Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Author: Ribeye98
Title: Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion
Part: 6 - 10
Summary: Does Rachel have what it takes to be a champion?
Keywords: fsolo, mast, exhib, voy, humil, nc, mf, Mf, 1st, bd,
blackmail, toys, nosex
   ************************************** Author's Note Copyright 2013 all
rights reserved.  Please do not repost this story on other sites without
permission (ribeye98@gmail.com).  By accessing this story, the reader
hereby certifies that he/she is of an appropriate age to access adult
material and that such material is permitted in the locality or country
where the reader resides.  The following is a creative work of fiction, and
the characters or incidents described do not resemble any persons or events
in the real world.
   You can read the rest of this series at https://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Ribeye98/www/
**************************************
   Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion Part 6
   "Sorry to interrupt, sir, but this is a priority issue." He had been
ordered to report such issues directly to the big boss, but the young
programmer was still nervous as he stood in the doorway of the war room.
   "Come in.  What is it?" He saw his target across the room, but he heard
him from a nearby speaker.
   The meeting currently in progress was paused so the programmer could
come forward and make his report.  He looked around in awe as he walked. 
The large room took up most of the space on this floor of the building, but
no space was wasted.  It was richly furnished with thick carpet and ornate
antiques.  But in the style of the big boss, it also bristled with
technology.  Huge flat screens displaying a constant flow of information
were mounted between ancient tapestries of Oriental military conquests.
   The most impressive piece was the meeting table in the middle of the
room.  The size and shape of a white oak almost as wide as it was long.  It
was like someone had stripped the leaves off and then flattened a giant
tree into two dimensions and laid it down.  The trunk splayed out and
branched into unique work niches.
   Jay looked in wonder at the table and saw more screens implanted
throughout the polished wood surface.  Touch and gesture detectors ringed
each station as well as webcams and microphones.  Speakers were mounted on
the ceiling between medieval chandeliers.  That made sense.  How else could
you conduct a meeting with someone at the other end of a 120 foot long
table?
   What he didn't detect were the ambient noise cancellation devices
cleverly mounted beneath each station.  If a person wished, he could turn
it on and work autonomously in complete silence while unrelated business
was conducted all around him.  Various peons scurried to and fro even as
the privileged council waited for their leader to return to business.
   **No wonder they call it a war room.
   At the base of the trunk sat the big boss' chair, though the boss
himself was currently standing.  When the programmer finally arrived, he
delivered his ipad which contained the report.
   "Jay, is it?"
   "Yes, sir" he waited while the boss studied his report.  The founder and
president of BysCo, Anders Bys, had a commanding presence.  Worthy of the
respect and loyalty he so fiercely demanded of all his employees.  Most
knew him as a billionaire playboy businessman.  Only a select few knew him
as Bystander.  Jay belonged to the first group.
   From a young age Jay had an affinity for hacking.  It came naturally to
him and his talent grew with him.  His life changed one day when he
stumbled upon an exquisitely constructed online security system. 
Fascinated by the undocumented protocols in use, the teenager became
obsessed with cracking it.  When he finally broke through, some scary
looking people appeared at his door.  They had been watching his intrusion
attempts and were impressed by his talent.  They offered him a job at BysCo
working in their software subsidiary, BysSoft.  He accepted mostly because
the alternative was to be turned over to the authorities and face quite a
bit of jail time.
   Jay immediately loved his job and flourished in the company.  Because
the questionable ethics of hacking didn't bother him, he found himself
promoted to the director of a special projects division.  Mostly he was
asked to break into various computer systems and steal or manipulate data.
They compensated him and his team handsomely for discretion.
   One of Jay's specialties was performing what he called an "eScrub". 
Conventional wisdom says once information hits onto the Internet, it will
be there forever.  You can never get rid of it.  But that's not completely
true.  Jay had consolidated and developed various techniques aimed at
locating and removing online information.
   The most recent eScrub target was a device called "The Pussifier".  Jay
didn't need to care why.  Apparently the boss had come up with another use
for it and wanted to erase all evidence of its previous life as a sex toy.
   Not all information can be manipulated in this way and the results are
not always 100% effective.  It helps to catch the information early before
it hits a critical mass.  Jay's job was easier this time because the
pussifier was relatively obscure.  It had failed to sell in the Amsterdam
and so was never rolled out globally.  Erasing all evidence of that device
was relatively easy.
