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From: "Gina Marie Wylie" <gmwylie98260@hotmail.com>
Subject: {ASSM} Laura Alban Hunt Ch 9 - Retreat Saturday {Gina Marie Wylie} (teen, Ff)
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Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 05:10:02 -0400
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<1st attachment, "Laura Ch 9.doc" begin>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	The following is fiction of an adult nature.  If I believed in
setting age limits for things, you'd have to be eighteen to read
this and I'd never have bothered to write it.  IMHO, if you can
read and enjoy, then you're old enough to read and enjoy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	All persons here depicted are figments of my imagination and any
resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly a blunder on my
part.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Official stuff:  Story codes: teen, Ff, con.

	If stories like this offend you, you will offend ME if you read
further and complain. Copyright 2004, by Gina Marie Wylie.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	I can be reached at gmwylie98260@hothothotmail.com, at least if
you remove some of the hots.  All comments and reasoned
discussion welcome.

Below is my site on ASSTR:
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Gina_Marie_Wylie/www/

My stories are also posted on StoriesOnline:
http://Storiesonline.net/

And on Electronic Wilderness Publishing:
http:// www.ewpub.org/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chapter 9 --  Retreat -- Saturday

The phone rang at 4:30 with my wakeup call; I was waiting for the
ring, lifted it up at the first sound, then put it back.  Amy
hadn't stirred when I got up and didn't stir for the phone.  I
went in the bathroom, showered and put on clean clothes.

When I came out Amy greeted me with a hug.  "Go back to sleep,
Amy," I told her.  "I have to go be a chaperone."  She nodded,
curled back up in bed and was asleep almost instantly.

I went out, saw Linda just a few feet away.  "I was going to
knock on your door and see if you were awake," she told me.

"I'm awake.  Is anyone else?"

"I think a few were still awake a little after Marybeth went on
shift, but they faded fast tonight.  Tonight will be the big
night."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, let's say quite a few of the wannabes are going to be
going around the corner tonight.  During the day, both groups of
the new girls will get team sponsors.  Nancy has this clever
little system, each team member writes down three choices from
each corridor, each of the new girls writes down three choices of
sponsor.  It's pretty remarkable -- she hits like 95% matches.

"The team members have two different jobs.  First is to make sure
all the girls are up to team standards in dance and overall
conditioning, verify a wannabe as someone who could be a team
member, and gently sound out what's left if maybe someone goofed
and missed a possibility.

"Nancy said you had some concerns about the girls who are
scrubbed."

"Yes," I told her forthrightly.  "I was scrubbed, I never got
another real shot.  It bit then, it bites now."

"Nancy thought your idea of working with scrubs was cool, because
it would be another way to confuse the issue."

"What are you going to do if..."  I'd been too aware that she was
speaking carefully out here in the hall.

"That's an individual thing."  Linda leaned close, whispered in
my ear.  "Run like hell."

I nodded; that was about the only sensible thing to do.

Linda remained close, her eyes focused on mine.  "Thanks, Laura,
for earlier, at orientation; for covering for me.  I can't
imagine where Nancy got the idea you and I had spent some time
together."

I grinned.  "I've been pretty busy."

"Yeah, I know I said I didn't think we'd be all that compatible,
but one of these days, we should make sure."

She reached down, slid one finger inside my jeans at the snap,
tugged me lightly forward and kissed me on the nose.  "Marybeth
said you were working on a small project."

I smiled at her; aware our breasts were just a fraction of an
inch apart.  Funny, if it had been one of the girls, I'd have
been excited.  If it had been Nancy, I'd have been excited.  Even
Marybeth was interesting.  But Linda wasn't.

"Oh, it might be a bigger project than you think," I told her,
trying to keep my thoughts on the current subject, and not her
mostly unwelcome finger inside the waistband of my jeans.

"Sounds like fun," Linda said with a smile.  "Now, speaking of
that, I have a project of my own.  Thanks, Laura, see you
later."

She walked around the corner into her room.  I could just make
out a head in her bed; it was Susan.  I smiled to myself.

I spent the next two hours walking the corridors, a lot of it,
thinking.

I realized that I had two real issues with Nancy.  She had told
me the rules, and it was clear the rules weren't being enforced.
That and I wasn't satisfied about the girls who didn't make the
team because they weren't going to be participants in the group.

I'd read a science fiction novel about a comet smashing into the
earth, a book that Roger had recommended.  It had been a little
gross for my taste, but I remembered the part about cannibals who
ensured the loyalty of new recruits by making them eat what
they'd eaten.

Obviously, cannibalism wasn't going to fly, but I was sure that
one reason no one had blown the whistle on what was going on was
because they'd have ratted themselves out as well as everyone
else.  Plus, I could pretty well imagine that it would be a hard
decision to make.  The social downside of doing it would be
unimaginable.  Odds were as well, that someone would notice a
team member on a short fuse and they would work on her.

So, how to ensure the loyalty of those who would be on the
cheerleading squad but who weren't busy messing around with each
other, the coach and parent sponsors?  Nothing obvious came to
mind.

Around six, I heard a sound behind me.  I turned around and saw
the girl I'd overheard Nancy talking to the evening before.

"Hi," she said.

"You're really supposed to be in your room until 7:00 am and the
cafe opens for breakfast," I told her.  I don't think I came
across as very convincingly upset.

"Well, I'm not going to run out and mess around with some boy!"
she said, derisively.

"It's the rule," I told her.  "It's designed more to make you
easier to keep track of than to keep you from messing around."

I saw the sharp glance she gave me.  Oops, I thought to myself. 
This is a smart girl, and she realized I hadn't said anything
about messing around with boys.

"I'm not going to make the team, am I?" she asked softly.

That came out of the blue, catching me totally off guard.  I
didn't have a good answer, either for her or for myself.  Time to
punt again, I thought.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Fred Jones."  She saw my expression, and giggled.  "Winifred,
like on Angel.  I think she's cool."

