After the Beginning Bk. 01 Ch. 02

"Gross!" Doxie stormed to the sage and collapsed to sit cross-legged on the stage next to her stuff. I smiled a thank you at Janet. Janet rolled her eyes and winked again before looking down to study her script. Late last Fall, when I was crushing really hard on Beth, Janet and Lizzy (the third member of Doxie's trio) hung out with us at Raj's house one Saturday. She ended up laying on my chest tickling me. I wanted to kiss her, but I was worried about Beth. I watched Janet study her script. I really should have kissed her that day.

"Places!" Mrs. Monroe called from stage right. Everyone took their seats and we had an uneventful rehearsal.

After Drama I finished my school day with Physics, my favorite class. The teacher Mrs. Lorena- I had her my Freshman year for Algebra One- knew next to nothing about Physics. Mrs. Rosenbalm, the usual teacher, was on maternity leave. Mrs. Lorena liked and trusted me, so she usually let me decide the lessons from the book.

The lessons were always complete with plenty of time remaining to goof off. Most of the class just bull shit or did work for other classes. My table always played Rook. Other than me, the table included Seth, Greg, Amy, Jess, Misty, and Jennifer. A rook game only took four players. It was always two guys and two girls, and everyone took turns. Jess and I were in most games though.

Most of my classmates had been at school in the same district since kindergarten. I had shared a class with many as long as I can remember, and the others I had known since elementary schools converged into middle school. Jess was a bit of an oddball. She did not join until high school, when her parents moved to the area. She grew up in a private school. She was one of the popular girls with Charlsie, Misty, and Jennifer, but she was definitely different.

Jess hardly wore make up, and she styled her shoulder length blonde hair rather simply. She dressed more modestly than her friends, but it wasn't because she was shy or lacked confidence. Jess was a knockout, a simple knockout, and she knew it. But it was like she didn't want to show off her body in front of all these children.

"Are we partners today?" Jess slugged me on the shoulder and took the seat across from me at the table.

"You guys were partners yesterday, but whatever." Seth pulled the cards from his bag and shuffled.

"Undefeated, right?" I leaned back in my seat and smiled at Jess. I really liked Jess, but, just like Misty, Jennifer, and Charlsie, she was way out of my league.

"No, Joey, you are not as good as you think. Amy and I beat you guys last week." Greg sat next to Jess. "Come on, Seth, we will get them this time." Greg made me laugh, and I liked him. He could be a little annoying sometimes, though. He was a really big guy, close to three hundred pounds probably. Sometimes, when he'd laugh, he'd fall into coughing fits. He looked like a big balloon squeaking out air then.

"All three guys get to play? No way." Jennifer to the rescue.

"I need to talk to you, Jenn, let Amy play." Misty cut her eyes to me, then leaned to Jennifer to whisper, but I still heard her. "It is about, you know who and you know what?"

Jennifer looked up to Misty then looked at me then back to Misty. "Come on." She grabbed Misty's arm and the two scurried off to the other side of the room.

"Amy?" Greg asked hopefully. "You playing?"

"Sure." Amy took her spot across from Seth.

Amy was fun and quiet in a mature way much like Jess. I never really understood why Amy was taking Physics. She was not an honor student like the other popular girls. That was probably why I never really considered Amy as part of that crew. Amy spent most of the day on the vocational side of the building as the ruling queen of the agriculture and auto body band.

"You got no chance, Amy. Joey and I have a psychic connection." Jess slapped Seth's hand. "Stop shuffling and deal already."

"Whatever, Jess, you are going down today," Amy countered with a laugh.

Greg lost himself in a fit of laughter and coughing. The girls looked around perplexed. Before class, he, Seth, and I had debated which girl was the cutest in the class. We ended up ranking which one had the best ass, best tits, best skin, etc. Jess won best lips with a unanimous vote. We all agreed Jess's lips blew away the competition, The pun of it brought coughs from Greg. When Amy said Jess was going down, the memory must have returned.

"Nothing," Greg said between laughs to answer the confused stares. When his laughter subsided, he pulled a notebook from his bag and doodled, hiding whatever he drew from onlookers. The occasional giggle still bubbled up from the fat kid, but he kept the coughs at bay.

"No way!" Everyone, even the students at the other tables, turned to the sound of Jennifer's voice. She stood, wide-eyed, in the corner with Misty. Misty turned her so their backs were to the class. The class dismissed the outburst and returned to their previous activities.