   The Dutch porno which happened to feature a pussifier as a plot device
was a little more difficult.  Using the boss' considerable resources, he
first obtained and/or revoked all licenses to the film.  Next he targeted
the bootleg p2p networks which contained pirated copies of the movie.  He
planted a virus in the seed copies which disrupted the host files and all
subsequent downloads.
   Once those were eliminated, he went back and corrupted the online
archives and backups.  He was pretty confident that, as long as they
continued to monitor the web for future breakouts, all copies of "De
Pussifer Kronieken" had been scrubbed from the Internet.  All copies except
one.  It was that troublesome copy which had brought Jay into the war room
and in front of the big boss.
   "Are you sure about this?" Bys turned to Jay with a look somewhere
between incredulous and amusement.
   "It is, sir.  I've double-checked everything myself.  You had asked to
be alerted to any connection between the pussifier and the pinnacle.  We
found internet searches for both words coming out of the same house in
Thornwood within 24 hours.  A laptop registered to an Eric Gillmony
downloaded most of "De Pussifer Kronieken" before we were able to fully
corrupt the seed."
   "How much did he get?  Is it still playable?"
   "About 60%.  It was a torrent so not a contiguous file.  But he did
download an open source avi repair utility.  I'm guessing he is trying to
repair and extract at least some of the video."
   "Why can't you scrub the file remotely?"
   "He has a bit of talent.  I can still reach his laptop, but I think he's
suspicious.  He moved his partial copy offline once the search results
started disappearing."
   "Is this Eric the same person who was searching for the pinnacle?"
   "I can't say for sure.  But I don't think so.  The Pinnacle queries were
basic Google searches and came from a desktop PC while the Pussifier
queries were more advanced and came from the laptop."
   Bys sat down and thought for a moment.  "It could be a coincidence, but
I don't take chances.  Go ahead and scrub his entire laptop, but retrieve
all his files first.  There may be other things on there of use to us.  You
say the .avi utility is open source?"
   "Yes, sir."
   "Good.  Once he reinstalls his operating system, he'll probably try to
repair the video again.  Commit a patch of bug fixes to the project.  Hide
inside that patch some code which will make it so his copy of the video
never becomes playable.  Grigor!"
   The man who had been sitting in the first crook of the table stopped
what he was doing and turned.
   "What's the latest on Rachel's mother?"
   "We've got her tangled in a mortgage dispute.  She had seemed determined
to stay and fight it, but my sources tell me she is running out of money
and there is a risk of her simply walking away from the whole matter."
   "I can't afford for mom to show up and ruin the whole thing.  She was in
advertising?"
   "Yes, but currently an unemployed freelancer."
   "Offer her a job in our China division.  Triple her income from her last
full time job but she must start immediately.  That should keep her out of
our hair.  And whatever you do, she must not visit Rachel."
   "Yes, sir."
   Bys turned back looking surprised that Jay was still standing there. 
"Do you need something?"
   "Umm, no sir.  Just my tablet." His quick thinking saved face as Bys
returned his ipad and dismissed him to get back to work.  Jay found his own
way out while the meeting resumed...TO BE CONTINUED
   Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion Part 7
   "AAAAaaaah!" Rachel screamed and slapped Richard's hand away.  She
scrambled out of the lounger "Oh my gosh!"
   He courteously stood up as the girl danced around in search of a towel.
"Is something wrong?"
   When she had found a towel and covered her nakedness she addressed him.
"I'm sorry.  I thought you were," she caught herself before saying `Eric'.
She couldn't admit she had meant to seduce his son.  "I mean I didn't know
you...were" Her eyes fell to the considerable bulge in his pants which he
wasn't trying to hide.  She burned with humiliation, "...I'm sorry.  I have
to go."
   She left him standing there and rushed straight to the upstairs
bathroom. She put the pinnacle on a wash cycle in its case and jumped in
the shower.  Richard had applied the tanning oil so liberally to her back
side that she had no hope of washing it off.  When she had washed her hair
Rachel dried off and went to her bedroom.