I nodded as if I knew what she was talking about, before going
back to the issue at hand.  She was right, but why did she think
that?  "Making the team is pretty much up to you," I said
neutrally, "based on how well you do today."

"I saw you listening to the Coach last night.  Your expression --
that said it all."

"Said what?" I asked, curious.  I thought I'd covered my
expression of disgust well.

"Like you just heard someone shoveling a load of complete BS,
that you couldn't stand listening to it and walked away.  I asked
around about you.  This is your first year; your daughter is down
at the other end of the hall.  Another of the chaperones has a
daughter down the hall.  I checked more; seems like all those
girls down the hall are a lot friendlier with the team members
than anyone down at my end."

Inwardly I wondered what the procedure was for someone who
figured out what was happening.  Danegeld?  I would have to find
out, but first I wanted to put the best face on it I could.

"Linda Kellogg has a daughter the same age as mine; they are good
friends.  Linda's sister is a busy, typical yuppie mom who has no
time for a daughter or helping out, Linda offered to help her
niece, Gail Kellogg, who is on the team.  Linda's been helping
out almost as long as Coach has.  Linda and I talked one day when
our daughters were having a party; I mentioned Susan wanted to be
in cheer, she told me her daughter wanted to join as well.  We
talked about it, and voila, there's always a shortage of
volunteers.  Here I am."

Fred stood there thinking about it, then looked back at me.  "But
the girls down at the other end of the hall have a better shot."

"Do you know algebra?" I asked.

Fred nodded.  "Math is my favorite subject," she said
confidently.

"Fred, think about a simple algebra equation.  X plus Y equals
ten.  If you don't know anything about either X or Y, there's
literally an infinite number of possibilities for numbers to
satisfy the equation."

Fred nodded, a serious and intent expression on her face.

"Suppose you're the coach of a cheerleading squad.  You know Y,
which is your team and 10, which is the perfect score you want
for your team.  So you get a group of girls together who want to
join the squad.  You have some that, for one reason or another,
are known to you.  The coach knows the girls who are staying are
a 5, so she's looking for more 5's to go on the team.

"Think of this end of the hall," I pointed to the hall behind
her.  "As known quantities."  Fred didn't look, which was very
lucky because Susan came round the bend and headed down the hall
toward her room.  Oops again, I thought, there's a reason the
girls aren't supposed to be in the hall before seven.

I went on, not letting Susan distract me.  "At your end of the
hall are the unknowns.  The coach and the team are going to look
you over this weekend.  The thing to do is not be an unknown.

"That said, if you do get known, and you're a seven, you won't
make the team either.  If you stay unknown..."  I looked Fred
right in the eye.  "Well, when I was your age, I was an X and
stayed an X.  It's not a pleasant thing, but the coach's job is
to do what's best for the team, not what's best for the X's of
the world.  I never made the team."

Fred looked at me steadily for a second, and then shrugged.  "At
least your BS makes more sense than what I heard yesterday."

"This is Scottsdale High," I told her.  "If I were you, I'd lose
the cussing.  That's a guaranteed minus a million."

In the distance, from the cheer corridor, I heard another door
close.  "Now, I'm going to be an ogre and ask you to go back to
your room."

"What's your name?"

"Laura Alban Hunt.  Please, Fred."

"Thanks."  She turned, went down three doors and stuck the key
card in and vanished.

I breathed a sigh of relief, even if I couldn't hear any more
doors.

A little before seven Nancy showed up.  "Trouble free night?"

"No problems.  One of the left girls with some questions."

"You were gentle?"

"Anything else makes no sense at all," I told her.

"Exactly.  I like you in any number of ways, Laura."

"And I like you.  Still, I have a number of questions I'd like to
talk to you about.  Not here in the hall."

"Sure, Laura.  Two things first.  I understand you've found a
friend."

"Yes.  Linda mentioned something about special projects.  I'm not
familiar with what you have to do for that."

"Well, I'll get with you, probably later next week.  Amongst
other things, I'll go over that with you.  Not to mention, thank
you for your help this weekend."

"Sounds like fun."

"In the meantime, I'll take care of all of the notifications and
the like."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Also, I've given some thought about what you said about the
scrubs.  I've talked to Linda and Marybeth."

"Linda mentioned that."

"Yes."  She smiled at me.  "However, there are others I have to
consult, not the least those mindless wretches in the school
admin.  It's hard to wring even a penny from them."

"I don't want to sound like I'm trying to buy the idea, but I
wouldn't mind funding it out of my own pocket."

"You'd be surprised how expensive that might be."

"And you'd be surprised how well I'll be able to afford it."

I said that for two reasons -- one to make the point, and one to
see the expression on her face.

She laughed, shook her head.  "That comes under the heading of a
nice surprise.  Just think, the scrubs might get to forgo a few
bake sales.  That will make the squad just a little jealous."

"Things like that build character," I said with a straight face.
"We don't have to mention where the funds are coming from.  In
fact, I would appreciate it if you might just forget I told you
about affordability."

"One thing you learn in this job is the importance of when to
keep mum."

"I've noticed."

"One last thing.  For chaperones, we have slightly different
rules.  It looks bad if..."  Her voice trailed away.

"I realized that a bit ago.  When, by six?"

"You're very intelligent, Laura.  It's going to be a real
pleasure working with you.  At seven, quite a herd of the girls
head down for breakfast.  For a few minutes after that, there are
some stragglers, mostly team members.  I go down with the herd,
if you were to stay behind and encourage the stragglers not to
straggle, say an extra ten or fifteen minutes, I'd appreciate
that.  In the meantime, for the next few minutes, I'll watch, if
you want to go freshen up."

"No problem," I told her.  "Thanks."

She smiled and nodded.

"I still need to talk to you later, okay?"  I'd been a little
surprised Nancy had been so candid in the hallway, but I wasn't
going to risk it.

Nancy nodded, then wandered away down the hall, and I looked at
my watch.  About ten of the hour.

I walked down to my room and went in.  I sat down next to Amy,
and she rolled over and looked at me.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in."

