Alkalians (59 page)

“
Yes, she was. She had
saved our town through her selfless actions, and we heralded her
thereafter as our heroine during the Reaver Famine.” Amelia looks
back to Buster, her smile broader and her eyes gleaming. “And
that’s why, I guess, I took up sleeping with men I come to find
favor in. It’s my way of doing what my mother did. It’s my way of
honoring what she had done for our whole village. And, this year,
I’m especially proud of it, because I helped a young, handsome,
good-hearted man overcome his shyness and sexually
mature.”

“
Heh, yeah. Matt’s one
lucky guy to catch your eye.” Also smiling, Buster reaches over and
strokes Amelia’s side fondly. “Well, now it all makes sense to
me.”

“
Good. And, thank you,
Buster.” She shifts herself closer to him, looking into his eyes.
“You’re one of the few I’ve ever told that story to and understood
it.”

“
Not a problem, Amelia.”
His arm slipping around her to hold her close against him, Buster
pauses before shaking his head. “Damn, you must be so much like
your mother. Brave, smart, and beautiful.”

Amelia chuckles, pressing herself
against him as her arm crosses his waist. “Not much different from
you, then, am I?” They both laugh before she asks, “So, what shall
we do now? Go to sleep, or enjoy ourselves, one more
time?”

“
Hmm. Well, we seem to
have embraced each other again. And I would like a second chance to
best Matt!”

“
Hah, well then, you can
have as many chances as you need.” They both grin before their lips
meet in a passionate kiss and Buster pulls the blankets back over
them, submerging them in sweet sensations once more.

***

At another senior cabin that evening,
Cynthia is on the outskirts of her own party. The living room of
the apartment before her is crammed full with a crowd of women, her
own entourage, and their special guest Sean in the center of it
all, while she hangs back by the kitchen, leaning by the counter
and drinking from a small glass of vodka. Unlike her, the rest of
the party’s inhabitants are in high spirits from drinking so much
alcohol, and the high point of their unreserved celebration is Sean
playing, and winning, strip poker against a few of the
women.

“
Ah hah!” exclaims Sean as
the time to reveal had come to him last. “Now, do not mistake me
for commenting on the amount of lovely ladies here, when I
say
full house
!”
He reveals the so-called combination of cards and completes his
victory over the three women he is playing against. While only his
chest is bare, one of the girls is already completely nude, and the
other two join her when they slip off their underwear to the
cheering of the others around them.

“
Avast, me darlins!” Sean
then shouts, springing up to his feet in drunk bravado. “The
victory, and your clothes, are now mine!” He snatches up the pile
of dresses and undergarments from the floor between him and their
owners.

“
Hey!” complains one of
the girls as they stand and all the others laugh, her short brown
hair a tangled mess. “The game’s over, you, you give us back our
clothes, I’m freezing!” With her nude body streaked in sweat like
the other two, the drunken statement doesn’t appear to be
true.

“
Nuh uh uh! To the victor
goes the spoils, am I right?” He happens to take a sniff of some of
the garments, blinking at the scent. “Ah, the smell of lavender.
Such a lovely fragrance! And who’s the source of this sweet
pollen?”

“
That would be me,”
replies another of the naked women, her blonde hair grown to her
shoulders sticking to her sweaty skin. Grinning, she says, “It’s my
perfume. Do you like it?”

“
Oh yes, it is quite
delightful! Most appropriate for a sweet flower as you.”

“
I’m glad you think so,
Seanie. So, how about we trade?”

“
Trade? Trade
what?”

“
Oh, you know.” She steps
closer to him, giving him a close and clear view of her features,
her tone succulent. “If you give me back my clothes, you can have a
taste of this sweet flower’s nectar.”

Silently observing from her spot by
the kitchen, Cynthia hasn’t minded the drunken debauchery, but at
the blonde’s direct suggestion to a considering Sean she steps up.
“Alright, that’s enough. The party’s over, everyone out. Drop the
clothes, Sean.” Most of her subordinates moan and complain, but do
as they are commanded, thanking and congratulating her on their way
out of the apartment.