   Lying on the bed in a towel she relived the colossal mistake in her
head. How could she ever face Richard again?  Something existed between
them ever since she served him breakfast in her makeshift peasant rags. 
She could tell by the way he looked at her ever since that he was replaying
the encounter in his mind.  He conveyed a willingness to go beyond mere
flirting and had a silent way of willing her to consider it too.
   He was too smart to cross the line.  His slick political instincts
served him well in this regard.  Better to let the girl initiate everything
and stayed safely on the right side of propriety.  He learned that lesson
by watching too many politicians' careers ruined by overzealous
indiscretion.  But that didn't mean he couldn't benefit from the occasional
woman who happened to wander over to his side of the line.
   Today Rachel had done more than that.  She had strayed way over to
Richard's great fortune.  And though he had taken normally unpardonable
liberties with her body, she would never accuse him of wrongdoing.  That
was his alibi - plausible deniability.  In her mind, he was innocent.  Her
actions, however, were shameful and without excuse.  It was the cruelest
twist of all, therefore, that her depravity aroused her.
   **Ughhhh!
   Rachel rolled over and tried to ignore warmth radiating from between her
legs.  She should feel dirty and miserable that she had let a grown man
probably twice her age fondle her naked body.  But try as she might, she
couldn't stop thinking about how good he had made her feel.  The weight of
his hands lingered on her thighs even now.  Her breast still tingled where
he had sampled it.
   Fantasies seeped back in when she failed to muster the appropriate
amount of disgust.  What if she had stayed and let him continue on her
front?  How far would he go?  He seemed more than willing to help her
however she needed.  Would he have brought her to orgasm if she asked?  He
had to be well endowed like his son.  Would he have let her play with his
penis?
   **STOP!  It doesn't matter now.  You ran away like a chicken.
   Rachel groaned; a mix of ecstasy and agony that after all she had been
through her need remained unfulfilled and stronger than ever.  She slipped
a hand between the fold in the towel knowing her fingers would be unable to
finish the job.  The frustrating session that followed turned into a
restless nap as sleep overtook her.  Yet even in sleep she had no reprieve.
For the fantasies invaded there as well...TO BE CONTINUED
   ********* Author's Note: You can read about Rachel's dream at
https://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Ribeye98/www/thornwood/bonus/a-world-without-breasts.txt
*********
   Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion Part 8
   Rachel awoke after a fitful nap to find Susan standing in her doorway.
   "You shouldn't be sleeping this late, Rachel.  It will disrupt your
sleep cycle."
   She tried to sit up, but her arms were trapped just like in her bizarre
dream which was fading from memory.  The towel from her shower had
entangled and immobilized them.  Also like her dream, she needed to pee. 
And just as badly she still needed to orgasm.
   She untangled herself and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.  "Sorry,
Mrs.  G.  Let me get my nightgown and I'll come help you with dinner."
   "Don't get that nightgown just yet.  I have a surprise.  I've been
working on an outfit for you at my club." Based on the way the girl's
nipples were currently straining at attention, Susan thought she must have
been having a very nice dream.  "It has everything; including underwear and
a bra!  Wait here.  I'll be right back."
   **A what!
   That got Rachel's attention.  She hadn't worn a bra in weeks; nor
panties in almost as long.  Susan hadn't done her anything that nice in a
long time.
   The knitting club at the community center was a notorious hotspot for
local rumors and gossip.  Susan had joined mostly for that reason.  But
while she was there, she did knit the occasional article.  Rachel used up
clothing at a pace she had never seen before.  This was an inexpensive way
to maintain the girl's meager wardrobe.  And after the debacle last week at
church, Susan was extra motivated to add to Rachel's outfit rotation.
   Susan's first project had been to modify Rachel's one remaining dress.
It had shrunk in the wash to the point of being too obscene for both church
and school.  So while Rachel was working at the mall last Sunday, Susan had
added some simple trim to both top and bottom of the wonderland dress.
   Rachel had somehow lost or ruined her cowgirl outfit at the mall.  She
never explained how it happened.  As punishment, Susan had made her wear
the updated wonderland dress every day since.  The mixture of fabric and
knitting turned out pretty cute which inspired Susan to embark on her next,
more ambitious project.
   She returned to Rachel's room where the girl was squirming on the bed.
