to envelop Ethan's cock, and my tongue to stroke it.

Warm water was falling all around, which was pretty cool. Paul and Ethan seemed to be holding each other's shoulders, which was kind of weird but I guess they needed to balance. Ethan started to twitch a little bit so I slowed down on him and sped up on Paul. I started flexing my shoulder, too, so Paul would get a little more action than my hand alone could provide. On and on the water fell around us, down the guy's chests, off their abs and cocks, down my face and shoulders, across my tits and hips.

My wet tits pressed against Ethan's smooth and powerful thighs. Through them I could feel his legs were starting to twitch. Then I felt Paul's cock twitch too. Call it luck, call it practice; call it what you will: Both guys spurted together. I kept them going as long as I could but eventually Ethan realized he was getting Paul's cum on his cock and he pulled away. Then Paul had to pull away to keep from losing his balance.

As for myself, I wasn't too bad off. I swallowed what was left in my mouth, rinsed my face and front, and stood up to dry. Ethan and Paul both thanked me, and each of them offered me a towel. As for Adam, though, he was long gone. Shit!

Walking from the shower room to Honors seminar was weird. I kept thinking I was still inside the shower room. That many people were naked.

Well, think about it: Maybe ten percent of the students and faculty were in The Program. Another five or ten percent went naked or close to it all the time, like I did. Then, because it was Spirit Day, everybody on the various athletic teams was naked, plus all the cheerleaders, plus all the pompom girls, plus the majorettes, the twirlers, and the rest of the band. Not to mention the drama club, the debate team, the chess club, and another organizations that had voted to compete naked. Plus all their teachers, coaches, assistants, and trainers. Sure, a few people probably chickened and a few didn't belong to anything. But even so, there wasn't a whole lot of fabric in use that day. I suppose Eli Whitney turned in his grave.

Everybody took it differently, but the result was nothing like Program initiation. Some people just showed up naked, found their friends, spent a little time looking around, and then went to class. Others showed up fully clothed, stood outside their lockers, and slowly took off one thing at a time. Some of them kept looking around at people, as if checking for or hoping for a hoax. Guys undressed their girlfriends and girls undressed their boyfriends. A few were holding their eyes or leaning their heads on the wall. Some were screwing. Some were giving head. Some were fondling themselves or each other. A few pissed in the hall, but the hall monitors made them mop it up and go outside. Strangest of all, a few got undressed in the washrooms, as if there was any privacy in there.

Friday at School

Period 1 - Honors Seminar

Honors seminar had less than its share of athletes but membership in chess, debate, drama, Mathletics, and other organizations made up for it. Altogether, I think three, maybe four kids showed up in clothes,

Petunia Pei and Yulan Yuan were kneeling in front of Ben, each sucking one of his cocks. No surprise there. I snuggled up next to Pietre Agoras, who was dressed much like his dad but without the foustanella. Then, to my surprise, Julio Sessums snuggled next to my other side. His cock was erect and looking better than ever. A moment later I had two cocks in hand and Pietre grew erect as well.

"You want another massage?" Julio asked. "I'm not as good as Manuel but..."

"No, there's not enough time," I begged.

"What's this for, then?" asked Pietre, glancing at my hand.

"I want to thank your dad for giving me a ton of food this morning. Pass it on, will you?" I suggested.

"Ah, my dad and I, we're not like this," Pietre explained. "Anyway, how much did he give you?"

"Two catering chests packed full, plus extras," I explained, giving both guys a squeeze. "He said it was leftovers that he'd have to throw away otherwise. Is he always that bad a planner?"

"No, I think he must have been doing you a favor. Did he owe you one?"

"No, I'm the one who owes the favor now," I admitted, squeezing the guys more rapidly. "Can you return his catering chests after school? They're in the rotunda. I have to go downtown for some tests and appointments."

"Yeah, OK," Pietre consented. At that point, I think he would have consented to anything.

"You'll recognize them. They have Cupid's Pita stickers all over them," I remarked, still clutching and releasing. Then I thought to ask, "Wasn't Cupid a Roman god?"

"He was a little bit Greek, too," Pietre squeaked. "Unfortunately, the name Eros' Gyros was already taken. That's what my uncle Plato calls his restaurants on the coast."

That's when the bell rang, both guys went off, and Maharishi entered the room with Atkins and Leibniz. I had no idea what they were doing in the project lab and liked it that way. Atkins and Leibniz rushed off to their classes. Maharishi walked around the room handing out paper towels.

"Good morning, students and staff," Holloway suddenly began. O'Callaghan, the Spanish teacher, and some guy from the board of education were straightening up the cushions on her daybed.

"Announcements today will be brief," Holloway stated breathlessly. "I hope everyone remembered that today is Spirit Day and that you all, uh, came, uh, dressed, or whatever, for competition. In the puce and chartreuse, that is. If not, well, I don't suppose anyone left their skin at home.

"I'm sure you all know that today is Friday the thirteenth. I know that adds a third dimension to the day's activities but please remember that this is a school. Classes and education come first.

"Program notifications will go out during third period today. You'll find them as soon as the com block gets lifted at the end of the period. Appeals are at the office, but not during class hours.

"If you're selected, report to south end of the gym at eight-fifteen on Monday. That's where you remove any clothes you might be wearing, receive your Program bands, and receive final instructions.

"The student council has designated next Friday as Uniform Day. If possible, everyone should wear a non-school uniform. For example, you could dress as a bell hop, flight attendant, mall cop, nurse, soldier, or waitress.

"There's no support group after school today.

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

By popular demand, Lance Lorusso and Liza Lanahan were back to explain what a stochastic process is. By all appearances, their Mathletics acclimatization was complete. They were both buck naked.