After dropping the bundle of clothes,
which the brunette pounces on and grabs up her portion from, Sean
makes his way over to Cynthia, unsteady on his feet. “Aw, we’re
calling it, so soon? I thought we was just getting warmed up,
doll!” Despite himself, a hiccup jolts him, leaving him in a
stunned posture for a moment.

Unable to not smirk at him, Cynthia
reminds herself this could be one of the few times Sean’s ever
truly been drunk, and so far he’s been more comical through it.
“I’m afraid so, Sean. It’s all fun and games until someone tries to
make a move on you when I’m right here watching.”

“
Ah, yes, a very, hic,
strong point you make there.” He glances back at the blonde, who
has made no move to retrieve her clothes and instead stares at him
hungrily, and reprimands her. “You, you silly girl, hitting on me
in the presence of our hot hostess!” He looks back to Cynthia, at
last noticing something that puzzles him. “Hey, are you,
okay?”

“
Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m
fine.”

“
Okay, now, that I don’t
believe.” Coming up beside her, Sean goes on, “You don’t look fine,
you don’t sound fine…” He puts a hand on the bare portion of her
shoulder, but then recoils at the touch. “You don’t even
feel
fine! What’s wrong,
Cynthia?”

She sighs, turning away from him and
trying to hide her distress. “Sean, I’m sorry, but it’s hard to
explain. You wouldn’t understand.”

“
Uh huh.” Sean looks away,
musing. “Yeah, I suppose I wouldn’t. There are plenty of things I
don’t understand, already. Like, biology. History. Politics. And
women.” He looks back to Cynthia, putting on a grin. “But that
doesn’t mean I can’t try to understand it! So, what is
it?”

“
Nothing. It’s nothing,
Sean.” Cynthia takes the last sip of her vodka, a frown fixed on
her expression.

Seeing her finish off the glass, an
idea occurs to Sean. “Hey, that’s it! That’s what the problem is.
You need more to drink!” He snatches a bottle off the counter and
offers it to her. “Here, have some rum.”

Again unable to not smirk, Cynthia
turns back to him, stating, “I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing
I need, right now.”

“
Aw, come on, doll. You
know what they say. Feeling the blues, drink some booze!” After
Cynthia hesitates, sighs, and takes a gulp from the rum, he says,
“There, now isn’t that better? …So?”

“
So, what?”

“
Why you so
sad?”

Cynthia snaps at him, “Sean, I’m
sorry, but I just can’t talk about it, okay!? Just leave me
alone!”

Startled, Sean steps back, his hazy
mind confused by her attitude. As he stares at her when Cynthia
turns away, the blonde, who has never left the apartment nor put
her clothes on, slides up next to him, lays an arm over his
shoulder, and says, “Yes, Sean, we should leave her alone. Why
don’t we go back to the bedroom, where we can learn more about each
other?” Unsure at first, he glances between the blonde, her
features, and Cynthia, who seems oblivious to them, and shrugs
before following her into the back of the apartment.

Not entirely oblivious, Cynthia chose
not to intervene and let her subordinate take Sean away, further
wracking herself with whatever troubles her. If she couldn’t enjoy
herself that evening, at least Sean could in a drunken fling. She
looks to the bottle of rum, takes another deep drink of it, and in
turning realizes she’s not alone in the main apartment yet. The
third woman Sean had beat in strip poker, her long blue hair
draping past her shoulders and to her breasts, slightly stumbles
about in a daze looking around the living room. “Oh, where is it?
I, I got spun around, when everyone left, and now I can’t find it.”
She turns around to the dress left on the floor. “Hey, there it
is!” She fumbles over and picks it up. “No, wait, I think this is
Ashley’s. It’s too small for me.” She tosses it aside, and then
groans, “Where, where did my dress go?”

Not sure she is amused by, or pitying,
her ally’s situation, Cynthia calls to her, “Amanda! Amanda, come
here.”

Amanda turns to her, remembering she
was still there, and crosses the room to her. “Yes,
Cynthia?”