I smiled.  "I was very politely told that if you stay tonight,
you have to be back in your room by six."

She nodded.  "I know.  I was just really tired."  She paused.  "I
didn't get you in trouble, did I?"

I held up my fingers a fraction of an inch apart.  "Just a
little.  All I had to do was promise to be good from here on
out."

I looked at her.  "Amy, I did something a bit ago without asking
you, I want you to know I did it to keep people from bothering
you.  I promise, you don't owe me anything, you don't have to do
anything.  I just wanted you to know that I told Nancy that you
and I are good friends."

"I'd like to be your friend," she said seriously, "And I think I
know now, what you're like.  You really mean it.  We could just
be friends."

"You'd probably have to spend some nights like last night; but I
promise you, if you want nothing to happen, nothing's going to
happen."

She got up, hugged me.  "Thanks, Laura."

"Now, I have a favor to ask."

"Can I ask something first?"

"Sure, Amy."

"Do you want me... like that?"  She waved at the bed.

"Yes.  But unless that's what you want, I am quite happy just
being a regular friend."

"Last night, I didn't want to be with anyone.  Then I listened to
you, and I really liked you.  I liked kissing you; when you said
you didn't want to go on... that meant a lot to me.  Right now, I
don't really know what I want."

"Those are your instincts talking to you," I told her.  "Listen
to them."

She nodded.  "Laura... is there anyone else you like?"

"Well, I promised Carolyn we might be friends, but she had to
think about it for a while."

"I remember."  Amy nodded.

"But...I don't know about anyone else.  That was what I was going
to ask you."

She furrowed her brow.  "What?"

"There's a girl on the left side, her name is Fred Jones."

"A girl named Fred?"  Amy made a face.

"I've never watched the show, but she said like Fred on Angel."

"Oh," Amy said with a laugh.  "That's pretty cool."

"Unless you've got someone else in mind, I'd appreciate it if
you'd put her name as number one on the left side."

"I was just going to leave them all blank."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, it means Coach Howland picks for you.  It's kind of like
extra credit."

"Like I said, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure.  Anyone else you'd like?"

I shook my head.

"And is Fred going to be a friend of yours too?" she asked.

I shrugged.  "First, she has to make the team.  On the left...  I
get the distinct impression that's going to be really hard."

"Impossible, I've heard."

"Would it bother you if I had another friend?"

"I don't know.  Not if I liked her."

"She's pretty smart."

"You are too.  So am I," Amy giggled.  "Sure, why not?"

The stampede in the hall had died down to nothing.  "Run along to
your room, freshen up and come down to breakfast.  We'll talk
again during the day."

She went out of the door, after I'd checked the hall; she was
nearly to her room when Gail appeared.  Well cool, I thought. 
One of the people I wanted to see.

"Gail," I motioned to my room.  "I want to talk to you."

"I'm late for breakfast."

"Won't take but a second," I assured her.

We went in and I closed the door behind us.  "What you did
yesterday with Amy was too much, Gail.  She told you no."

"She's like that, no, no, no... then yes, oh yes!  Do it some
more!"

I stepped closer to her, angry.  "That is, from where I stand,
one step beneath rape."

She recoiled at the last word.

"It was not!  She just takes a bit to get her going."

"It's coercion, Gail.  She doesn't like being hammered over and
over, and finally says yes to ease the pressure.  Don't push,
Gail."

"Or what, you'll rat me out?"

"I've talked to Marybeth, Linda and Nancy since then.  No, I
haven't said anything yet.  I will if you or someone else pushes
past no again.  It doesn't matter who it is, either.  Pushing is
despicable, Gail."

"Whatever," she said, shrugging.  Gail seemed to be right on the
edge of anger herself.

"And then there's the little thing of doing it in front of
Jackie.  Do you think Jackie is all that fond of the rest of
you?"

"Like who cares?  Fuck her!"

"You should.  Think about how bad she could fuck you."

For the first time there was alarm in Gail's eyes.  At a guess,
someone else had had this conversation with Gail before, or a
similar conversation.  "Now let's both stop swearing, be
lady-like and go chow down on something besides each other."

She couldn't help smiling.  I reached for the door and waved her
through ahead of me.

The morning was a blur.  First there was one of those 'Get to
know each other' affairs.  Each girl from the squad got up and
gave her name, and a little about what she did for the team. 
Then the wannabes and the lefts did the same thing; in a random
order, I was sure.

Then Nancy had the parent helpers hand out some funky name badges
to everyone, including the parents.  Each name badge had the
right number of letters for your name, but all of the letters
were wrong.  Further, the letters were the kind of plastic you
can peel off and stick back on.  The idea was you had to mingle
and trade letters, you were supposed to do it one for one.

Considering some of the stupid things Roger had told me that he'd
experienced in the business world, I was pleased with Nancy's
idea.

Of course, Laura Alban Hunt was a little longer than average;
there was a little prize for finishing first, we'd been told.  A
booby prize for last.  I thought that was a hoot, because that
had to be, by definition, a tie.

I was pleased when I saw Fred get the box from Nancy for being
first; I managed to miss being last by only a few seconds.  Jamie
and Susan tied for last, another hoot.  I was also totally
unimpressed by the cheerleaders who huddled for a second, then
quickly formed a circle, with one after another going round.  The
only saving grace was that was only about 40% efficient, and some
of them didn't do that much better than any of the others.

Then there was a session with the team going through some simple
routines, then they broke up and worked with the hopefuls; again
the groupings seemed random.  In fact, I never once saw Susan and
Linda close all day, or Susan and Jamie together.

Then it was lunchtime, and the slips were passed around.  I had a
little time, and I called Jackie over.  "Don't suppose you've got
your mind made up?"

Jackie laughed.  "Trust me, Laura, I leave the names blank. 
Being with me is the kiss of death, even for a wannabe."

"Fred Jones, on the left," I asked, "Please."

She shook her head.  "You're not doing the girl a favor.  Besides
I thought..."