Period 2 - Communications

No sooner had class ended than the phone calls started in. The first was from Dan, who told me he, Lucy Lasstic, Edgar Robinsong, and me needed to meet some people at the county land offices that afternoon. I asked him to make the appointment as late as possible and to include Nadia.

Next was Reb. "Ah, Viv, you might want to be careful this morning," she began. "The cops might be lookin' for you. It seems someone attacked the motel manager and the handyman around seven o'clock this morning, and a witness reported someone matching your description leaving the area."

"I met those guys once," I replied. "They seemed like the type who'd push themselves onto a young girl early in the morning."

"Well, don't worry about it too much, then. I'm sure you can take care of yourself and I doubt the cops have much evidence. Magic says the surveillance tapes somehow got destroyed."

"You got anything planned today?" I asked Reb.

"Not much. Magic and I are gonna look around town, that's all. Somethin' you need?"

“No, just remember Bushie's at clambake time,” I reminded her.

Crystal called just as I got to Communications class. Instead of answering I tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "You rang?" She jumped.

"Oof, don't startle me like that!" Crystal urged.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Well, I found a band like you wanted. Two of them, in fact. Laughing Gas was the first to agree, then Pricilla Payne from Mistress Payne and the Submissives called back to say she'd talked the rest of her band into it."

"OK, see if you can get one of 'em to play from noon to three and the other from six or seven until dark," I decided.

"What about three to six? Late afternoon is the best time. Shouldn't the bands play then?"

"That time slot's taken," I explained, "or at least, I think it is. I'm still tryin' to finalize the deal."

"Well?" Crystal probed.

"I could tell you but then I'd have to shoot you," I exaggerated. Maybe. "Can you be at Bushie's at six thirty?"

"Yeah, sure," Crystal agreed, but I could tell she really didn't expect any information. Oh well. She'd know everything soon enough.

"Where's Adam? Didn't the two of you walk together from gym?" I asked.

"I could tell you but then I'd have to shoot you," Crystal threw back. Adam, however, showed up just a few moments later. He, Lakisha Hinokawa, and Tess Palmer were stridin' and slidin' down the hall ménage a trois style.

I knew Lakisha wasn't in The Program and I didn't think she was in any teams or clubs. Nevertheless a waist cincher, choke collar, lace gloves, lace socks, spike heels, and her usual goth makeup, all in black, completed her outfit. All, that is, except for the puce lipstick on her upper lip and right nipple, and the chartreuse on her lower and left.

Tess, of course, was doing her Program thing. Adam waved as if to taunt me, then the three of them headed into class and parked on a couch. They didn't exactly stop slidin' though.

Revenge isn't always a bad thing. At least, that's what I figured when I decided to teach Adam a lesson. Letting your guard down, by contrast, is always a bad thing. It leads to things like two nerdy guys telling you, "We have a Reasonable Request."

There they were, all right: Elwood Wiggins, the wimp who'd tried to impress me in Law class by taking off his pants, and Malcolm Hornshaw, a guy who apparently lacked the guts for such a stunt. Wiggins had his pants off again but was wearing a faded puce t-shirt with the school emblem printed on one shoulder. Hornshaw was wearing a chartreuse Bald Mountain toga with a ruffled hem.

"We want you to sit with us today in class," Wiggins demanded.

"Yeah, and, uh, make stuff happen," Hornshaw added.

Oh brother, I thought. I was in The Program and they weren't. Worse, it was Friday the thirteenth and the two of them plus me made three.

"All right, but someday, somehow, this is going to cost you," I told Wiggins and Hornshaw as I led them into class. Nadia and Crystal went in with Javier Boomhower, who was in The Program and at least had the courtesy to look interested. OK, erect.

I was more worried about the fact that I hadn't heard from Ian.

Communications was one of the more naked classes. Even on a typical day, about half the students were naked. That Friday, it was twenty-four out of twenty eight.

Fortunately, I didn't have to sit with Wiggins and Hornshaw very long. Magnusson told everyone to come on stage, grab a tall stool, and form a circle facing inward. Then, without Magnusson having to ask, Lakisha Hinokawa crawled out of her waist cincher and Noreen Tallarico chucked her chemise. Then I glared at Wiggins and Hornshaw until they dumped their dorky clothes and the circle was complete.

Magnusson broke the class into groups of three. Within each group, one student was supposed to interview the other and the third was supposed to listen. The interviewer was supposed to interest the third person. No touching was allowed. Wiggins ended up interviewing Hornshaw and never did gain my interest. Oh well.

Period 3 - College English

Wiggins and Hornshaw tried hitting on me again after class but just as quickly my PDA announced a call from the cops and that dissuaded them.

"Friday," said the cop, who was wearing only a shoulder holster with a badge pinned to it. I made her as a detective. Beat cops usually wear a flak jacket and armored panties at least.

"Jazlyn Friday, detective, fifth precinct," she continued. "These other people are my partners today: Hank Frank, my investigator, and Morgan Gannon, my driver."

Hank was wearing a more typical patrolman's uniform. Morgan was wearing a paper hat and some chocolate syrup from Dollie's Donuts. That seemed normal enough but the fifth precinct didn't. The Banana Tryst was in the second precinct.

"Will you please confirm your identity as Vivian Vivicelli, currently under the care of Marjorie Major?"

"Yes, that's me," I admitted. If I'd lied, the cops could've traced my PDA sign-on certificate anyway. Perhaps they already had.

"Well, your guardian Marjorie left the hospital without checking out this morning. According to the receptionist in the lobby, she just walked out front, hailed a cab, and disappeared. We have confirmation from surveillance cameras. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, I thought she was being released today. She was supposed to call me when she knew the time. I don't know why she'd leave without checking out. She didn't have any decent clothes."

