Harem Mode - ON Ch. 04

===THIRD PERIOD===

"With 52 possible options for the first card, multiplied by 51 for the next card, and so on, and so on, we get a total number of 52 factorial (52!) possible combinations for just a single deck of cards. That comes out to..."

Mr. Gustav started copying down digits from a slip of paper onto the chalkboard. The figure was so large he had to shrink the size of the digits as he ran out of space.

80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000

Once finished, he stood back proudly and started reciting the figure.

"EIGHTY unvigintillion, SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT vigintillion, ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE novemdecillion, ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY octodecillio..."

Oh my god shut the fuck up, Chet and several other students thought at the same time.

A few made a display of yawning loudly as the teacher barreled through, oblivious to how he was bringing the class to a screeching halt. Several heads flopped on desks while others buried their faces into folded arms.

"...Eight hundred and twenty-four trillion! THAT's how many possible combinations you can get with a deck of cards that folds neatly in the palm of your hand."

What a waste of five minutes, Chet marveled at his stupid teacher in exasperation.

Mr. Gustav frowned. He hadn't received the reaction he had hoped for, but remarkably, years of teaching at a public school hadn't worn down his enthusiasm.

He did not know it yet, but one day he would win a cheap plastic teaching award trophy. He would also die shortly afterwards, struck on the freeway while trying to fix his broken-down Sunoco.

But for now, he persevered, working diligently to make his students care about the wonders of math.

"To put that into perspective, that's more combinations than there are stars in the universe. You only have to shuffle a deck about, say, seven times, before you have a unique combination that has never existed before in the history of the world, and might possibly never exist again. At least by chance."

"By comparison, to use a recent example, there's only about 175 million possible combinations for the Powerball lottery. And to win the jackpot for that game is already so unlikely that bright minds have referred to lotteries in general by the moniker, 'the stupidity tax.'"

Chet's eyes blinked open in sudden panic. He quickly settled down again.

The winning numbers were just announced last night, so I guess it'd make sense for it to be brought up. Still...

He fingered the piece of paper in his pocket again.

I'm sorry, Dad.

xXxXxX xXxXxX xXxXxX xXxXxX XxXxXx XxXxXx XxXxXx XxXxXx

The American flag hung against the cloudy, windless sky, its vivid blues and reds clumped together and closed up by the many folds of the limp cloth. Though not at full glory, the flag still possessed a stately beauty, like a flower before dawn. On its flanks were the equally slumbering state and city flags, resting fifty yards high atop thick, silvery poles.

Likewise, the sun was unable to display its full radiance, wrapped up as it were by brumous clouds like swaddling clothes. The grey horizon cast a quiet serenity on the school grounds below.

Students slowly filed out of their classrooms into the cafeteria. Soon the quad, the fields, and the hallways were filled with teenagers quietly relaxing and socializing.

"Josh, I've been thinking recently."

"What were you thinking about babe?"Oh boy, here we go again.

"When we're in college, do you think you'll have time to visit me?"

"Oh that? Of course, Kay. Why wouldn't I be able to visit?"

"You know, since we'll be 300 miles apart. You'll be busy with wrestling. And school. And probably a lot of partying. It's gonna be tough, won't it?"

Josh looked down at the girl hanging onto his thick arm. She blinked back up at him. This was not the first time they've had this discussion.

"Not at all. Lots of couples stick together, even if they're long-distance. And I'm not going to party that much. We all know my grades aren't the best, so I'm gonna prioritize that."

Josh looked at Kayla's face for signs of reassurance, but he had his doubts too. The thought of his girlfriend being on the other side of the state wasn't an exciting one. Neither was the idea of starting freshman year a virgin, even if he had his religion as an excuse. He saw how hot the girls were at Mercy State when he visited the campus last year. He knew she knew it was a party school, and there would be plenty of distractions.

He was honestly being a hero for holding out this long in high school. Now he has to be nagged about college before he even had a chance to step foot in it?

"You know, you have a car too. Aren't you going to visit ME?"

"Of course I will, Joshie! That's not what this is about!"

"Then what is it about, Kayla? I can't be expected to know the future. I don't know what my schedule's going to be like. We'll figure it out when we get there!"

"You know how much I love you. I just want to know how important being there next to you is for our relationship. Four years is a long time, without..."

"Without what?"