I might have stared at my two friends in the corner longer than everyone else. Jennifer stood about six inches taller than Misty, but Misty was the more assertive of the two and her arm was draped over Jennifer's shoulders, pulling her down to a huddle. The two asses side by side nearly burned my retina. They both shifted their weight from one leg to the other as they whispered.

Misty's body reminded me of Jessica Rabbit, but shorter. Her breasts were almost as big as Charlsie's, and her perfect bust reflected over her tiny waist to her round ass- a perfect pin up.

Jennifer's long and lean form reminded me more of an elf than a pinup. I was not really friends with Jennifer back in the eighth grade when I read Lord of the Rings, but, even then, my thoughts got all mushy around her. I remember imaging Jennifer whenever I read about Arwen. Jennifer's graceful beauty was countered by the fact that in reality she was a major clutz. So endearing it made my tummy warm. It was like how she was super smart, but so strangely ignorant, too. One time last year she told me that if you pump your gas pedal it saves mileage. I never checked it, but-

"You've been staring at their asses long enough." Jess snapped her fingers. "Earth to Joey."

Amy said, 'Four, spades."

"Bids to you, Joey," Seth said, looking at his cards.

"Five, hearts," I said after a quick glance at my cards. The hand sucked; I would be lucky to win one trick.

Seth looked at Amy. "Six-" he paused, staring hard at Amy, "spades- no, clubs."

"Seven, clubs," Jess said quickly. She smiled and winked at me. If I was reading things right, this would be a fun hand.

Amy stared at her cards for a moment. "Pa-"

"No," Seth interrupted. I sighed in relief. If Amy passed, that would ruin the whole plan.

"I got nothing," Amy said.

"Just bid something to let me know what you do have," Seth whispered. Cross talk was not allowed, but it was common with Seth and Amy.

"Which is nothing," Amy exasperated. We all, except for Jess, had southern accents, but Amy's was most pronounced. The word 'nothing' had one mashed and clumsy syllable when she said it. "Eight, clubs."

"Pass," I said and smiled at Jess.

Seth's eyes scanned the table, trying to read the other players. "Are we doing orphans?" he asked.

"Don't we always," Jess answered. Orphans were we when you underbid. After ten orphans you lose five-hundred points.

Seth sighed. He was a habitual under-bidder. "Nine, clubs. Joey passed, so what's your final bid, Jess?"

"Low ball," she said with a grin.

"Hell, yes!" I said. "We got this." In Rook, at least in our house rules, a low ball bid meant that the team intended to not win a single trick. It is exceedingly difficult to not win a single trick. Even Jess and I are rare to try it against a team other than Seth and Amy.

A surprise giggle from Greg caught our attention. "Look." He turned his notebook to Seth. After a glance and chuckle, Seth looked up at us embarrassed.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Nothing," Seth answered.

Greg laughed. "You and Jess can't see it." He passed the notebook to me. "Look, Joey."

Jess stood up in a huff, "Fine then, pass notes." She stormed off and Amy went after her.

"That was weird," I said. "Why do all the girls keep stomping away?" I watched the two girls stop and talk a few steps away.

"Damnit, Joey, look at it." Greg laughed up a single cough.

I looked at the image on the front page of the notebook for a second or two before it made sense. The focus was the profile of a girl's face. The girl was obviously Jess from context, but unrecognizable otherwise. Greg did add a little flip to the end of her hair.

The girl's mouth was open and a large phallus entered her mouth and extended through the back of her head. Below the image was written: 'Hi, I'm Jess and I'd like to have my head blown off by a big dick like yours.' The words 'going down' had been written, but they were scratched through.

A hand flew through my periphery and snatched the notebook away. I jerked around to see Jess staring at the notebook. She looked up from the page at me. "Joey, I'd expect such immaturity from them. But you?"

Sometimes, in tense emotional situations- like that moment, a joke pops into my head. It is never really a funny joke, but it is there, and it must get out. I looked back at Jess with full sincerity and said, "Et tu, Brute?".

Jess's wide eyes grew even more. Her face twisted in anger, embarrassment, shame, and shock. "I.." She left the room.

Mrs. Lorena, and the rest of the class, looked up when the door opened. Amy waved them down. "She was feeling bad. I'm going to go check on her."

"What happened?" / "Is Jess Ok?" Jennifer and Misty asked when they ran over.

"Yeah, Joey," Amy motioned to the notebook, "picked the wrong day to pick at Jess."

Misty picked up the notebook. "Joey!"