"That's right. She was naked. Would you care to explain how you knew that?"

"Look: She and I got our injections last Saturday. Hers were too aggressive and she got into a bad way. I brought her to the doctor's office Monday. The doctor called for transportation and sent her to the hospital. At that time she was wearing a rain poncho and a ratty old dress that was too big for her. Since then, she's probably lost fifty pounds or more. Every day, either the nurse or Marjorie herself told me to stay away. Because of that, I haven't seen her or brought her anything. So she didn't have any decent clothes."

"All right. That jibes with the hospital's story. I'll let you know if we discover anything further. Same for you. If you discover anything relevant, call me at this number. Oh, and one more thing..."

"Yes?"

"You might want to start looking for a new guardian."

"Thanks a heap," I replied, then Friday disconnected. Maybe she just went out for a donut. Marjorie, that is. Right. I knew what it felt like to get dumped, and that's how it felt. Marjorie wasn't the best but she wasn't the worst either. Same for that old apartment. I knew the landlord wouldn't lease to anyone under twenty-five, though.

So there I was, alone in my funk -- alone in a hallway full of students and faculty streaming wherever they needed to be. Then suddenly Pietre rounded a corner, hooked my elbow, and thrust me at high speed in the direction of College English. Or maybe it was Petunia Pei doing the thrusting. Petunia was on Pietre's other elbow.

Yulan Yuan showed up with Ethan Beahmerri and Paul Aquino. The six of us sat together but there was no time for funny business before the bell rang and Atkins sent out the day's reading. It was another passage from Thoreau: part of his essay titled Walking.

Nature is not, of course, always benign and beautiful. It can be frightening and terrifying also. Not too many generations ago, raw nature and wilderness tended to inspire fear and dread in 'civilized' people. They represented Otherness and the Unknown. That which is 'wild' is also 'bewildering'.

Today, wilderness is usually considered to be something good and in need of preservation. The beauty and awesomeness of it dominate our attention. We are attracted by wilderness, the Otherness of it, the sense it is something inevitably outside of us. Always beyond us, it is what is ultimately real.

We cannot adequately appreciate this aspect of nature if we approach it with any taint of human pretense. It will elude us if we allow artifacts like clothing to intervene between ourselves and this Other.

To apprehend it, we cannot be naked enough. In wildness is the preservation of the world.

Well, there you are. How can we possibly appreciate nature with clothes on? Somehow Atkins kept the class talking about that for another forty-five minutes, as if that was the most important thing in anyone's life. Me, I had bigger worries. Much bigger.

Lunch Period

The moment third period ended nearly everyone checked their message queues. Some moaned, some groaned, some were happy. Of course, unless they said something, there was no way of telling which had been scheduled for The Program and which not.

I received a message too, but mine was from Detective Friday. It turned out Marjorie's real name was Julia McRae and that's why the injection affected her so badly. It was formulated for the real Marjorie Major who lived on the east coast, two thousand miles away. Julia McRae had stolen her identity.

After leaving the hospital, Julia had the cab wait at a discount store while she bought some clothes. Then she had it wait again at a bank where she transferred $50,000 from a personal account and $50,000 received that morning from Trans Cal to an unknown account in the Cayman islands. At the airport, she picked up a ticket to Mexico City, paid for by Trans-Cal. In Mexico City she bought a ticket to Havana. There was no telling where she went from there.

I was almost ready to leave town when Adam found me. I must have looked a sight because Adam asked if I was OK, and then he offered to do anything that might help. That made me think of all the kindnesses the Jonsons had shown me, but also what a leech I'd been. I couldn't stand being a leech. I couldn't stand being tied down, either. Then I thought of all the people who were depending on me Saturday, Sunday, and beyond. And anyway, Marjorie's apartment would be available for the rest of the month at least. And then, of course, there was Adam himself holding my shoulders and staring into my eyes.

That's when Ian's call came in and with Adam standing there, I had to refuse it. Damn.

Dee Muntz tried making herself our third but I refused to go along with it. That's when Nick Lodeen, the tennis player, happened along and I picked him instead. This seemed to satisfy Adam but it made Dee furious. The result was a fit of pushing, shoving, and spike heel stomping. Dee was really tough -- as strong as me -- but Adam and Nick were both pretty big guys and Dee couldn't handle three on one. Instead, she hooked up with Brenda Geiss and Loretta Manlesse. I hoped they had fun together (not).

The lunch choices were Octopus orange with cream of beet soup or minced eggplant and grits with stewed lemons. I guess the idea was puce and chartreuse but the result was more like sluice. I took a pass and so did lots of others. The lunchroom was about half filled with people eating lukewarm Cupid's Pita stuff.

Our usual lunch group was a shambles. Teah went off with Tad Perlmutter and Nicole Peterson, two of her new pissy friends, to find a manhole or whatever. Dan, Valene Hosten, and Steve Owsley went the other direction but I suspect they were looking for the same thing. Ben was doing dreary goth things in public with Lakisha Hinokawa and Joy Inkarnette. Nadia and Crystal took an interest in Ken Stikowski's pierced nipples.

Adam and I spent most of the period rolling around the grass in the quad. Nick was there too, of course, and we made sure he didn't feel left out. Nick knew he was the third wheel and accepted things as they were. I almost forgot about Marjorie, about all the arrangements for Saturday, about all the arrangements for Sunday, and about Dee. Almost.

Good old Aunt Marjorie, whose food and rent I'd paid for most of the last year by driving pizzas around at all hours of the night. Good old Aunt Marjorie who was really a Trans-Cal spy named Julia McRae. Good old Aunt Marjorie who could raise a hundred grand and run off through Cuba when things got dicey. Yeah, it was good old Aunt Marjorie, all right.