Kayla flinched. "Uhh, seeing each other."

"That's not what you were gonna say."

"No, Josh..."

"Just say it. It's the elephant in the room, isn't it? Four years is a long time without SEX."

"Josh, keep your voice down!"

"Why? Everyone at school seems to know already! And they laugh about it. Haw haw the jock who can't get laid! Jesus boy!"

Despite his outrage, Josh actually lowered his voice and led the two of them away from the other students. It was apparent by the way he held her arm that they were having a lovers' quarrel, but about what, no one knew. It was only his paranoia that led him to believe the whole school knew or even cared about their little issue.

They walked briskly to the parking lot, and slammed the rusty door to Josh's blue I-Roc after they hopped inside. Having arguments inside a car was something Josh learned from his parents before they divorced.

"You know nobody holds it against you. It's a choice! They respect that! And those that don't, who cares what they think? They can go to hell!"

"Is it a choice, really? Whose is it?"

Kayla pouted, before admitting what they knew all along.

"It's more my choice than yours, I get it. And I really appreciate you for respecting that, and for waiting for this long."

Josh in turn, agreed with and appreciated her sentiment, but it didn't feel right to have the conversation end there. He knew he had her on the ropes, and there honestly wouldn't be a lot of opportunities to explore this uncomfortable point of contention between them.

"Uh, ding ding ding! You just won the Obvious Prize!"

His decision to use a sarcastic voice didn't win him any favors, and Kayla started peeling back and regretting giving him that inch.

"Oh, well, it's nice to know you can take the high road!"

"Since that's literally what church has been calling it, yes, I have been taking the high road. For four. Freaking. Years! All of high school. And now, for four more. Apparently!"

"I never said we were never going to have sex in college!"

o_o

"So we are gonna have sex?"

"I. I dunno. Maybe! I haven't thought about it."

"Then we're back to square one again. WHY haven't you thought about it?"

...

Josh was too pent up to sit back silently for Kayla to give him her answer. And for her part, she was too uncomfortable with the question and would have latched on any opportunity not to address it.

"You know it's going to be way harder in college when all of my friends are going to be doing it. It's not like high school where everyone's a nerd. This is going to be going on everywhere. It's gonna be hard to. To..."

"Stay faithful?!" Kayla yelled indignantly.

"Is that what you're taking from what I said? God, you're always twisting my words and making me out to sound like the biggest asshole!"

"What am I supposed to take from your words, Josh? It sounds like you're gonna have a hard time keeping it in your pants atMercy State."

"Is that a dig at me? I'm sorry I'm not smart enough to go to Whitman, okay?!"

Josh's wide shoulders heaved with a great sigh, and he looked down at his steering wheel with tired eyes. A delicate hand placed itself on his pec. His varsity jacket seemed so appropriate right now.

"No, Josh. Sweetheart, no. I didn't mean it like that. You're not a dummy."

The silence that followed was suspicious.

"But?"

"...But I still don't know why you chose to go to Mercy."

"Oh, no NO. NO! Not this again. I swear to God if you bring up-"

"You were accepted into Tyrell. The wrestling program isjust as good, it's got better academics, it's closer to-"

"Maybe I don't want to live closer to my family! Maybe I want to get the hell away!"

"And into a party school, right! How convenient. Oh, and I was going to say me, by the way. Closer to me! You know, your girlfriend ofFour. Freaking. Years!"

"You know, your sarcasm is really unnecessary right now. I'm trying to be serious and have a 'we' talk, but it seems like I'm being interrogated over here. Seriously, how did this come back to me again?"

"You're not on trial, I just want to know WHY you picked Mercy, when it's-"

"Why are we still talking about that? That decision was made months ago, I can't take it back. The real question is, and I can't believe you've been dodging this for so long, is are we ever going to have sex? And if not, why not? I've got bluer balls than this paint!" Josh spat as he tapped the side of his car.

...

...

"You're dodging agai-"

"I'm not dodging! It's complicated, I want to pick my words right."

"You're not religious. You don't think God is somehow going to watch us have sex and then send us to burn in Hell."

"No, that was never the reason. I just think our first time should be special-"

Josh slammed back against his seat and threw his hands up.

"Special! Was your 18th birthday not special enough?"

"You bought me a card and took me to a dinner and a movie. Hamburgers! We've had first dates more romantic than that, and you know it."

