Joanna Hires the DP Team Pt. 03

This story is set in 1980 in Birmingham (UK). There was no social media, no mobile phones, and no internet porn. There's been a bit of a gap since the last chapter, so there is more exposition than I would otherwise have included, some of which is lifted from earlier stories. There will be at least two follow-up chapters, which should arrive in weeks rather than months. One will deal with the aftermath of the party, and the other with the events of the party from two different POVs. This chapter was long enough as it was without them.

Everyone described as being involved in sexual activity at the party is over 18. While there are some group scenes here, it's more of a mixed bag than the previous chapters. Some scenes involve reluctance rather than non-consent.

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It was the day of the joint birthday party, and Bess was apprehensive. Her friend Joanna, whom she had met at French Club before term started, had introduced Bess to Joanna's brother, George, who also went to St Thomas's Grammar School (known as St Tom's to the inmates). On hearing it was her birthday this month, he had added her to the joint hosts for the first major party of the new school year.

Bess had joined St Thomas's in the upper sixth, and she hoped that being a joint host would help her become accepted by the other sixth formers. She had previously been at an all-girls school in a different part of Britain, which had not been that academic. She had been lucky in that the teachers in her favourite subjects had encouraged her to learn, and she had a natural ability for French and loved reading. She had also been a day pupil in a school which mostly consisted of boarders.

Disaster struck when she came down with meningitis in the run-up to O levels and missed a year of school. When she returned, she did not know the girls with whom she was now taking the exams, while her best friends in her own year had left after O levels. The last two years at school had been rather lonely, and she had spent a lot of time in the library.

She hoped that St Tom's would be better for her, but the boys at St Tom's had known each other for six years, and the other girls had been at the school for a year. Although she was a year older than her new classmates, she felt younger and inexperienced. She was worried that she did not fit in and that she did not understand her new classmates.

Her new classmates had grown up in a big city. Even those who had been at single-sex schools until last year had met members of the opposite sex socially. Joanna had said that most of the women worth knowing had learnt at the age of sixteen how to pass themselves off as being at least eighteen so they could go to clubs and be bought drinks in pubs without being challenged. Bess had never been to a nightclub at all or even a pub with her mates.

Her parents and siblings were visiting her uncle, mother's older brother. Fortunately, her parents had agreed that going to the party was important for her to settle in at the new school and make friends. They had set off this morning after Mother had finished packing the food and drinks, which would be Bess's contribution to the party. Mother had muttered something to her about enjoying herself, being careful, and not getting hitched too early. Mother was clearly confused,

She had the house to herself until Sunday night--well, to herself and anyone she invited home after the party.

Bess would be getting off with someone tonight. It did not particularly matter who so long as they were good at snogging and all that led on from it. She had lost her virginity during the summer to an older man while on holiday in France and was eager for more experience. Before that night, she'd never even had a boyfriend with whom she had held hands.

Bess wanted her next forays into sex to be with a man nearer her own age but who also knew what he was doing. She was also on the pill, so pregnancy was not a worry.

The question was who (or was it whom). Even after Joanna had invited the four women from her crammer, there would be three men for every woman attending the party. She reckoned that there was a danger that they would get in each other's way, and besides, the best of them would be after Claire.

She knew George best and was attracted to him, but George would be applying to Oxford this term and studying would take up most of his free time. Certainly, the Oxbridge applicants had six extra lessons a week. She also had the impression that he wasn't experienced with women, and she didn't yet know enough to give him subtle cues.

The doorbell rang. Joanna's boyfriend, David, was on time. It had been agreed that he would collect the supplies of booze, soft drinks and party food from each of the joint hosts in the late morning and take them to the Latimer residence for a final making of plans for the party.

She was curious about the man and his friends and wanted to talk to him alone. Joanna had described him as a considerate man, both in and out of bed, and Bess hoped he might help her.

She opened the door and looked at David. He was about six feet tall, good-looking and had a lovely smile. He looked kind and said, "Bess, I presume. I'm David."

Bess imagined him in bed with Joanna and decided to try to shock him.

"Joanna's told me all about you. She says that you're the best lover she's ever had."

The man simply laughed and said, "I won't tell Joanna you told me that. She would be cross with you for risking inflating my ego. The most she says to me is that I'm the least worst. If you'd ever met Lionel, you'd know that wasn't a high hurdle, and he was apparently better than the.."