Who was Dee Muntz, really? Who were all these other people? Who was Adam? Who were Walt and Cynthia? Could I really trust them? Why was I lighting fireworks around myself for their benefit? Why didn't I just take care of myself and leave? Who needed a family anyway? A real family. Reb and the old gang were out of the question. Too much visibility. As if I was keeping invisible with Adam. Then he kissed me and stuck himself in and squeezed my butt and suddenly everything was right with the world.

Period 4 - History

Nick wandered off to his fourth period class, giving Adam and me a few moments together. We used a garden hose in the quad to rinse ourselves, then had a nice walk to History. My PDA showed a new message from Ian but of course I couldn't play it with Adam all over me. That's the price one pays, I suppose.

A nice walk, that is, until Lakisha Hinokawa, once again wearing her goth waist cincher, surprised Adam with a Reasonable Request involving her shoes and several of Adam's bodily orifices. Fortunately for Adam, Noreen Tallarico, clad in a plain white blouse and straight skirt, had some requests of her own. Noreen seemed to have the same shoes-and-orifice fetish as Lakisha, and the two girls spent the rest of the hall period arguing over firsties. I think Adam had something to do with that but he couldn't get away from sitting with them in class.

Erik Shoults, meanwhile, had somehow latched onto me. I guess he remembered me from Holloway's whippy dippy afternoon NIS support group and thought that made us pals. For a moment I though he was going to talk my ear off telling me how much he enjoyed The Program every day, and then Ursula Beitz came along and the two of us traded senseless girl talk. Shoults, of course, ignored the hint. Instead, he got an erection and stood there watching us. He followed us into class and sat behind us, too.

Dora Mussse had chucked her usual gray clothes and black underwear for a puce and chartreuse half-bra and panty set. She and Owen Barnes sat with Julianne Dithers who was still in The Program and still couldn't concentrate.

Ali Manzueta was all over Erin Shaunessy and Esther Dillingham. At least, I suppose it was him. Erin had cum on her lips, chin, and chest, and Esther's puce and chartreuse baby doll top and crotchless thong were soaked too.

Rebecca Unger still seemed to have an interest in Gary Fischbak. The week before she'd done a slow strip for him during History class, but this time she was a lot faster. You can only prolong a pair of puce panties so long. Indira Kuciemba, wearing a couple of East Indian silk scarves, was after Fischbak as well. The two girls exchanged glances then whispered in his ear and led him into class.

Steve Owsley and Tad Perlmutter had apparently convinced Katie Sullivan to go along with some kind of experiment after class. I wondered if she knew that neither guy used toilets.

Other than that and a Queen Nefertiti chick and a hula girl who kept fooling around with Mr. Laitle, History class was normal.

Period 5 - Law

History class cleared out quickly and I finally had time to play Ian's message. "Viv, hi, it's Ian. Is everything OK? I'm kinda surprised you refused my call. I mean, you're the one who called me first... Well, maybe you were busy with something. Uh, look, what you suggested, I talked it over with the band and they're game to go. So I'm gonna call Ted, and then I'm gonna have my roadies call Ted, and we'll set everything up. I hope that's what you want. I wish we could just talk. Let's keep trying, OK? Love... love to see you again. And talk. Take care of yourself, Viv. Later. It's Ian."

Shit.

Almost everyone in Law class turned up naked or bottomless. The fact that the debate team decided to comply with athletic dress code probably had a lot to do with it. Of course, as the debate coach, Consuelo had to be naked as well. She didn't seem terribly upset about it.

Julio, Steve Owsley, and Melinda Robideau all showed up in cropped Bald Mountain t-shirts. Julio was looking good as ever and Owsley was at least erect. All three of them went outside so Owsley could pee in the bushes, then they all groped and poked their way to jury box.

Brenda Geiss, Tamala McWalters, and Loretta Manlesse formed an all-girl trio. Brenda was wearing the most: a puce half bra and a chartreuse slit-front miniskirt. The other two had a pair of silk chartreuse mini-chaps and a tattered, unbuttoned puce blouse between them. Brenda took off her skirt then all three snuggled behind, or more accurately beneath, the defense table.

"You're still driving tomorrow, right?" I asked Ursula, who at least hadn't shown up in any kind of crazy costume. Being in The Program has that effect.

"Yeah, but what's going on? You said it's drivin' laps around a test track but I kinda feel out of the loop."

"Sorry about that," I replied just as Elwood Wiggins, pants sadly lacking, appeared at our elbows.

"Hi. Do you two need a third?" Elwood asked Ursula's tits. They were about eye-level for him.

"It's tomorrow at Bushie's Off-Road," I continued "Can you be there at eleven o'clock?"

"What's tomorrow at Bushie's?" Ursula probed.

"Yeah, what?" asked Wiggins.

"Off-road demos, some food, some music, some side attractions," I explained carefully. Nevertheless, Ursula's eyes widened into pie plates and her legs began to quiver. On her, that measured about 4.5 on the Richter scale. I resolved to end the conversation before she drew a crowd.

"Yeah, that," I confirmed.

"Yeah, what?" Wiggins asked blankly.

Ursula, of course, understood what I was saying "What about...?" she gasped.

"They'll be dropping in," I said.

"Ohmigosh! How?" Ursula barely managed to blurt. By then she was jiggling and stopping traffic everywhere.

"Yeah, how? Or what?" Wiggins asked, diverting one percent of his attention from Ursula.

"Underground," I risked, despite the growing crowd.

At that point Ursula grabbed my shoulders and shook both of us. She wasn't kidding about those legs. "You sneak! You tease! I want in! I want in all the way! Why didn't you ask me?"

"I'll do it," Wiggins offered eagerly.