"Um, I need to go pee."
   "Go ahead.  I'll leave it here.  Try it on and then you can come down
and model it this evening." She began to pull the pieces from her knitting
bag and spread them on the bed while Rachel scampered naked down the hall
to the bathroom.
   Susan was gone when Rachel returned.  Her first impression was that the
dress would be too small.  Still she gasped with delight.  She couldn't
believe how excited she was to receive such skimpy clothing.  Her eyes were
drawn to the colorful underwear, so she started there.
   Having never worn hand stitched underwear before; she didn't know what
to expect.  But panties are pretty easy to figure out.  Susan had used her
brightest colors of loose spun wool yarn.  When she first stepped into
them, Rachel feared they were a poor fit.  Unlike typical panties these had
no structure or elastic and sagged all wrong.  But then she found the
drawstring which helped.  The panties were still a little loose, but
perhaps that was to allow for shrinkage in the wash.  One trip through the
gentle cycle and they would hug her curves just right.
   It had been so long since she wore comfortable panties.  And while she
would not have chosen this particular style, she still savored the moment.
With her panties in place, she turned to the bra.  Rachel would never have
guessed that's what it was if Susan had not told her to expect it.
   The bra had been reduced to its fundamental essence.  Both strapless and
backless, it was nothing more than two pouches connected by a lattice
crochet bridge which narrowed to a single thread in the middle.  Rachel
considered skipping the bra.  It seemed to serve no function other than to
draw attention to her chest.  But she knew Susan would take offense if she
didn't wear the complete outfit as intended.  So she stuffed each breast
into its respective pouch and drew the strings tight around them.
   This too was not uncomfortable.  The yarn of the pouches matched her
panties but had been knitted a bit more loosely; probably to allow for
future growth.  Her bust already exceeded the pouches' capacity and
strained the knitting until holes formed.  Glimpses of creamy skin were
visible in those spots and her pokey nipples were already finding ways
through the stitches.  She felt silly, but could live with it as
underclothes.  Ready to finish the ensemble, she turned to the dress.
   Known as a girl's tent dress, this item was not knitted like the rest,
but made from soft orange linen.  It was sleeveless with a square neck and
flat straps.  Not designed to be form fitting, it flared prettily as it
went down.
   The faint, cream tinted fabric complimented the orange threads in her
underwear nicely.  That match turned out to be intentional rather than a
happy accident.  Because in typical scandalous fashion, Susan referred to
it as a dress.  When, in truth, it was much too short to be mistaken for
anything but a shirt.  It was so short and flared out so much at the
bottom, that it did not cover her panties at all!  Rachel had worn it to
church Sunday and most of school the next day before she figured that one
out.
   It was Susan's unique way of treating her like a child.  A little girl
ought not to mind flashing her bloomers every time she turned around.  But
that wasn't even Susan's cruelest trick.  Her signature element was the
bust.  Now that she saw how it fit, Rachel was glad for the bra.  The
squared off neckline came up to just below the swell of her chest, but left
her boobs uncovered.  They would have been completely exposed if not for
the bra pouches.
   Susan fawned proudly over the outfit and insisted Rachel model it for
her and Richard in the living room.  She had Rachel strut and spin right in
in front of him so she could point out every feature.  Richard had
innocuous comments about the outfit, but his knowing eyes said so much
more. He had recently sampled that smooth skin and firm body more
intimately than any man ever before.  Rachel should have been ashamed.  But
by the end, she found herself adding a little extra to her spins; flaring
the dress higher whenever she passed him.
   Richard's desire was insatiable in bed that night.  Susan attributed it
to the fashion show which went exactly as she had hoped.  But the earlier
poolside encounter was the greater reason for his incredible ardor. 
Watching a teenage girl model a skimpy outfit was nice, but did not compare
to direct contact with her naked body.  Susan was none the wiser, and
Richard was more than happy to keep it that way...TO BE CONTINUED
   Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion Part 9
   The upcoming week was to be a short one.  School had been in session for
almost a month now and Labor Day weekend was coming up.  A teacher
in-service day was also scheduled for Friday which would give the kids a
four day weekend.  On Monday, Ellie broke the news to Rachel.  Thornwood
had lost the meet to Eastern by 8 points.  It had come down to the last
race.