"I was busy! It was the best that I could do on such short notice."

"You hadmonths to remember."

"Okay,princess. What would have counted as a special night, one special enough where you would have been willing to give up your virginity and not feel bad about it?"

"First, I would like it to be during a week where we don't have class, and it'd just be the two of us, and we'd drive somewhere else, and- HEY! Nice try, buster, but I'm not falling for it that easily! I'm not going to TELL you how to seduce me!"

Josh's voice finally cracked, and he started gripping his hair in frustration. "Why WON'T you just tell me? If you tell me, I'll fucking do it! It's that simple! Why do you insist on making this harder for no reason? Isn't communication what you dumb..."

"cunts"

gasp

"...want from a relationship in the first place?!"

...

"Uh oh. Oh shit, Kayla, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!"

Josh looked down at his trembling girlfriend beside him. He scooped up some of the hair that was covering her face, revealing a pair of very irate blue eyes. He almost breathed a sigh of relief, as he was more afraid that she'd be crying.

Her eyes flashed again before she closed them. She stopped shaking. Her face then twisted up in a very unnatural and icy smile.

"Joshua. Honey. Baby. Sweetheart."

Josh gulped. It was not a reaction he expected.

"It's okay, I'm Australian. I've heard that word before a lot, so I'm pretty desensitized to it. Even though I've never heard it from you. Or used in that way, against me."

She put a hand on his knee, turning her head away so that their eyes wouldn't meet.

"Looks like we've learned something new about this relationship, huh?"

"What do you mean, Syd?"

"Please don't call me Sydney right now."

Josh screamed internally in panic at her quick refusal of his intimacy.

"Kayla, I'm sorry. I just caught up in the heat of things. C'mon, our relationship was so strong before."

"Our relationship IS strong. Now, Joshua. But we're just teenagers, and it's hard to deal with everything going on right now. I think..."

"Oh no. Kay, I-"

"You've had a lot to say, and I think it's best if you listened to me right now."

Josh sighed in response, but sat very still.

"I think it'd be best if we didn't think about each for a while, while we figure things out. I've got swim team stuff, you've got wrestling. We both have school, and we both have to get ready for college. I'm sure we can fix what's wrong between us if we just have some time and space apart. From each other."

...

"You can talk now, Josh."

"I, uh. I don't...uh, think I agree. A hundred percent, at least. Um. Yeah. BUT, if you feel like you need space, I don't think I'm doing either of us any good by uh... Not giving you that space. Shit. This is a lot to process."

"It's called a break. It's fine. It's perfectly normal. We're just putting our relationship on pause for now."

"Okay. See you... soon?"

"Yeah. Of course, babe."

Kayla softly closed the door shut and walked back towards the school. It was only after she had left that either of them had noticed it was raining. The soft pattering on his windshield started to pick up into a steady sweeping noise.

"Damn, it's only been fifteen minutes?" Josh mirthlessly chuckled at his car clock. Lunch was only halfway finished. He looked back up to see the shrinking figure of his (ex?)girlfriend as she ran towards the building, which was only natural given the weather.

But if he had looked closer, he would have noticed that while she was running for shelter from the rain, she was carefully avoiding other people.

Kayla darted towards the girls' locker room, and locked herself in a bathroom stall. She threw her backpack on the floor and curled into a ball.

"Damnit, Josh..."

===SIXTH PERIOD===

"Okay class, we were going to have today be track and field tests, but apparently since no one was smart enough to know it was going to RAIN today, we're postponing tests and just having indoor team sports today. Boys, basketball on this half of the gym, girls, volleyball on the other half."

"Why can't GIRLS play basketball, coach? Some of the GIRLS might want to play basketball too, coach!"

"Do YOU want to play basketball, Mindy?"

...

"If any girls want to play basketball, feel free to go over to that side of the gym. But boys are NOT allowed to go to the girls' side to join volleyball. You are all a bunch of sick creeps and I'm glad my daughter doesn't go to this school. Commence!"

A chorus of squeaking shoes and dribbling balls filled the gymnasium with high-pitched music.

"Pass the ball, Archimedes! I'm wide open!"

"Stop hogging the ball, Archimedes, you bitch!"

"Man, why does Coach have to talk down to us like that? I look up to him like a father."