"Please.  I'd appreciate it.  And yes to what you were thinking.
This is something else."

She clapped her hand over her mouth.  "Gosh, it couldn't be that
you want to show favoritism for someone!"

I looked around; we were well away from anyone.

"Something like that.  It won't be the kiss of death you think. 
I doubt if you'll see her.  Amy will, though."

"Then why me?"

"Name recognition.  How many of you actually put down choices?"

"Well, everybody has the wannabe list; generally that's filled. 
Some of them fill in the left side names too, but not many. 
Enough, I guess."

"That's what I thought."

Nancy did all of this with a computer, putting the combinations
together.  While everyone was eating, she was busy typing into a
laptop, then a printer chunked out a couple of copies of a list,
and I peeked at it.  Sure enough, Amy was going to be Fred's
sponsor; I was a little surprised to see Susan's name there too.
Jackie had Jamie Kellogg and a girl whose name I didn't
recognize.

Nancy saw my interest and spoke to me quietly.  "We'll give the
assignments out right after lunch.  Then they have a half hour to
'meet the sponsor' before we get down to group work."  I nodded.
"We're scheduled for a quarter hour chaperone meeting in the
conference room then.  Try to get there as soon as you can."

I nodded, but I didn't see anything untoward in her expression,
so I went in search of Amy.

"Hi, Laura."  Gosh, she had a bright smile!

"Hi, Amy."  I waved to where Nancy was getting ready to post the
lists.  "Thanks.  Fred is going to be with you.  Do you know my
daughter, Susan?"

"No.  I think someone pointed her out to me, but I don't remember
her."

"She'll be with you too."

She looked at me and shrugged.  "Coach is weird sometimes," she
muttered.

"Please, just give it your best shot, be fair to both."

"You know what I'm supposed to do, don't you?"

"Not exactly, but I have an idea."

"Well, fair isn't the word for it, not at the end."

"Try, please."  I was pleased that it bothered Amy.  More and
more I was convinced that they had simply gotten off-track.  That
things had been going along for years and years and the adults
had stopped paying attention to the little details.

The crowd gravitated toward the wall with the lists, soon there
were knots of girls talking to each other, mostly pretty
animated.  I made a beeline for the conference room.

"You've been a busy bee today, Laura," Nancy said with a grin as
soon as the four of us were sitting down.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Gail went to Linda, she had it right.  You weren't going to rat
her out."

"I told her I wouldn't."

"Well, that's my fault, because you really are new and we haven't
gone over the fine points of things.  Mostly, when we have to
talk to the girls, we do promise not to talk to anyone else and
when we make that promise, we keep it.  In that, you did good."

"But, I screwed up anyway."  It was clear there was something I
didn't know.

"There are some things we don't make promises about.  Things that
are my responsibility.  For instance when someone does something
that compromises everyone else.  Like pushing Amy, like pushing
Amy in front of Jackie."

I was confused.  "Gail ratted herself out?"

"That's one of the rules.  That's one thing that gets you kicked
right out, so fast the girl's head spins.  Something like this
happens, better I hear it from you first, because if I hear it
anyplace else, you're history."

"So, I shouldn't have tried to handle it myself, I shouldn't have
told Gail that if she stopped, I wouldn't go to anyone else."

"Right.  Best of all worlds, you tell her to stop, then tell me,
as close to then as you can make it.  Like I said, your heart was
in the right place, but Amy and Jackie... that wasn't good."

"Can we let our hair down here?"  I asked her.  There were quite
a few things I needed to get off my chest.

"If you have an issue, best you get it out where we can see it,"
Nancy agreed, her eyes on me.

"Gail said it, I doubt if it originated with her.  Push Amy, she
says no, no, no, no, then yes, yes, oh yes!  Don't stop."  I
looked at Linda.  "I'll bet Gail didn't mention I told her that
behavior is so close to rape as to be just about the same
thing."

Linda sighed.  "No, she didn't mention that.  Or the scoop on
Amy.  Shit."

"Language," Nancy said and then laughed.  "Shit, shit, shit!  I
will talk to them all, every last one.  That's disgusting. 
That's not what we teach, Laura.  I promise, that's not what we
teach."

"I talked with Amy and Jackie after Gail left.  They weren't
going to talk about it.  Both of them have a lot of personal
things invested in cheer; they don't want to rock the boat.  But
you know what Jackie said?  She says she's under quote 'pressure'
to be like the rest.  I think we can all guess what kind of
pressure that is.  She's just a little more determined and self
confident than Amy."

Marybeth spoke up.  "Hit on her, hit on her, hit on her.  I think
I'll add a little cussing of my own, Nancy.  Oh, poop!"

We all laughed.  But then Marybeth pointed her finger at Nancy. 
"Think about what Laura's telling us, Nancy.  We've screwed the
pooch, here.  Things are going on that we don't know about. 
That's right there in the Good Book, it heads the list of sins of
commission we're never supposed to let happen."

"I will talk to the girls.  We'll go over everything from A to
Z."  Nancy looked at me.  "Tell me, that's all you have?"

I shook my head and Nancy rolled her eyes.  Marybeth and Linda
both laughed.  I found a way to stop that, quickly.

"A little before six this morning, one of the left girls came out
to talk to me.  Me in particular, she was thoughtful enough to
find out who was on when.  A very thoughtful young woman."

"Fred?"  Nancy asked.

"Yes."

"She's a she, right?"  Marybeth said with a laugh.

"Fred, like on Angel," I said.  I might not know what it meant,
but it seemed everyone else did.

"Well, cool."  Marybeth laughed.

"The show's too dark," Linda added.  "I don't like it, but Jamie
watches it."

"Like I said, cool."  Marybeth was smiling.

"Please.  You want to hear about mistakes?  I saw her yesterday
evening; her parents were talking to Nancy.  I thought she was
cute..."

"Oh yes!"  Linda muttered.