   "Nobody blames you, Rach," Ellie tried to console her friend, "we'll
beat them next time".  Rachel took the news especially hard.  If Coach Ron
had allowed her to compete, she would have certainly scored enough points
for her team to win.
   Rachel appreciated Ellie's consolation, but wondered if the rest of the
team felt the same way.  She got her answer at practice with the cold
reception.  Obviously not everyone shared Ellie's willingness to forgive.
It made Rachel miserable.  Now not only had her outfits made her an outcast
at school, but now her own swim team was angry at her.
   Along with the Eastern meet, Rachel had also been suspended from another
activity two Sundays ago.  Only two team members had missed the unsponsored
midnight swim at the aquatic facility.  Apparently there had been quite a
bit of revelry and hazing.  The rest of the team still spoke about it with
hushed voices and giggles.  It was just the sort of thing which knits
individuals into a unified team and Rachel had been left out.
   Speaking of knitting, by the end of the school day Rachel was really
starting to hate her outfit.  Her dress, which was a shirt before Susan got
ahold of it, still felt entirely too short.  Her rainbow panties and joke
of a bra were both completely visible.
   Things got worse in fourth period math class.  It was there that Rachel
learned the truth about her dress being a shirt.  Another student walked in
wearing the same top.  Only this girl had the rest of the outfit; a medium
length matching orange skirt.  The girl also wore a normal bra and modest
undershirt under the orange blouse as would normally accompany this style
of low cut neck line.  Susan had not mentioned or supplied Rachel with
these things; only custom fitted boob bags.  She looked down to find her
pink nipples had poked their way through holes in the yarn again and
blushed.
   So she had been walking around all day bottomless and with her barely
covered breasts hanging out the top.  She sat at her desk and wallowed in
her humiliation at being so woefully underdressed while listening to the
snickers from the rest of the class.  She didn't hear any of the lesson and
knew she was falling behind.  But she didn't dare raise her hand to ask a
question for fear of drawing more attention to herself.
   It shamed her again to think that this girl would be wearing something
different tomorrow, while Rachel only had two outfits to alternate between.
And she wasn't sure she could wear this one again after learning the truth.
   By lunch time she had discovered another problem.  The wool yarn was
becoming incredibly itchy.  At first she used inconspicuous methods to
scratch; the side of the desk or part of her backpack.  But her skin just
got more irritated as a result.  She tried to make it through the end of
school, but by last period she couldn't take it anymore.
   She got a hall pass and went to the bathroom; pawing at her intimate
areas the whole way.  Once inside a stall, she released the drawstring and
removed her bra.  She scratched her breasts until her milky skin turned
pink.  Then making sure the room was still empty, she dashed over to the
sink and splashed water on them to hopefully cool the itch.
   Without a bra, the reflection in the mirror was both ridiculous and
erotic.  She glanced at the exit; the door was propped open during school
hours.  But there was a short corridor with two bends for privacy.  Anyone
could walk through that door unannounced and catch her playing with her
bare boobs.  But just as easily, she could sneak out into the hallway and
have a little fun.
   The thought should have terrified her and driven her back into the
stall. But she was so horny that she ended up doing the opposite.  She
loosed the string on her panties and let them fall to the ground.  Then she
lifted the dress over her head, added it to the pile.  As usual these days,
she could strip naked in a matter of a couple seconds.  A wave of
excitement washed over her.  The trance of arousal led her over to the
exit. She was down the corridor and two steps into the empty school hallway
before she snapped out of it.
   It wasn't the first time Rachel had walked the halls in nothing but
shoes.  She had given little Bradley Harrison quite a shock outside the
aquatic center a few weeks ago.  That encounter had caused her to flee
outside and most of the way around the building before finding her way back
to her clothes.  This time had one important difference, though.  That
other time occurred long after school had ended for the day when the school
was mostly deserted.
   Rachel looked down the hallway.  So many doors; every one a room filled
with students completely unaware what was going on just outside.  Her head
was swimming as the hormones filled her mind with fantastical thoughts.
   She stood there in the hall as long as she dared.  Then to top it all
off, she scampered across the hall to tag the cinder block wall on the far
side.