He paused, "I'm not certain whether Joanna would prefer people to think that she has had many lovers or only a select few. Let's just say that none of her boyfriends' chose to end the relationship themselves."

"Well, let's pretend that I said nothing beyond saying that she appreciates you."

"Agreed. Seriously, it helped that I knew what I was doing and had learnt enough to know that caring about the other person's enjoyment is, how should I put it, enlightened self-interest."

Bess nodded. Her older lover had known what he was doing with her. Half to herself, she murmured, "That's right."

The man looked at his watch. "Joanna said that you might be a little anxious about this evening. Why don't you make us some coffee while I load up the car and we can have a word."

She did as he suggested and watched him load the car. It was a Honda Civic, which seemed surprisingly spacious. The man smiled at her and explained that it was good in traffic and easy to park.

She explained over a cup of coffee and some chocolate digestives that she was feeling nervous because she didn't really know anyone at school apart from George and, to a certain extent, Claire and was worried about fitting in. She also explained about going to an all-girls school and the lost year.

He looked at her and said, "If it's any help, none of the embarrassing things I did as a sixth-former matter now. Few would have mattered then if I hadn't let them be more significant than they were."

"But I don't know anyone here. I don't understand their jokes or know the places they talk about."

"Try and look at the advantages of that. Your parents don't know their parents. They don't remember you when you were younger. You can be who you want to be."

He sipped his coffee and said, "I assume you intend to go to university. Unless you plan to come back to Brum afterwards, this is twelve months of your life which is separate from all the rest. Look at it as a dry run for university. None of the people here know you, and after the exams in June, you have no need to meet 95% of them if you don't wish to. So it's really nine months of your life. Even if they go to the same university as you, they won't be doing the same subject and you can avoid each other. Perhaps you can get the excesses most people do in the three months at university out of your system now."

She smiled at him and said, "Thanks for that."

"If it helps, it's almost as bad for young men as yourselves. They have to make the first move and pretend to be more confident than they actually are. That's part of the reason they can be such prats whether you turn them down or encourage them."

She laughed at this and felt reassured. David looked at his watch and said they should make their way to Claire's.

On the way over, she asked about his first experiences. He said that he had been brought up not to talk about individual women's sexual history but that he was glad that one of his early encounters on holiday was with a woman who was more experienced than he was. She had been kind and had taught him how to notice what pleased a woman. More importantly, she had told him that what worked for one woman may not work for another. He said that he had tried to do as he had been done by when he was with women who were less experienced than him.

He'd just finished this story when they drove up outside Claire's house. It was also in Edgbaston and had a beautiful front garden. It was semi-detached and was smaller than Joanna's and George's house.

Claire was waiting for them, and with the help of Claire's mother and younger brother, the booze and food were soon loaded. David looked at the car and said, "Look, I'll drop you two off and unload the car chez Latimer and then collect Julian. It'll be a tight squeeze even if he only contributes what you two have, and George warned me that Julian's parents were very grateful that he wasn't having a party at his house."

Claire laughed, "Julian always tries to do the right thing, and his mother is famous for her New Year's parties. You're probably right."

She then looked at David, "I didn't realise that you were actually Joanna's boyfriend."

The woman then blushed as David laughed. "I knew I'd met you at some of the nightclubs and discos last year. Let's just say that after Lionel, she needed not to be treated as a possession."

Claire, if anything, blushed more. "I'm sorry for how that came out."

"No offence taken. If anything, it shows how well I was doing my job as her supportive boyfriend."

"You're more understanding than most men. I hope she deserves you."

Claire had done her best to make Bess welcome at the new school. Claire was popular among both the male and female students at St Tom's. The women liked her even though she was blonde, attractive, five feet two inches tall and had prominent breasts. She was even reputed to be friends with Rebecca, who was a ferociously intelligent and oddly dressed outsider in their year. Thinking of this, she asked, "Do you know if Rebecca is coming to the party tonight?"

Claire said, "I invited her D & D crowd to make certain she turned up."

"D & D?"

David said, "Dungeons and Dragons. It's a role-playing game."

Bess said, "Oh, is that what Joanna meant when she said she was a dungeon mistress?"

David said from the front seat, "I know my friends and I would have welcomed a female player when we played at school. Certainly, being Dungeon master or mistress is hard work."

Bess was glad of the intervention from David. Claire had tensed up at the remark.