"Please," I told her, "this is important.  I didn't know who she
was, so I eavesdropped on the conversation.  Nancy got half way
through her speech and I knew she was a left.  Then Nancy started
with this grand line about opportunities and her future after
cheer...  I'm sorry, Nancy, I nearly threw up.  I just turned and
walked away, went outside and spent some time thinking."

"Threw up?"  Nancy asked, her voice a little tight.

"Nancy, I don't mind you selling the program to anyone at all;
even the ones you are sure you don't want.  Please don't sell the
future beyond the program to someone you have every intention of
rejecting.  If you are going to do that, I'll be someplace else.
I don't mean to offend you, Nancy, or upset you, but it's how I
feel."

"I feel a little like that myself," Marybeth said.  "I agree with
Laura."

"I'll think about it.  What else?"

"You think about it good," I told her.  "This girl is smart, very
smart.  She saw me, she realized what I was thinking.  She asked
around, found out my name, found out my daughter's name.  Found
out what time I'd be walking the hall.  She came out to check her
theory: that she didn't have a prayer in hell of making the
squad, but the girls at the other end of the hall did."

"And you told her what?"  Nancy's voice was low and controlled.

"The truth of course," I answered.  I saw her start to say
something and I simply shook my head.  "Let me finish.  I told
her that for diverse reasons, some girls who apply for cheer are
known quantities.  Others are not.  The purpose of this weekend,
I told her, is to check the knowns to make sure that they really
are what they are thought to be, and to check the unknowns to see
if they'll fit."  I grimaced.

"Right about then, I learned for myself why the younger girls are
supposed to be in their rooms until seven: I saw my daughter
walking barefoot in her pajamas back to her room.  Fortunately
Fred didn't see her."

"So you had Amy pick Fred, you had Jackie pick Fred," Nancy
said.

"Yes.  I would have had Jackie do it, except I rather figured out
what she told me later.  A left Jackie recommends is DOA.  So I
went with Amy."

There was silence for a minute, and then Nancy said, "You are
done now, right?"

"For now, yes."

"I think this comes under the heading of a breath of fresh air,"
Marybeth said.  "And evidently, just in the nick of time."

"I can't disagree," Nancy agreed.  "I don't want to offend you,
Laura, but I'd like the three of us to discuss this by ourselves.
 If you wouldn't mind going out and circulating..."

"Sure, I understand."

I walked out into the main room where the girls were being guided
through simple routines.  I tried not to be obvious about it, but
I spent a lot of time watching Amy, Susan and Fred.

I was pretty sure that Linda knew I'd slept with Susan.  I was
equally certain Jamie had slept with Linda.  Does Nancy know
those facts?  I was pretty sure she did.

I felt someone touch my arm.  It was Marybeth.  "Walk with me."

I was surprised when she led me outside toward the lake I'd stood
next to the night before.  We walked around the perimeter for
several hundred yards, neither of us talking.

"By now, you may have guessed something important."

"No, I haven't."

"Who's really in charge here."

A simple statement, then the little wheels on the slot machine in
my brain lined up.  "You?"

"Me," she agreed.  "I don't normally apologize to someone for my
personal history, but you're too much like me.  If I don't tell
you, somehow you'll find out anyway.  Why take a chance on a
miscommunication?"

"And Nancy?"

"A fine woman, a fine, fine young woman.  She's a good coach, but
she is a little distracted, now and then, by the fringe
benefits."

I glanced around and she smiled.  "No one is watching us or
listening to us."

"You'd know?" I asked.

"I'd know," she said firmly.

"I saw her in a three-some last night with some of the girls."

"Yeah, I heard about that too.  It will never, ever happen again,
not at an event like this.  In theory, I've got a cover that can
get one of us off, caught with a single team member. 
Participating in a threesome in a room with two other girls going
at it hot and heavy... out of policy."

She leaned down, picked up a rock, tossed it hard at the water. 
It skipped a couple of times and then sank.

"Once upon a time I was a happily married woman.  Very happy. 
You up to a little top secret codeword, national security
bullshit?"

"Will I get shot knowing it?"  I wasn't sure if she was kidding
or not.

"Don't be daft.  Most of what we classified was so the Congress
critters would think twice before leaking it.  The ones that
could think.

"My husband and I joined the CIA out of college.  We made a good
team, we weren't afraid to try anything.  We did good work,
individually and as a team.  One thing led to another; he was the
CIA station chief in Berlin.  Our public face.  I was his
bubblehead wife who wore too much jewelry, who spent her days
gossiping with the embassy wives.  Actually, like here, I was the
real station chief, and he was the embassy liaison."  She
sighed.

"He was killed?" I was aghast.

"Yeah, but not like you think.  I'm an athlete.  Soccer, cheer,
swim team, gymnastics, I did it all in high school and in
college.  Snow skiing was one of our favorite pastimes.  Teddy
was a show boater; we were skiing the Bavarian Alps when he
decided to show off how to ski backwards.  I have no idea what he
thought I was screaming at him about -- he ran backwards into a
tree at thirty miles an hour."

"Geez, that bites," I said with feeling.

"I looked you up, you know.  Like you, I have more sympathy with
Jackie than Nancy or Linda do.  I talked to Jackie about you. 
She told me never to use sympathy or sorry when speaking to you.
I'm in awe you could avoid it just now."

"Practice.  Entirely too much practice.  My husband and four
hundred and twenty-five of his coworkers died that day.

"Marybeth, I respect Jackie, I respect how she feels about
things.  I feel like I owe her and anyone else that respect.  I
think you haven't been paying enough attention to what's going
on.  That was a plural you, not aimed at anyone in particular."

"Once upon a time, Laura, I was here, where these girls are
today.  I was just like them.  A little more confident than most;
I have a special fondness for Gail who reminds me of my when I
was her age.  You have no idea how disappointed I was to hear
what she had to say, what you had to say.  I have never, ever
pushed, Laura.  Ever.  A lot of guys pushed me, over the years. 
That was a bad mistake on their part, pretty soon the word got
out.  I was a lesbo dyke, had to be, or I couldn't cold cock so
many guys.