And on the girls' side:

"Do my boobs make my boobs look big? Please say yes."

"Have you guys all heard about dabbing? What year do we even live in, lol?"

"Stephanie told me she heard a girl crying in our locker room during lunch. I wonder who it was."

A certain sandy blonde PE teaching assistant's ears burned red for a second, while a certain, formerly nondescript boy found himself really engaged in his basketball game, grateful to have a distraction from his gloomy thoughts.

"Over here, Cloud! Pass me the ball! I'm open, I'm open!"

Pass. Catch. Heel turn. A flurry of sneakers squeaked across the linoleum. Chet tossed the basketball onto the hoop. It rolled around once before leaping back off towards the huddle of boys beneath it.

Damn it! If only I could transform into a teenaged werewolf or something.

Chet paused for a second.

Oh wait, I have my own superpowers!

Chet immediately started running faster than everyone else, catching up to the boy from the other team with the ball.

"Nice try, Chester, but we both know you're not getting this ball. Take your big dick and go home and wash it, or something."

SWOOP!

"Thanks, but no thanks. I would rather wash my ball... on your face!"

"That was so lame, man..."

BELOW AVERAGE ONE-LINER DETECTED: SPEND 50 EXP TO ACTIVATE QUICK WIT Y/N

Not right now, game...

Chet bounced the ball from his right pec into his left hand, which he then hurled behind his head in a sick shot off of the backboard.

SWISH!

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis!"

"Damn, Chet! Swish that ball!"

Several three-point shots and lackluster quips later, the activity in Chet's basketball court had begun to draw a small crowd. Several girls stopped playing volleyball to go over and watch the boys play. Coach had serious financial problems befitting a high school gym teacher to preoccupy him and thus couldn't care less.

Kayla watched from the sidelines, through still-red eyes, the marvelous teenaged boy who seemed to be moving across the court like a greased snake.

SWISH!

"Diddly dunk!"

"Damn, Chet! Shut the fuck up!"

A giggle couldn't help but escape from Kayla's chest. Chet had a remarkable knack for being so mysterious, and yet so free from embarrassment that it seemed impossible for him to possess guile at the same time. What was going on in his mind, no one could tell.

It became clear in a short while that he was carrying the team. Much like the other days this week, Chet displayed an astonishing level of athleticism and cockiness. However, today, he was so focused on the game that he didn't even return the glances and stares she was giving him.

This, combined with wanting to distance her thoughts from the unpleasantness that transpired at lunch, meant that Kayla found herself unwittingly ruminating on Chet once again.

The end-of-class whistle shrilled through the air. Several girls groaned in disappointment, while the boys on the opposite team sighed in relief.

"I don't know how you did it, but you smoked us, Chet."

"Yeah man, somehow your terrible one-liners made it even more embarrassing too, you sonuvabitch. Good game."

"Thanks, guys."Holy shit why am I so exhausted? Coming out of auto-pilot never burned up my lungs this much before! Note to self, never use this for more than ten minutes.

"Hey, Chet!" Kayla stood in front of the panting boy, having made sure most of the class had already left the gymnasium. She had an odd streak of luck talking to Chet alone this week.

"Hey it's that hot TA girl," remarked a classmate from afar. "You think the two of them have something going on?"

"Man, are you retarded or something? She'd never go out with that chump. She has a strict no-chumps policy, and that guy, my friend, is a chump."

Though he was focused on recovering his fatigue, Chet still heard the disparaging remarks of his classmates.

He tried to ignore them.

"Hey,pant, what'spant going on?" He said in response to the pair of toned legs in front of him.

"Nice playing out there. You should really consider joining the team."

"Thanks for the compliment, uhh..." Chet looked up. "Kayla!" All of a sudden, memories of yesterday started swarming his mental vision again.

"You're not mad that I saw your coochie, are you?"

Kayla's face burned bright red and she fled the gymnasium again.Why did you have to bring that up, stupid?!

Chet's eyes followed the shrinking figure as he found himself alone in the gym again. "Fuck!"

===SEVENTH PERIOD===

Speaking of familiar faces...

"Since you all started the birdcage project yesterday, you won't be needing an introduction for today's workshop," Mr. Algernon hurried along. His nose had been a little stuffy ever since the operation. Plus, he hated most of the students in his class, especially that pretentious twat Nemur.