Jenifer pulled the offensive material from Misty. "Why did you describe yourself in third person? That's weird."

"What? I looked from one girl to the other.

"'Blow my head off, Joey' why would you write it like that. That's weird. This is also gross." Jennifer shook her head.

"I didn't write it!" I felt guilty for nothing I'd done.

"He didn't, really." Amy stepped to the door. "That 'atta booty' comment was even worse though." Her accent stretched each word as far as it would go.

"What?" I never said 'atta booty'. "That was 'et tu, Brute'!" I called back, but the door closed mid sentence.

"Joey really is guiltless here." Seth reached across the table and pulled the cards to him. Today's game was a bust. "Greg just handed him the notebook. He only looked at it right before Jess grabbed it."

"Did you see her face?" Greg burst to laughter followed by coughs.

"You're really an asshole, Greg. Ever wonder why you don't get dates?' Misty's voice carried a hint of hatred that I'd never heard from her.

"I'm a rude, fat, pimply-faced, asthmatic asshole. I have never once wondered why I don't get dates." Greg spoke between coughs.

"Come here, Joey." Misty and Jennifer each grabbed an arm and pulled me to where they had been talking in private.

"You're really an idiot sometimes, you know that?" Jenifer poked me in the chest. Her pokes were intentionally light and her voice had an edge of fear. She hated being angry with me.

"Whatever I did, I'm sorry." I shrugged.

"Jess crushes on you a little, Joey." Misty sounded like she said the sky was blue.

"No, she does not." I hated it when the girls did that. They would pretend to flirt with me or say someone liked me, but it was all just to make fun of me. Jess dated the football star Barry. He was Mr. High School. He even escorted Charlsie in the homecoming, much to Jess's chagrin. It made sense though; she was Homecoming Queen, and he was Team Captain.

The rub was that Barry dated Charlsie through elementary and middle school. They broke up at the start of our Freshman year. No one thought much of it, because they broke up for a week or so a lot. That year though, Barry met Jess. They've been together ever since. They did break up for a little while after Homecoming last fall because Barry kissed Charlsie at a party.

"She's dating Barry." I shook my head. "What the hell would she want with me?"

"Apparently someone took a picture of Jess sucking Barry's dick." Misty snapped each word. "They used a Poloroid. I have not seen it, but Mitchell has. Mitchell was Misty's boyfriend. He had been out of school a couple years.

"Has Greg seen it?" I asked. Jennifer had been dating Greg Fisher longer than Misty had been with Mitchell. Greg and Mitchell graduated together, but I don't think they really hung out. I always thought that was odd since Misty and Jennifer were so close.

"What, no, of course not. He wouldn't look." Jennifer held up her hands and stepped back, almost knocking over a trash can.

"Anyway, I told Jess this morning. She probably thinks you guys have seen the picture since you drew that," Misty said with a huff.

I imagined the picture Greg drew being real, and Barry's dick big enough to bash through the back of Jess's head. "Jeez! How big is Barry's dick?"

Jennifer said, "I don't know", when Misty said, "Pretty big."

Misty continued. "There was a party Friday night. We were all drinking a lot. Someone caught Jess blowing Barry in a back room. She kept going. I don't think she knew."

"You saw someone take the picture?" Jennifer asked Michelle. She turned to me in defense, "I wasn't there."

"No, I didn't see anyone take the picture." She sounded angry that Jennifer would ask. "I was there and know what went down, but..." She ended the sentence unfinished.

"What?" Jennifer and I said together.

Misty quieted her wipers even more. "I was with Mitchell in another room."

"You blew Mitchell at a party?" Jennifer was incredulous.

Misty sighed and shook her head no.

"You had... At a party?" Jennifer's incredulity grew.

"Stop being such a prude, Jennifer. It wasn't the first time. Listen to you anyway. What about Conrad?" Misty turned to face Jennifer head on.

The rumor two months ago was that Jennifer blew Conrad Conners, another member of the Mitchell and Craig class, in the back of a truck while others sat in the cab. Jennifer was the most loyal person I had ever met; she would not even approach a thought about cheating on Greg. She and I never talked about the Conrad story. I assumed it was all lies.

The girls glared silently. I tried to remember if I had seen them really mad at each other. Once Jennifer hid Misty's purse for most of Biology. Misty was upset, but she got over it. This was different, and I needed to break the ice. "What were you guys whispering about before the whole Jes- Greg picture thing?"