   **ooh!
   She pressed her overheating nipples against the cold wall and savored
the feeling.  Suppressing the urge to attack her bald mound right there in
the hallway, Rachel turned to go back inside the restroom.  From here she
could see through one of the classroom door windows.  A boy was giving a
report in front of the class.  Everyone was facing away from her except
him.
   If she could see him, that meant he had a perfect angle to see her too.
Fortunately for Rachel, he was too focused on reading his report to look up
and notice the naked girl outside his classroom door.
   Having pressed her luck far enough, the horny girl ducked down and ran
back to the restroom.  This time she did collapse against the wall and let
her hands move between her legs.  She was positively wet with excitement
could have stood there playing with herself all day but for class.  They
would start to miss her and send someone to check on her if she didn't
return soon.  Suddenly another risky dare came to mind.
   **I should go back to class without my panties on!  That would shut them
up.
   But discretion prevailed.  As much as the dare intrigued her, it was not
worth getting suspended and possibly even expelled.  It was simply too
risky in such a short dress.  So she reluctantly put on her clothing and
returned to class content in the knowledge that she was probably the first
student in the history of Thornwood to have roamed the halls naked.  And
now she had done it twice!  Her third chance would come by the end of the
week; but not by choice.  And the third time did not turn out so well.
   That evening she considered removing the tent dress again and doing her
chores in just her underwear.  It did sort of look like a colorful bikini;
though she had never before seen a bikini top that was backless and
strapless.  But that did not solve the itching problem.  So her only
remaining options were the chore apron or go naked as she had all last
week. With Richard back from his trip, she chose the apron.  Better to have
some sort of clothing than nothing at all.  She also returned to her old
habit of avoiding him whenever possible which made for more stressful
evenings.
   Rachel's only escape all week from the constant humiliating outfits came
at swim practice.  It was laughable that she preferred her swim uniform to
her school clothes.  At least it was a complete ensemble, right?  And the
pinnacle did feel more comfortable with each passing day.  Who would have
thought after the humiliating tryout that someday she would actually be
relieved to have this to change into?
   The practice regimen was little changed from previous weeks.  Coach Ron
still had the team mostly focus on conditioning.  That meant lots of
swimming and weight lifting.  But he was starting to turn some
responsibilities over to the captains.  It was their team and practice time
was a great leadership opportunity.  One captain seemed to be particularly
hard on Rachel.  As if to punish her, she assigned the most mundane and
demanding exercises and never let Rachel use any of the cool equipment. 
That was a smart move since many of the other kids needed to improve their
technique as well as their endurance while Rachel already had nearly
flawless form.
   Rachel took her punishment and practiced even harder.  The only way
redeem herself in front of the team was to show that she was willing to do
whatever it took.  She would not let them down come the next meet.  She
didn't think she could be in better shape.  But they kept finding new ways
make her pay and she went home sore every day.  Another week of grueling
conditioning had made her an even faster swimmer.
   The captain took notice that her uppity teammate never complained by her
assignments.  But after what had happened at the meet, she was not ready to
forgive.  There was also the little matter of hazing which the girl had
conveniently missed out on.  Until she went through that, she would never
consider the Rachel a real part of the team.  During practice she worked
out a way to remedy that deficiency.  The scenario grew in her mind into a
truly elegant and elaborate ritual.  Rachel would earn her spot on the team
the hard way...if she survived...TO BE CONTINUED
   Thornwood Episode IV - The Champion Part 10
   Katie `Pip' Davonleigh was a third generation captain of Thornwood.  Her
family's swimming tradition was almost as long as the school's.  Her
grandfather, George Philip Davonleigh was a legend.  `Pip', as his
teammates took to calling him, swam during Thornwood's heyday.  He helped
the school win four straight state titles; the last two as a captain.
   The nickname naturally passed to his son along with his swimming talent.
In fact, Philip Carter `Pip' Davonleigh was even faster than George.  He
set several state records in his high school career that have still not
been broken.  Like his father, Phil captained Thornwood in his senior year.
And although the program was already on the decline by that point, his team
rose up and captured a state championship of its own.
   After his team's unlikely run, Phil graduated and went to college on an
athletic scholarship.  The team he built and left behind won again three
years later.  Unfortunately the momentum did not last.