"My husband never listened to gossip; he was a fine man, Laura. 
A fine man.  Kind when he could be, tough when he had to be.  I
miss him, just about all the time.  Even if my sexual tastes were
a little broader than his."

"I never knew how broad my tastes were until Gail enlightened
me," I confessed.

"Gail is quite a girl!  I wasn't worried before, but I am now. 
It's not Nancy going to be talking to Gail, it'll be me.  This is
too important; everyone has to understand, even the girl who is a
particular favorite of all the adults."

"So, why tell me all of this?"

"You are a person of strong opinions, solid principles,
level-headed and pragmatic, all sorts of things -- not to
mention, as fond of young girls as the rest of us.  We held a
vote, after you left.  We gave you constructive credit for not
being with Linda and me already, which is normally required.  For
Gail, Amy and Jamie."

"You left out Susan, nothing happened last night with Amy."

She looked at me, grinned.  "My, don't we have eclectic tastes!"

"And I've hugged and kissed Nancy's friend Carolyn."

"Ah, but you talked to all of them.  Dear sweet Laura, one of
these days we are going to spend some time together!  Astronomers
study reflected and emitted light.  They can take photons and get
more information from them than any old-time torturer could get
out of any prisoner.  You, Laura, maybe I don't know you that
well, but I see you reflected in the people you're with, in how
they behave after you've interacted with them.

"Amy and Jackie; our two most reluctant girls.  You've settled
them right down.  Carolyn, whom I thought Nancy has been
encouraging to start too early.  Carolyn, who shouted at Nancy
earlier this week, 'I'm not a freak!  Laura says so!'"  Marybeth
chuckled.  "I'd have paid money to see that!

"So, I know who you are and what you are.  You are Laura Alban
Hunt, subversive.  You don't agree, not in your heart, with what
we're doing.  Oh, making love to your heart's desire, that
doesn't trouble you; nor does bringing girls along in
cheerleading and teamwork.  Nope, it's tossing scrubs on the
rubbish heap; you don't like that."

"No, I don't."

"Solve that problem and you can have my job," Marybeth told me. 
"I'd retire in a second.  But I don't think you will."

"Will you mind if I try?"

"I'm going to watch carefully.  I hope you won't misunderstand if
I tell you I don't think you're going to succeed.  I won't oppose
you, I will, if asked, help in anyway I can.  I just don't think
it's possible."

"You should know by now, I'm not going to let that deter me."

She lifted an eyebrow and laughed, and held her hand out to me. 
"We really are peers!" she exclaimed.

I took her hand and we shook.  "Peers," I agreed.

"So, one last thing," Marybeth said.

"Yes?"

"Anyone ever tell you, Laura, that you have a cute ass?"

I laughed.  "My husband liked to call me 'sweet cakes.'"

"Cakes being another word for bun," Marybeth said.  "Odd how that
works.  My husband's favorite nickname for me was 'honey bun.' 
So delicious and sweet to lick."

We traded grins.  "There isn't going to be time for us this
weekend; I have suddenly found my plate full.  You haven't gotten
a full plate yet, but I'm going to take care of that next."

"Pardon?"

"Do you know how real secret agents work?"

I shook my head.

"Well, 95% of the time, the other side has a pretty good idea who
you are.  So we take our philosophy from stage magicians...
misdirection is our favorite technique.

"You are, Laura, going to march in there."  She waved at the
hotel.  "There, you are going to hover over your daughter.  You
are, of course, going to be polite to Fred and Amy.  You are
free, Laura, to go with your judgment.  Take any of them who are
willing into your bed tonight, one at a time.  Otherwise, who and
under what circumstances, that's up to you.

"But, tomorrow, 1:00 pm.  The girls will be gone.  The team will
make recommendations to Nancy about who should be offered a spot
on the team; you and I and Linda will be there, sitting in the
back.  I should note, that in the three previous years Linda has
been with us, she has not yet tumbled onto who I am.  Maybe
because we have tumbled together just once.

"Getting on with things.  After the squad makes their
recommendations, they go home.  Linda will take your daughter and
hers home; odds are, they will not be concerned about how late
you get home.

"Then, Laura, you will have to stand up in front of Nancy and me.
 You will tell us, Laura, what's it going to be for Fred.  Scrub?
 In like Jackie?  In like Amy?  In like Gail?  And if she's in
and you're wrong... guess who will be responsible?"

"I can do that," I told her.

She smiled.  "That's good, because all the other options are
really, really bad."

"You wouldn't hurt me?"  I had a sudden picture in my mind, of a
hit man stalking me.

"Don't be silly.  All of that James Bond stuff, all that secret
agent stuff?  Just BS.  Like I said, they knew 95% of our agents,
we knew 95% of their agents.  Kill someone?  They'd just off two
or three of our guys to send us a message.  Or we'd off a couple
of theirs to do the same thing.  Except the people out in the
field are paranoid and far from stupid.  Giving that kind of
order put you in as much risk from your own people as you were
from a bad guy.  Nope, I have an escape plan, we all do.  I
expect you have an idea along that line yourself."

"I do."  I didn't have much of one; it was clear that Marybeth
was right, though.  I needed one.

"So, now do you understand what I mean by bad options?  They are
what we'll face if this ever blows up.  That's why I was so
ticked at Nancy."

"I understand."

She waved back at the hotel and we started walking.  We'd nearly
reached the doors when she touched my arm.  "Two last things: go
offshore with the money."  I nodded.

"In the fall, when school starts, you are going to be our fixer.
You will deal with adjudicating disputes between the girls,
sitting in judgment over rule breakers, although Nancy will still
remain the one who actually applies punishments.  Not negotiable.
 Enjoy."  She smiled, went through the doors and into the hotel.

I shied away from that second thing, far easier to deal with the
first.

What had my father-in-law said at Christmas?  He'd picked up some
good tips on offshore investments.  Made discretely, he'd told
me, you avoided a good many taxes.  Made very discretely, not
subject to seizure under any circumstances.  I made a mental note
to call Monday and get things in motion.