"OK, you're in," I reassured her, a fact which dumfounded Wiggins.

"How and when?" Ursula asked, calming somewhat.

"Anywhere you want," stated Wiggins.

"Half past clambake, trackside," I replied, then the bell rang and everyone took their seats. That's when I noticed Dee Muntz trotting away from the back of the crowd and off to her next class. She was fast; I give her that.

Almost immediately two guys in pony gear escorted Consuelo from her chambers. Consuelo herself was radiant in long bangs, high pony tail, choke collar, riding gloves, crop, and stiletto heels. Slowly all three proceeded behind the bench, then the pony guys formed a human staircase so Consuelo could mount.

Wiggins ended up sitting between Ursula and me as the prosecution. Wiggins went for Ursula's thigh and she, to my surprise, went for his. Maybe she was sorry for ignoring him. Julio and Owsley were keeping Melinda Robideau pretty busy, or maybe it was the reverse. In any event, I thought maybe I owed Ursula a favor so I helped her out a little bit with Wiggins. Consuelo kept snapping her crop but I think she knew she was beat, or at least that Wiggins was.

Other than that, Law was uneventful.

Period 6 - Calculus

After the business with Wiggins in Law I had to stop on my way to Calculus and clean up. By the time I got to class Julio and Pietre had hooked up with Yulan Yuan. That left Ben and Petunia Pei looking for a third so I joined them.

Everyone in Calculus seemed to be approaching their limit. This was particularly true of Ben who, after a week in The Program, had two very sore dicks. To his relief, Petunia and I each gave him a break. Plus, I had a lot of stuff to do after class. I didn't want to spend time cleaning anyone up.

Leibniz was the Mathletics sponsor and therefore had to appear without her usual parentheses. With her blonde hair in a tight bun and her tight bun whirling in a pirouette, she was the epitome of fitness and physical culture entering the room. Her two escorts in puce feather hats, chartreuse lederchaps, and lime buckle shoes, however, were serious distractions.

Leibniz delivered nearly a full lecture but made up for it by ending class three minutes early. Ben told me he was going home for some lotion and a nap, but that he'd meet me at Bushman's on schedule. Pietre went to collect his dad's catering chests, but not before I'd suggested he or his dad meet me at Bushman's around eight. Petunia and Yulan grabbed Julio and headed for parts unknown. Smiling, waving, and gritting my teeth at every bus and stoplight, I headed downtown to take my Bonded Courier and Notary Public exams.

Friday After School

Fortunately, the location for taking both the Bonded Courier test and the Notary Public test was the same: the county clerk's office. Unfortunately the office closed at five, each test was an hour, and I arrived at three thirty. So what the hell, I started with the Bonded Courier test and handed it in at five to four.

"Tough test, eh?" the smiling testing administrator asked my right tit.

"Not so bad," I replied. "Can I take the Notary Public test now? There's still a full hour available."

"It's your fifty bucks. You want to charge the same account?" he asked the left.

"Sure," I replied, punching the approval into my PDA. Then the guy handed me the test and I disappeared into the testing room. At four fifteen I gave him the answer sheet.

"Something's wrong here. You only got one wrong on the Bonded Courier test," the guy claimed.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," I explained. "A sunset clause in section 137.34a of the state revised statutes took effect last month and that affects the answer to question 112. You probably need to update your scoring key."

"Well, it's very suspicious," the guy insisted. "Especially with the short time. No one ever finishes the entire test that fast. Hmm. You got a hundred percent on the Notary Public test, and that test purposely takes more than an hour to complete. How do you explain this?"

"There's nothing up my sleeve," I assured him.

"Come with me," he insisted, motioning toward the testing room. There, he verified that the blocking signal kept my PDA stone cold dead.

"Well, it looks as if you passed. I'm going to hold this until we check it out, though. If anything comes up, we'll let you know. We have cameras in there, you know."

"As if I'm hiding anything," I sighed. "I have another appointment in five minutes. Can I go? You've got my number, right?"

"Oh sure," he replied, and then I split and tried not to think about how and where he might be reviewing those videotapes. I could feel his eyeballs on my butt cheeks.

Time was short but to my advantage the county land offices weren't far from the county clerk's. I was halfway there when a call arrived from Reb.

"Hey kid, how's it going?" she began. "Magic and I have been lookin' around town and so far we're likin' it. You figure this Averill Overdale character would go for a consignment rollover?"

"I don't know her that well, Reb. You gotta remember I've been keepin' under the radar here. Maybe too far under. I'll check her out though. Clambake time, right?"

"Yeah, that's what we said. Who's bringin' the clams?"

"Beats me. I figured everyone would eat before they came. You need a hand?"

"No, but I ran into Digger Topp today. He's feelin' kinda left out of this little drive-around of yours tomorrow. Is there a reason for that?"

"No, I just didn't know he was in town. I was under the radar, that's all. Where'd you find him?"

"Two places. Oz Trailer is a drive-though for ordinary folks. Topp's Down Under is for the uppity types. You know, he's always done good and played straight with us..."

"Yeah, I know. I'll give him a call. Right now, in fact. Gotta run. No time. Later. Bang!"

"Bang!" Reb replied, and then she transferred the call directly to Digger Topp. If anything, he was ruddier and cheerier than ever.

"Viv, ya' ol' Sheila! Where ya' been hidin' y'self?" he bellowed in his characteristic Aussie twang.

"Hidin's the word," I agreed. "I had no idea you were here."

"Well, 'ere we are now anyway, eh? So what's this about some clams t'night and a little dirt runnin' tamarrah?"

"If ya' wannna pay a visit, we'd love to have ya'," I offered. "Sorry this comes so late. Can you get supplies?"

"A swarm o' crocodoyles couldn't 'top me," Digger claimed. "She'll be royght and that's fair dinkum, it is."