   First the old head coach retired.  The new leadership viewed swimming as
more of an individual sport.  The results were predictably ugly.  Without
team unity or school pride, the program fell apart.  And for the last 15
years, swimming at Thornwood was nothing but a laughing stock.
   Katie's full name, Katherine Penelope Davonleigh, was a mouthful.  She
preferred Pippi or Pip.  She grew up hearing heroic swimming stories from
grandpa Pip and from her dad and was proud to adopt the nickname and
heritage it represented.
   She had the pedigree and talent and was a lock to be named a captain
someday.  It filled her with great pride to look at all the old trophies
and medals at Thornwood with her family name on them.  She would love
nothing more than to carry on the tradition set by her grandfather and
father and bring home a state title.
   Now as a senior, Pip had all but given up on those championship dreams.
It pained her to admit, but she had to be realistic about it.  For three
years she had watched Thornwood routinely finish near the bottom of every
meet.  They had no chance of achieving anything worth remembering.  Still
she continued to train hard with the intention of earning a college
scholarship like her dad.
   But then things started to change last summer with the aquatic center
renovations.  It sparked a renaissance of interest in the program.  One of
her friends, a decent swimmer in his own right, was about to transfer to
Eastern but changed his mind and decided to stay.  She convinced another
who was going to drop swimming altogether to stay on as well.
   The incredible new facilities rekindled Pip's dream as well.  After
languishing for three years, this was her time.  She dared to hope that
they might just accomplish something after all.  Until the new head coach
nearly ruined it.
   Coach Ron overthrew the established order of everything and installed
his own authority.  This was supposed to be Pip's team.  She was
comfortable with how everything had run before and didn't like some
stranger coming in and changing it.  Tryout day was a disaster.  That day
some of her teammates walked away from the program and never returned.
   She questioned his loyalty.  What did this foreigner care about
Thornwood or its legacy?  Coach Ron hadn't been around to suffer these last
three years.  He revoked the positions held by all returning captains and
forced them to reapply.  It was as if he had stolen her birthright.
   She questioned his competency.  How hard was it to order the correct
color warm-ups?
   She certainly questioned his integrity.  What kind of man puts his
office in girl's locker room?  All the girls on the team had to get used to
changing with him around.  When news of that got to the school board, Pip
was sure someone would straighten him out.  But for some reason they let
him stay.  And his office had not moved.  And then he had begun making
announcements while they showered so they could begin practice sooner.
   Her dad didn't seem to think it was that big of deal.  He said
professional athletes shower in front of female reporters all the time.  He
seemed more willing to give this new guy a chance; unconventional methods
and all.
   "In my day, our team had nothing to hide from each other or our coaches.
Besides, it's about time they shook things up over there" was his position.
   "That's easy for you to say." Pip thought.  "You don't have to go to
practice every day and take a shower in front of him."
   Pip lost a couple friends the day of the tryout.  She was ready to quit,
too.  But her father encouraged her to stick with it.  He reminded her that
the old way of doing things didn't work.  Change was hard, but sometimes
necessary.
   Despite the grueling practices, or maybe because of them, the mood of
the team did improve daily.  That went a long way in convincing her to
accept Coach Ron's unconventional style and methods.
   But Coach Ron wasn't the only source of aggravation for Pip.  There was
also the new girl, Rachel.  This transfer from out of state had upstaged
everyone at the tryout.  Opting for the most revealing uniform, she
flaunted her nearly naked body.  The spectacle was only matched by her
incredible swimming performance.  She was fast; no denying that.
   Pip recognized that her team needed this new girl if they were to make
it to the state finals.  But so far Rachel had caused nothing but trouble.
She rarely talked to anyone except the scrawny student manager, Ellie.  She
stole the spotlight wherever the team went.  She wore slutty school outfits
like she was trying to steal everybody's boyfriend, too.  And Pip suspected
she had given the rest of the team food poisoning at the carwash.
   She was willing to forgive the girl's penchant for slutty attire,
antisocial behavior and whatever other personality flaws may exist.  But
getting suspended from the first meet was unforgiveable.  Pip had been the
one swimming in that last leg of the medley relay against Eastern.  She
antagonized over that race over in her mind many times; willing the outcome
to be different.  Though the whole squad had performed admirably, she had
been unable to overcome the deficit in the end.