The second thing?  That was something I would need to think long
and hard about.

I walked in and saw Amy helping Fred with a dance move.  Susan
was watching them avidly.  I hoped Marybeth was right about what
would happen if I hovered.  I looked around, and then had to make
a big effort not to laugh.  Quite a few parents of wannabes and
some of the lefts were there, including some of the chaperones. 
Hovering over their daughters.

I walked up, smiled at Amy, who smiled back.  How many times was
this now?  I loved her smile.  I could in fact, easily stand to
wake up and see that smile the rest of my life.  And it was about
as possible as seeing another moon landing.

"How are things coming?"

"Very good.  Both Susan and Fred have the moves down well.  We're
way down the road!"

"As someone who blew my shot at cheer, could you explain that?"

Susan knew, I'd told Fred the PG version, Amy didn't know.  "You
didn't make cheer?"  Amy asked, obviously shocked.

"I messed up, Amy."  I held my hand level with her head.  "Can
you do a leg kick?"

She brought her foot up; it nestled comfortably in my palm. 
"Thanks."  I nodded at Susan.  "Susan?"  Another leg kick,
perfectly executed.  "Fred?"

I was pleased; it was, if anything, prettier than Susan's.  I
moved my finger just a bit as her foot was in my hand, rubbing
across the sole of her foot.

"You guys are good!  Perfect!"

Fred was back now, looking at me.  "And what did I do when coach
asked me to do that?  I'd never done a leg kick in my life.  I
was a complete newbie.  I knew I couldn't do it nearly as well as
the girl I'd watched -- so I didn't do the kick.  I told the
coach I couldn't."

I saw Amy nod; yeah, you understand, you've been coached.

I was startled when Fred said, "And the next year, what happened
then?"

I wasn't going to lie.  "I did a leg kick, just fine.  I passed
all of the tests.  The team had to vote you in; for three more
years I tried.  Three times I was turned down.  The word was out
on Laura Alban:  she was a wuss, a quitter; actually, the first
time, she never started."

"That bites," Amy said with emphasis.  "It wasn't fair!"

"And me?"  Fred said.  "Are they going to be fair?"

You are, I thought, entirely too intelligent for your own good. 
"You are, Fred, becoming a known quantity."  I nodded at Amy. 
"Rather quickly, I might add."

I waved toward Linda, standing talking with Jackie.  "Excuse me,
I want to see how Jackie and Jamie are doing."

As I walked away, I doubt if I was supposed to hear Fred say,
"Your mom is way cool, Susan!"

Susan just said, "The best!"

"The very best!"  Amy echoed.

Linda smiled at me, so did Jackie.  "Only one girl, Jackie?"  I
asked.

"The other girl got in a snit.  Walked off."  She shook her head.
 "She wanted to do the routine different.  I told her, this was a
practice, and that you don't change a routine in a practice.  Not
like she wanted."

"I talked to Nancy."  Linda said.  "She's in with the parents and
girl now."

I walked to where Nancy was holed up, the conference room.  As I
got there, a very angry girl and two unhappy camper parents were
coming out.  I lifted an eyebrow to Nancy.  'May I?'  She
shrugged, but didn't say no.

"Hello, I'm Laura Alban Hunt."  I told them, holding my hand out
for the girl's father to shake.  Goodness, did he have a grip!

I nodded at Nancy.  "You were just told your daughter didn't make
the cut."  The girl's father shrugged; he seemed resigned.

His daughter wasn't resigned; she was belligerently unrepentant,
haughty and defiant.  "I had some ideas how to make the routine
better."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sandra Cunningham, my friends call me Sandy."

"I'm not your friend, Sandra," I said, my voice chill.  "However,
you and I have something in common."

"Like?"  She was obviously angry, close to completely blowing a
gasket.

"Once upon a time, I was your age.  I went to cheer tryouts, just
like you are here.  And just like you, I blew it.  Attitude, not
quite the same as yours, but attitude anyway.

"I spent a year, Sandra.  By myself, doing what I thought I had
to do, to get ready for the next tryouts.  I passed the physical,
I passed the routines, I passed attitude.  And the girls on the
team turned me down anyway.  I never did get to be a
cheerleader."

I gestured toward Nancy.  "Coach Howland has given me permission
to recruit girls from those who don't make the team next fall. 
We will practice, we will do what we have to do, be it this,
that, or the other thing, to improve upon what tripped us up. 
And we will do better the next time."

"And I'll make the team?" Sandra demanded.

"You'll make the team if the Coach Howland says you make the
team.  All I'm saying is that I'm willing to help you and anyone
else who'd like it, to get better.  To improve your skills."  I
dug into my purse, handed her father my card; I'd only printed up
fifteen; I hoped that was going to be enough for the weekend.

"And this is school sanctioned?" her dad asked.

"Not yet, I'm working on that.  As far as I'm concerned, it
doesn't matter.  Even if it's Saturday mornings at my house, I'm
going to do this."

I turned and addressed myself exclusively to Sandra.  "You can
participate or not.  It will be up to you.  There will be cheer
tryouts next fall and you'll have another chance to pass then. 
If you still don't make the team, give me a call."

They left, and Nancy looked at me and shrugged.  "When Linda
first told me about you, she said one thing.  A few days later,
it was completely different; a few days later, different again. 
I met you one day, saw one thing; the next day, saw something
different.  Had you to dinner; different again.  Now... different
again.

"And yet... it's my lack of understanding that makes you
different each time."  She looked around.  "Sorry."

"Don't be."

The day wound to a close, the girls, even the team, gradually
running out of steam.  By four, it was done.

Somewhere Nancy had found a short movie, just an hour long, of
cheerleaders doing their thing.  Near as I can tell, about four
of the girls stayed awake during the whole thing, even the adults
were nodding off.

Then everyone went up to their rooms to freshen up for dinner.