Actually, it was four twenty-nine and I was just pulling into a parking space at the county land office. "OK, Digger, sounds great. Look, I gotta do some business right now. I'll see you later, OK?"

"Yeah, sure, do ya' bizzo. No spew here. Hooroo, then, and Bang!"

"Bang! for sure. See you later," I told him. I closed the connection and rushed inside.

Already a minute late I hurriedly asked the receptionist where the meeting with VAN Enterprise was scheduled. Fortunately it seemed to be on her agenda and she pointed me to a nearby conference room.

Dan, Nadia, Lucy Lasstic, and Edgar Robinsong were already there, plus a bored-looking civil servant named Marvin Vandeleese. Edgar was beaming and I took that to mean things were going our way. I wasn't far wrong.

"As I was just explaining to the others," Vandeleese told my right tit, "The property you asked about is technically considered excess and unusable. You can thank Mr. Robinsong for pointing this out. The Settlers and Miners Act of 1903 requires the government to dispose of such land at the rate of four hundred dollars an acre. The property is roughly two sections, twelve hundred and eighty acres, so your cost would be about half a million dollars. I can't overemphasize what a bargain that is. When the board of supervisors hears about this, they'll undoubtedly repeal or supersede the act."

"Wait a minute. Is that a lease or a purchase?" Nadia asked.

"It turns out that under the Settlers and Miners Act, we can purchase the property for less than the lease cost," Edgar explained. "It's really a slick deal. Thank Ozie Bogswamp, too. Best phone call I ever made."

"Where are we going to get half a million dollars?" I asked aloud.

"No problem," Lucy explained. "I know half a dozen ways of financing this deal. All we need today is $5,000 earnest money. Nadia, Vivian, are you going to split that?"

"I suggest you jump on this," Vandeleese recommended. "If you wait until the Settlers and Miners Act is off the books, which is probably Monday, the price will increase substantially."

Nadia and I stared at each other and sighed. That five thousand from the commercials at Dhrystone Lake sure didn't seem like much anymore. We'd probably spend the rest in the course of the weekend. Oh well. Lucy had the paperwork ready to go. We signed it, then Lucy signed a check for five thousand, then we spent the next hour signing enough papers to fill a filing cabinet. Two if you counted the county's copies and ours.

"Good luck," Vandeleese wished us, and then he left with the front lobby receptionist and a road worker wearing a hard hat and an orange and black bikini top. Lucy and Edgar called Ozie Bogswamp and made plans to meet at Edgar's office, where he'd store the land documents in his safe. Nadia, Dan, and I headed for Bushman's. What the hell; it was Friday the thirteenth. Nadia drove first.

We sorta took the long way to Bushman's but still got there by six o'clock. Naturally, things were already out of control.

Digger Topp had pulled up in his barbie wagon, which was basically the world's largest open fire barbeque grill welded onto a fifty-foot low-platform semi trailer. Digger was filling the first grill segment with coals and hardwood chips and Bushie was yelling at him to move the trailer away from the front of the store.

"Was this your idea?" Bushman asked me harshly.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this exactly but yeah, Digger here offered us some dinner and I told him it would be OK."

"Dinner for you and what army?" Bushman asked. "Look at the size of that thing! Where does he refrigerate all the meat and vegetables?"

As a matter of fact, I knew Digger would be hauling in two more semi trailers by morning: a standard refrigerated unit full of perishables and another low-platform with the salad bar, desert bar, cashier, and dry goods. Somehow, though, it seemed better to mention those details another time.

"It looks like he brought a few things with him," I observed instead. "I'll ask him to move the semi and then let's see what he's got."

"If he pulls forward he's going to block the tire store," Bushman observed. "If he backs up, he'll block the potpourri boutique. Have him pull across the street."

"That's the park. It's No Parking over there," I pointed out uselessly. Bushman knew it better than I.

"Nobody's using the park this time of day. If the police come and someone's with the vehicle, they don't give a ticket; they just tell 'em to move. Anyway, that's his problem, not mine. I'm not the one using a semi to grill a few hot dogs," Bushman grumbled.

Digger wasn't much more charitable. "'E's a noisy bludger, idn't 'e?" Digger remarked. He did move the barbie wagon, though, and then he waved Bushman over for a taste. Somehow in there the No Parking signs got lost.

"We got shrimp, steak, coral trout, queen fish, shark, swordfish, and lobster, all right off the barbie," Digger announced. "Fresh veggies and grilled. Selection of fruit for dessert: avocados, mangos, coconuts, papaya. 'Course, we'll have much more tamarrah. Don't be a sook now. Bog in!"

"Tomorrow?" Bushman asked me.

"You said some food stands would be OK," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but this... You said stands. How many more?"

"Uh, like, about seven," I replied softly, as if to make the number less. "They're not all this size."

Bushman mumbled something about sending most of them home, and then he grabbed one of Digger's steaks. Digger added two more, then a dozen shrimps, a few lobsters, and a bucket of dipping sauces, veggies, and fruits. Bushman thanked him, looked around as if wondering what planet he was on, and then went inside to eat.

"Odd one, idn't 'e?" Digger remarked.

"Give it a couple of days," I told Digger, hoping desperately I was right.

Bushman's brother Willy was standing near the test track giving orders to four bulldozers at once. The track was definitely up to spec, though, and I told Wily I was impressed. He promised to be done by seven thirty, and to leave his generators and work lights over the weekend in case we needed them.

At six thirty, clambake time, nine of us had a quiet meeting in Bushman's break room. Bushman and Ollie sat with Reb, Magic and Crystal sat with Ben, and Nadia and I sat with Dan. These were the insiders who knew about Shallow Chasm. Fiona Fledermaus, Bushman's clerk, was watching the register. She'd agreed that if anyone else arrived before seven, she would send them out to Digger's barbie wagon.