Their faces softened when they faced me. Then Jennifer's sternness returned. "It doesn't even matter, now." She turned back to Misty. "That is never happening. Never! I'm going to check on Jess." She stomped past the table and out the door.

"She's just checking on Jess," Misty said when Mrs. Lorena looked up. She pulled my arm and we returned to the table. Jess returned a few minutes later with Amy and Jennifer in tow.

"I'm sorry," I said to Jess.

"I know," Jess said and sat. "We have time to get one game of rook in." She was right, but I let her partner with Misty and play Greg and Seth. I did not want to chat with Greg; I was a little angry with him, so I went to the other table to chat with them.

"Have you and Abby had sex, yet?" Laura asked before my ass was in the seat. Laura Nigel was the class valedictorian, the only person to beat Jennifer's GPA. I would have been third, but, after a showdown with Mrs Blair last year in Trig, she docked me a letter grade. My ranking suffered, but I didn't care so much.

Laura's stared back waiting. Laura started dating Billy, the transfer from Canada a month earlier, but they broke up last week. Since then she has been a hen in heat. She looked like a typical nerdy girl, but she did have a nice body. Last year, she'd been a flat stick, but over the Fall semester she developed nice curves.

"Why is it your business?" I asked.

"Laura, I think Abby would let Joey fuck her on the cafeteria table during lunch." Maria turned to me. "You should see the way she looks at you when you aren't looking."

"No, she would not." I felt my face redden. "She is still a virgin- waiting for marriage- Catholic." I rambled.

"Guess you got your answer, Laura," Maria said.

"She already knew," Michael said.

"Well, you did have sex with Beth, right?" Laura asked. I remained silent. "She is a huge slut. I don't know her, but I heard. You probably already have whatever disease you can get so you should have sex with me, too."

"You are diseased?" I was shocked. I assumed Laura and Billy had sex, but I did not know she had aids.

"No!" She shook her head. "I am just saying you don't have to worry since you already fucked a slut."

Even the nerdy girls made fun of me. "You don't have to be mean, Laura."

She rolled her eyes. "I have not been fucked in over a week. I don't think Mrs. Lorena would notice." She slapped the table in front of her. "Right here, right now." Laura leaned back and crossed her arms.

The table laughed and returned to other conversations. Laura and I stared at each other in silence- whoever looked away first lost. I accepted defeat and glanced back at the Rook game. It looked like Seth and Greg were winning. "Stop making fun of me, Laura. You used to be so nice," I whispered.

Laura shook her head and turned her chair facing me. She raised one leg and pinched the hemline of her white skirt. "Whatever," she whispered, "wanna see my couchie?"

"What?" I knew what she had asked.

"I won't tell anyone." She winked. "Just watch." My eyes grew as I watched the hemline climb her thigh. From our positions, I was the only one in the class who could notice her actions, but it still felt like we were both in a spotlight. "No one else can see. Just you."

"This is wrong, Laura," I whispered. "You are Abby's friend."

Laura shrugged. "Not really. She's ok." She dropped her pretext and pulled the hem to her waist. She wore white panties. Wetness made a dark line down the center of the crotch.

I swallowed. "You're wet?" I asked.

Laura looked down at herself then laughed. "God. I know. It's all the time. She gets all gooey, especially with your eyes on her."

Laura hooked a finger around the crotch of her panties and pulled them to the side. I had never really looked at Beth's pussy, but I had studied Abby's thoroughly. Laura's vagina looked completely different. I did not realize pussy's could vary so drastically. Sure, some dicks were bigger than others, but every dick still looked mostly the same.

Abby shaved completely before she let me go down on her, and a simple clean slit marked her pussy. I had to separate her lips with my hands to get to the delicious fruits. Laura's pussy looked inside out- all the innards bloated and visible like a welting, wet blossom. Curly wet black hair clung to her skin around the blossom. As I stared, I felt the blood leave my face with a chill and flow hot to my crotch. My cock grew. I had never thought of Laura sexually, but, at that moment, I was dying to rub my face all over her flower.

"Are you hard?" She stuck a finger inside. I couldn't even see a hole in that beautiful mound of hairy flesh, but the finger went somewhere. "Are you hard?" She pulled the finger out and put her panties back in place. She rubbed the finger that had been inside her under my nose, leaving behind a damp residue. I recognized the scent as pussy, but even that was different from Abby. "Are you hard?"

"Yes." My brain struggled for words.

She pressed her palm into my crotch. "Yes, you are definitely hard. So hot, too. Damn, Joey, I think your pants are going to catch fire. Have you been lying?"