The dinner was even more formal than the night before, but this
time most of the parents present belonged to girls on the team. 
Awards were presented for nearly everything. I was sure that
every single member of the team got a trophy for something.

Then there were hugs and pictures, it seemed as if every
flashbulb and strobe in the world was going off.

Amy came and found me, tugged me by the hand, leading me to a
couple.  "Laura, this is my foster father, Jack Bowden.  My
foster mother, Ann Bowden."

I shook hands with them, wondering why Amy was doing this.  I was
more than a little surprised too, when she named them foster
parents.  Yesterday when she'd talked about them, she hadn't said
anything about them being foster parents, and she'd talked about
them with the easily familiarity of someone close.

It was clear Amy placed a great deal of importance on them, and I
was only too happy to chat with them for a few minutes.

Later I was standing, watching the dance that followed.  I
personally thought Nancy was crazy to even contemplate such a
thing, but there were a smattering of boyfriends, brothers,
fathers and uncles.  There was some dancing going on, but not
much.

Jack Bowden appeared at my elbow.  "Hello."

"Mr. Bowden."

"Gosh, please!  It's Jack."

I smiled.  He reminded a great deal of Roger.  Bluff, competent,
confident.

"Amy likes you," he said simply.  I simply shrugged, not at all
confident, more than a little concerned.  You have no idea, I
thought, who likes who and how much and in what way.

"Amy is afraid she's not going to be on the team next year."

I looked at him.  He was a little younger than me, very darkly
tanned.  Quite fit.  "Amy was the only freshman today, working
with the new girls.  If Coach Howland didn't have full confidence
in her judgment and abilities, she'd have never let Amy work.  I
don't think she needs to worry."

"Amy's pretty troubled," he went on.  "Her real mom OD'd, her
father is doing life down at Florence, for a million drug
crimes."  He grimaced.  "At least Amy's mom said he was the
father."

"And you think different?" I asked, curious.

He shook his head.  "Everyone thinks different.  Her putative
father is as black as the ace of spades, stands six nine and
weighs four hundred pounds."

"Obviously a genetic match... or at least close enough for
government purposes," I laughed.

"You've made quite an impression on Amy.  Ann and I appreciate
that."

I grimaced; "I've made a strong impression on a lot of people
this weekend.  Yes, Amy is someone special.  To a lot of people,
not just to me."

He nodded.  "Do you know anything about the foster parent
system?"

I shook my head.

"Let's just say that it is designed for short-term care; a
transition.  For the kids, particularly if your 'transition' is
delayed, it can be quite stressful.  I've told Amy that Ann and I
would do everything we could to keep them from moving her again,
but frankly, bureaucrats are bureaucrats.  Amy's been with us
more than a year.  Her social worker told us this week she's due
for a change after school is out."

Oh, he wasn't worried about the team booting Amy, but the
government sending her someplace else.

I wanted to be ill.  The stupidity of what the government wanted
to do was almost inconceivable.  It would hurt anyone to have
that happen; for someone like Amy, it could well be devastating.

"Tearing someone from a familiar environment takes a fearsome
toll, particularly on sensitive girls like Amy," he went on,
echoing my thoughts.

"I can imagine.  I can't imagine how things can be so messed up
that anyone, even the dim bulbs you find in the government would
think that's a good idea."  I was angry, no two ways about it.

"Oh, they call it SOP; they have a hundred names for it."  He
looked at me searchingly.  "I know this is going to sound
dramatic, but I don't think Amy is going to handle it well.

"My wife and I... we'd love to have Amy with us forever."

"There's no way you can get them to change their minds?"

"There are different kinds of certifications, we're considered
'short-term' foster parents.  I've got our lawyer trying to get
it changed, but he says there's almost no chance."  He nodded to
where Amy and Ann Bowden were talking.

"Ann had breast cancer, now she's been diagnosed with leukemia,
probably fallout from the chemo."  He sighed.  "There are all
kinds of leukemia, some not as bad as others, more survivable;
Ann's isn't the survivable kind.  She has less than a 5% chance
of being alive in two years and virtually no chance of being
alive when Amy would be ready for college.  

"They tell us it would be too traumatic for Amy to see someone in
her family wither and die."  His voice was bitter, very bitter.

So was mine.  "My husband was killed at the WTC on 9/11.  It
wasn't easy.  Not for me, not for my daughter.  But we managed;
life goes on.  It would be nice if none of us had to suffer the
slings and arrows of fate and ill-fortune, but it's not
possible."

"Which is why I'm talking to you.  Would you consider applying to
be a foster parent?"

I looked at him in consternation.  In spite of numerous hints,
his proposal still made my jaw drop.

He rushed on now, talking faster.  "They say it's an intrusive
verification process; it is, a little -- for about a month.  They
have too many kids, too few staff.  Once they decide you're fit,
the pretty much don't bother you at all.  For someone of Amy's
age, if a qualified foster parent asks to take her in by name and
she asks for you as well, it will happen.

"Losing my wife is something I will have to deal with.  I'm not
sure I'm up to losing someone else I love very much as well.

"Think about it, please," he pleaded.  "Take some time; it's not
going to happen until after school is out.  Please."

"I will."  I glanced at Amy, then back to him.  "Let's just say
at this time I'm strongly leaning toward yes.  But I do need to
think about it."

"Thanks."

As he walked away, it was suddenly clear.  He'd spoken one thing,
but really meant another.  He didn't know me; I didn't know him
or his wife.  But hey, would I like to fake out the government
about who Amy was really staying with?

Oh yes!  In a New York minute!  I'd never understood that term
before, but it applied, I thought!

Amy came over, showing off her trophy for 'Brightest Personality'
again, beaming.  I made a personal note to thank Nancy very much
for that.  Another personal note to punch some stupid bureaucrat
in the nose.

Finally parents were leaving, guests were leaving and the evening
was winding down.  It had been a pretty tiring day.  I'd had
about three and a half hours sleep on Friday night, if tonight
was going to be anything like that, tomorrow I was going to get
home and collapse in bed.

<1st attachment end>


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