“
Uh, Amanda…”

When she notices Cynthia cringing at
her fully exposed body so close to her, Amanda gasps, “Oh, I’m
sorry!” After covering her feminine features with her arms and
hands, she asks again, “Yes, Cynthia?”

Cynthia pauses, not sure how to begin,
and then looks her in the eye and says, “Amanda, have I been a good
boss student?”

“
Oh, sure! Of course you
have, Cynthia! You are my boss, so naturally I would tell you
that.”

“
No, no, please be honest
to me, Amanda. Have I been a good boss student?”

“
Uh, well, I guess so.
I’ve never had a problem serving you, I think, nor any of the
others. Um, I mean, except for Ashley. I think she might be jealous
of you. She was hoping that rumor about you and Sean before you two
hooked up was true.”

“…
I see.”

When Cynthia looks away, putting a
palm to her forehead, Amanda at last notices her distress.
“Cynthia, um, is something wrong?”

“
Amanda, I, I’m not sure
I’ve been a good boss student, here at school. On top of that, I
don’t even know if I’ve been a good person, at all.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
It’s just, I’ve been
thinking lately, and I’ve done many things I’m actually not proud
of it. I’ve put other people beneath me, just because I’m wealthier
than them, more beautiful than them. I’ve made fools of friends and
foes alike, I’ve done things to hurt others, and I’ve been a part
of terrible plots to harm others. Most recently, with Cain. I had
helped that mad man in trying to find anything to use against Matt,
and in return I got sent to the infirmary with a fever and my
reputation was nearly destroyed by gossip.”

Amanda looks puzzled at first, trying
to make sense of what Cynthia said, before she replies, “Okay, I
guess you may have done some of that stuff, but you’ve never done
anything like Cain has. Everyone’s known he’s been a bad guy, but
no one dared to challenge him on that until Matt came along. And
now, we all know how he’s gone insane when he was trying to kill
you, in the tournament.” When Cynthia shudders as she suppresses a
whimper at her statement, Amanda quickly apologizes, “Oh, I’m
sorry! Is that bothering you, too? I didn’t mean to bring it up, if
it is.”

“
No, no, you’re fine. But,
yes, that’s been bothering me, too. I’ve known about him going mad
before then, after what he had in mind for Matt, but I never went
to the authorities with it until today after the fight. And I, I
just feel guilty, you know? If I had done something about it
sooner, if I had confronted him or reported him earlier, before
today, I may have prevented him from becoming so bad. I may have
avoided the risk of him trying to kill me, or, of trying to kill
someone else. If I had acted sooner, this whole stupid conflict
with him could have been done with, but I didn’t, I stayed back and
let Matt and his friends deal with it.” She looks back to Amanda,
tears dampening her eyes. “Does that make me as bad as Cain,
Amanda?”

Aghast, Amanda forgets about covering
herself and reaches to affectionately touch Cynthia, wiping away a
tear before it drops. “Oh no, no, Cynthia! You’ve never been as bad
as him.”

“
But, how can be you sure,
of that? What have I done around here, that’s not been
bad?”

Amanda is at first lost for an answer,
but after glancing around the room gets it from the sculptures set
about it. “Well, you’ve made some great sculptures! See, like the
ones in here, they’re masterpieces, your prized work! And, uh, you
also make good music. You play the violin so well, it moves
everyone around you. Right?”

Sniffling and wiping at the other
tear, Cynthia gets out, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“
Yeah, so, that’s some
good you’ve done! And, um, what else? Oh, you’re Sean’s
girlfriend!”

“
Hah, and how’s that a
good thing?”

“
Well, ever since you’ve
been together, I think I’ve noticed you become much sweeter, and
stuff. You laugh more kindly at things, instead of laughing because
you’re being mean.”

“…
Yeah, you may be right,
about that.”

“
Yeah, so, you see? You
haven’t been so bad a boss student, or so bad a person. You’ve done
some good things here, and ever since you hooked up with Sean,
you’ve become better, and happier.”

Cynthia quivers a moment, taking a
breath to calm herself, and looks back to Amanda. “Do you really
mean that?”