First and foremost, I stressed that no one was supposed to talk about the chasm on Saturday. Bushman said the factory reps from Dunemaster, Ultimate Dirt, and Sandworms Inc. would be out there at nine Sunday morning, and I urged everyone else to be there at the same time. If anyone needed a ride or didn't know the way, they could meet me in front of Jonson's house at eight.

Reb agreed to spend Saturday at Shallow Chasm supervising Willy Bushman and the bulldozers and road graders and so forth. As a cover story, Reb's job on Saturday would be off-site coordination.

With that agreed we all took a break and waited until seven when everyone else was supposed to arrive. Fiona, meanwhile, arranged the chairs in the break room into row of six with a center aisle. Bushman sat with his lawyer Heidi Valabulse and Magic. Reb, Ollie, and Fiona sat across the aisle. Behind them, Ginger, Dan, and Olivia sat together, as did Nadia, Ben, and Tess. Katie Sullivan, Adam, and Ursula were in the third aisle with Teah, Steve Owsley, and me. Crystal, Pietre, and Erin were in the back.

I began by introducing Dan and explaining that he'd be the master scheduler: the man with the clipboard. After that, Dan read through the individual assignments.

"Magic and Ollie, you're on mechanical. That leaves you free to check over and tune the track vehicles Saturday morning and perform any necessary maintenance Saturday afternoon. Otto may also want you to install any accessories he sells and do other small jobs for customers. If any large jobs come in, don't promise 'em until next week.

"Vivian, Adam, Ursula, and Ginger, you're driving the demos. At first, we'll only be using Vivian's Jeep and Adam's Dunemaster, and the four of you can work shifts. If a waiting line develops, we can also use Ollie's Jeep, Otto's jeep, and a Sandworms Inc. dune buggy from Otto's other store. Vivian, I imagine you'll also be wandering around and checking on things from time to time."

"I suppose," I agreed.

"Erin and Katie, you volunteered to sell dirt ride tickets. We found a ticket booth so you won't be in the sun. It's ten dollars a ride. Fiona has a wireless checkout terminal you can use. Check with her in the morning.

"Tess and Crystal, you have media relations and publicity, That includes helping any television people who come, making announcements, starting and stopping the bands and pompom performances, and so forth. Any questions?"

"Who's this mystery band who's dropping in at three o'clock?" Crystal asked.

"That's still confidential," I replied.

"Strange; I never heard of them," Crystal remarked. I didn't correct her.

"Nadia, you're going to help the food vendors get set up, take in fees from them and the dirt rides, and deal with any complaints that arise. Is that right?"

"Sure," Nadia agreed.

"Olivia, Vivian tells me you're on traffic control. I'm not sure what that means. Do you need anything from me?"

"I just need an open spot on the roof and a power outlet. I'll bring everything else. It's pretty small."

"I have an access key for the roof," Bushman offered. "But I want you to stay away from the edge and come down if it gets windy up there."

"No problem," said Olivia.

"Ben, you have communications and electrical. Help Crystal get the bands set up, especially this three o'clock band. Make sure they have enough electricity. Use Willy's portable generators if you need to. Work with Nadia to help the food vendors get set up. Help Olivia get traffic control set up. Make sure the public address is working and keeps working."

"What's so special about this three o'clock band?" Ben asked.

"Teah, you're handling posters, signs, and sanitation. Is that right?"

"Yes, we had a thousand high-contrast posters printed up and people are hanging them around town right now. We also have guide signs for all the venues and for the sanitation areas. Steve Owsley here and a few other people are helping me."

"What kind of sanitation have you arranged?" Dan asked with some trepidation.

"Well, most of the local merchants have agreed to provide restroom access. We also rounded up some portable units. For everyone else, they can go in the creek that runs along the side of the property. There's even a footbridge over it."

"Heide, you're concerned about risks and liability, is that right?"

"Yes, Dan, I'm going to be watching for dangerous situations. We don't want people tripping on refuse and suing us, for example. I have a list of medics and ambulance services to call if necessary. I'm sure this event can go very smoothly if everyone keeps their eyes open and remembers Safety First."

"Pietre, I didn't have you down for anything. Are you here to volunteer?"

"Well, sure, if I could be useful. My dad's going to be one of the food vendors, so I'll be around anyway."

"Aren't you afraid that Digger guy out front is going to grab the whole market?" Bushman asked.

"Usually it's the reverse," Pietre replied. Bushman was about to ask another question but Dan quickly thanked everyone, urged them to be punctual, and adjoined the meeting. The room was instantly crowded and full of voices, leaving Bushman no chance.

Adam, Ursula, Ginger, and I each took a couple of practice laps around the test track. It was fairly cramped, even as test tracks go, but it was fun and safe. Adam was the least experienced driver and he did pretty well.

Between laps I spoke quietly with Reb and Magic, reminding them not to mention or even think about The Bullet on Saturday. It had to remain a secret.

Shortly before eight I met with Dan, Nadia, Ben, and the food vendors, all of whom had gathered around Digger's barbie wagon. Ben had downloaded a satellite photo of the street in front of Bushman's and Nadia had sketched in possible vending areas. After a bit of negotiation, everyone knew their spot. A few of them had semis idling around the corner but I asked them to hold off until Bushman closed the store and went home: roughly nine thirty.

Of course the food vendors left in threes, and not with the people they came with. Before Nate vanished, however, I asked if Adam, Walt, Olivia, and I could stop in for breakfast Saturday morning. I didn't want to impose, I told him, if he'd be too busy. Nate thought for a minute, then said it wouldn't be a problem if we got there at seven. Then, with that settled, I invited Adam and Olivia. Adam promised to tell his dad. We'd eat and then all drive out to Plumett Field.