   She directly blamed Rachel for costing them the win.  Someone that fast
would have neutralized and probably even beaten Eastern's prized fish girl
head to head.  She would have been a valuable addition to Thornwood's relay
squads and earned victories in multiple individual races.  But what good is
a superstar teammate whose off-field activities are constantly hindering
their ability to compete?  She might as well not be on the team.  In Pip's
mind, Rachel was a bad egg.  She considered her too unstable to rely on as
a teammate and would not trust the girl until she proved otherwise.
   When Pip mentioned the upcoming midnight swim to her father, he got a
twinkle in his eye.  "That's exactly what you're missing," Phil told her.
"When I was a Wildcat, we worked together; made each other better.  We
would do anything for our teammates.  Unity is just as important as talent.
And a little artificial adversity can do wonders to prepare you for the
real thing."
   Coach Ron was purposely not going to attend the midnight swim and had
left captains the responsibility of coordinating activities.  His only
instructions were "do things that will bring the team together".  They had
access to the entire aquatic facility and even the rest of the school if
they chose to venture that far.  Hanging out in the pool all night would
have been boring.  Might as well stay home.  Besides, Marco Polo and
chicken fight were childish games these kids had played a thousand times
before.
   Pip needed ideas.  Here again her father proved a valuable resource.
   "Your coach is a smart man.  It's not politically correct to do such
things anymore," he noted, "but I tell you truly; hazing is the forge on
which a championship team is built.  Why, I could tell you stories..." a
reminiscing twinkle appeared in his eye as he trailed off.
   Phil went on to explain some of the best hazing games and rituals that
were around when he was young.  He approved of his daughter taking the
initiative to make her team better and be a leader.  He saw nothing wrong
as long as they didn't break any laws, and trusted her not to let things go
too far.
   That night Pip got together with the other team captains.  Eliminating
the violent and potentially illegal games, they built up a catalog of
activities from which to draw to keep the night interesting.  Many involved
nudity and were often sexual in nature.  The captains agreed it would
challenge their teammates to act outside their comfort zone while remaining
mostly harmless fun.  And it would certainly bring the team together.
   Midnight swim was Pip's crowning achievement so far.  In one wild night
they learned about each other and built lasting bonds.  Her teammates had
so much fun that they talked about it for days afterward and were already
petitioning Coach Ron to schedule another.  Only two swimmers had missed
the festivities that weekend.  The other swimmer, a boy named Oliver, had a
semi-valid excuse.  Rachel did not.  Unless you count serving a punishment
for shoplifting as a valid excuse.  Pip did not.
   Oliver's family had taken him out of town that weekend to attend a rich
uncle's funeral in the hopes of reaping inheritance money.  The captains
met and decided that the two swimmers who had missed the midnight swim
should perform an extra task as both a sort of initiation and as
retribution for their absence.  Because Rachel was involved, Pip advocated
a particularly strong tack.
   She delivered a rousing speech to her fellow captains.  "Leaders must
deliver praise where it is earned," she said with conviction, "but they
must also deliver justice when someone in the group is out of line.  Rachel
put herself above her team.  Her selfish behavior got her suspended.  Her
absence cost us dearly at the Eastern meet.  I think I have the perfect way
for her to pledge her loyalty to her teammates.  That's where Oliver comes
in."
   Pip described a particularly nasty game her father had told her about
called `Lamb to the Slaughter'.  It had all the components she was looking
for.  It would test Rachel's resolve and willingness to sacrifice to
complete the task she was given.  Would she come through for a teammate or
leave him to suffer a cruel fate to preserve her own comfort?
   Swayed by Pip's conviction, the other captains put her in charge of the
task and made themselves available to help with preparations.
   The original game was complex enough and required coordination.  It also
involved somewhat intimate physical contact between the participants as
well as certain risk.  On top of that, Pip was planning a few special
modifications.  Raising the stakes on the humiliation front was her little
way of making the new girl earn her spot on the team.
   Rachel would face a little adversity on the way to completing her task.
But as long as she followed her instructions and did not chicken out, she
and Oliver should not suffer too much embarrassment.  If she failed,
however, the consequences were much worse...TO BE CONTINUED 
  
thornwood-ep4-part-06-10