Adam drove a few more laps then left with Olivia and Ben. I drove some laps too, but mostly I walked around the dark empty lot, imagining everything that was going to happen in the span of a few hours the next day. I felt sure we'd done a fairly good job of planning but it was all on very short notice.

At nine o'clock Ollie and Magic locked the vehicles into the bays, then closed and locked the outer doors. Bushman turned off the lights and left at nine thirty, right on schedule. By nine thirty-five the food vendors were rolling in and claiming their territories.

At ten o'clock I decided there was no point standing and freezing in a dark back lot, not even at Bushie's Off-Road with a brand new test track. At ten ten I started the jeep and drove over to Jonson's.

The Jonson house was dark but not completely quiet. Soft murmuring sounds were coming from most of the upstairs rooms. Quietly I stepped into Adam's room.

"Vivian, is that you?" came Adam's voice. I guess he recognized my profile from the night light in the hall.

"Yes, I was wondering if you were awake," I replied softly.

"Well, come over here and get in," Adam suggested. I did but the body I felt wasn't Adam's. It was smaller, softer, and had tits. Olivia's tits.

No one, of course, had ever mentioned the word exclusive.

"What's this?" I asked as if I had no brain.

"Oh, maybe you should take the other side," Adam suggested.

"I hope this is OK," Olivia offered, "I just thought it'd be easier to stay overnight than to drive here tomorrow morning."

"It turns out that Olivia likes planes too," Adam continued. "And anyway, isn't she a friend of yours? Vivian? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I admitted.

"The guest room's taken," Adam informed me. "Are you getting in or sleeping on the floor?"

Shit. I knew one thing for sure: I wasn't sleeping on the floor while Olivia spent the night in bed with Adam. And I absolutely needed Olivia to work traffic control at Bushman's the next day. That meant I absolutely couldn't risk pissing her off. And once again, no one had ever mentioned the word exclusive.

"You know, I really thought this would be OK," said Adam after another moment. "Especially since it's Friday the thirteenth. Is something else wrong?"

"No, nothing at all," I muttered as I worked my way around the bed. First came Olivia's feet, then Adam's feet, then the corner, then the long edge, then the pillows. There wasn't much room but I slipped in anyway.

There was no way of telling what Adam and Olivia had been up to, except that the sheets where still dry. Adam was still and silent, as if uncertain what to do. For a moment I took silent satisfaction in his discomfort, then I rolled toward him, slid one arm under his neck, wrapped the other around his ribs, and pulled him toward me with my top leg.

In no time Adam had his arms around me as well. I could feel his hands exploring the small of my back, my spine, my shoulder blades, my neck, my butt, my hips, the back of my thighs. We kissed, we snuggled, we kissed again: on the lips, on the cheeks, on the neck, on the lips again. Our tongues met, touched, rolled, and penetrated.

I savored the feel of Adam's long athletic body against my own. His chest against my tits. His ribs against mine, his abs against mine, his hard long dick against my sex.

I knew it wouldn't take Adam long to cum, and it didn't. But first he rolled on top of me. I might have resisted out of habit but he was too fast. I felt a pulse, then the tip of his cock against my pussy lips, then his shaft entering me. Only then did I realize how hot, how loose, how juicy I'd become.

He filled me. He stretched me. He twisted, turned, rotated, stiffened, froze, came, and continued. Then he pressed against my mons and ground himself against me. His still-hard cock was against my g-spot; his pubes against my clit. I tingled and flashed from head to toe as I felt his weight, kissed his neck, and breathed his smell.

Our sweat merged and lubricated the space between us. I could feel it falling on my forehead, my cheeks, my neck, my nipples, everywhere. On and on Adam rocked, taking control and I didn't care. My toes curled. I grabbed the small of Adam's back, then his butt. I steered him into me. On and on he rocked and rolled, faster, slower, following my lead. Then I felt it coming. It was like a wave, rolling from my face to my toes, from my left to my right, from my back to my tits, from my butt to my cunt.

Oh bang! Yes, that was it! Bang! Bang! On and on it rolled, bang, bang and bang! The world vanished. There was only Adam and me. I was flexing and bucking, shouting I don't know what, and then so was Adam. He came again. My whole body was like a sponge, soft and helpless, ruled by the flow around it. My face grimaced. My eyes shed tears. Then I came again. And again. Then Adam. Then both of us together.

Finally we slowed. The world returned around us. We kissed, then we petted, then I rolled over on top of him. Then we did it again, almost as good. Then again. Then again with Adam back on top. Then Adam slid down and licked my pussy clean. I twisted around then sucked and swallowed the juices from his ever-hard hairless cock. Then we finally relaxed with my head on his thigh and his breath flowing across my cunt.

"So, you two are really good together, huh?" said Olivia after a while.

"So it would seem," I allowed. "Why? You gonna spread that around?"

"No, but I think people already know. I got off in the dark, here, just being next to you. Is that the shower I hear?"

It was. Eventually, though, the water stopped, I heard some voices I didn't recognize, and then the commotion moved to the guest room. The three of us shared a shower with only the night light burning, then we turned up Adam's covers and fell asleep on top of them. Adam took the middle but fell asleep facing me.

Sometime in the middle of the night I woke to the sound and shaking of Adam and Olivia sucking each other off. Well, I thought, I guess the big guy has his needs, and it was the night of Friday the thirteenth, and Olivia deserved something. Afterwards, we all took another shower, during which I took a piss. Olivia matched me, then we threw a clean sheet on Adam's bed and all curled up. I guess the guy had quite a stack of 'em ready. Sheets, that is.