Claire said, "Bess, Rebecca and George don't get on, but she's a good friend of mine."

Bess turned to look at the shorter woman, "I didn't mean anything by that. It's just that I've never met anyone like her before."

Claire smiled back as she replied, "Neither had the rest of us. She was a shock to the system. She sees the world differently from the rest of us. In some ways, she is more honest and clear-sighted."

David asked, "In what ways?"

Bess felt Claire hesitate and then decided to answer the question. "She wants to have a brilliant career and be financially independent. She believes that she needs to go to the best university she can. She needs to work hard and avoid too many distractions."

David said, "Sounds normal. There must be something else."

Claire obviously didn't want to go into details but said, "Sixteen girls joined the sixth form last year last year. Within weeks, every one of us started going out with a member of the upper sixth apart from her. It wasn't as though men weren't interested in her."

Bess was now interested. Rebecca intrigued her and marched to the beat of her own drum. She asked, "Was she not interested in them?"

"That wasn't the point. She said that she saw no point in going out with someone as, inevitably, the relationship would end when the boyfriend went to university. She said she couldn't pretend to herself that the arguments and the need to massage his ego were worth the hassle or the risk of distracting her from studying." She looked up, "Her words, not mine."

"But unless we take risks, how do we learn?" Bess knew that Rebecca probably was right, but also believed that in the long term we are all dead.

"She says that she couldn't be ars.. -- bothered to pretend to take such relationships seriously."

David asked, "What happened to the other relationships?"

Claire replied, "All but one ended over the summer, and for the one that hasn't, Lorraine has agreed that he can see other women." It was clear that Claire saw this as the same thing and that Claire's relationship had ended.

David said, "So long as both of you started the relationship hoping it would last or looking for the same thing, it was worth the shot."

Claire said, "It was, and we did start off that way." Bess wasn't certain that the woman was convinced herself. If she wanted to use the year to gain experience, Bess would have to think about whether she wanted a boyfriend.

Just then, they arrived at the Latimer residence, and the next few minutes were spent unloading the food and drink. George and three of David's friends helped, so it didn't take long. David then drove off to get Julian.

George and two of David's friends then disappeared to start preparing for the party. The other friend, Dom, who looked like a rugby player and was well over six foot, made her and Claire coffee and said, "Joanna's invited us along to help the party go well and ensure that there are no major problems tonight. I've spoken to George, who has told me about his view of the male guests and potential problems. We spoke to Joanna yesterday, but she's working today."

Claire looked at him, "And you want our input on the women?"

"Actually, both sexes. My experience is that women are best at picking up underlying tensions."

He paused, "Don't worry. Our main purpose is to ensure that everyone has a good time and we nip problems in the bud. You know how shy most people are about dancing. We help break the ice. We also know how to open party cans safely."

Claire laughed at that, "I could do without having to bandage a drunk rugby player's hand tonight. Too much of that last year."

"George said you would understand." He produced a school photograph from last summer showing her year at St Tom's. "Claire, it would help if you could let us know who needs encouragement, who is vulnerable, and who we should try to keep apart. Also, who is jealous, who is an angry drunk and who is prone to what my Australian friends would call technicolour yawning after a few pints."

Over the next fifteen minutes, Bess listened to Claire deal with Dom's questions. Dom listened attentively and looked at the photograph as if to fix the faces in his memory.

Finally, he said, "Fine. Much of that agrees with what George said, and what doesn't isn't surprising. That all sounds par for the course at a sixth-form party, and I think we can promise you that the party will go well and any problems will be dealt with quickly. You avoided talking about Rebecca, though."

"She didn't come to parties last year -- at least not after Christmas."

Dom looked at her. "Look, Joanna told us about the prize giving and this girl Rebecca. To put it mildly, both she and George admit that they don't like her and think the worst of her. George says he will be polite but avoid her unless she seeks him out to be rude to him."

Bess looked at Claire who said, "I don't feel easy talking too much about her to friends of Joanna."

"We are primarily friends of David. Joanna knows and understands that. He and she are good for each other, but we have no illusions about her. Don't worry, Bess, she knows that as well."

Claire said, "What do you want to know?"

Dom pointed to the form photograph and took out a newspaper photograph of the prize giving, which showed Rebecca and the other prize winners from her year. "Why does a woman as attractive as in the photograph from the prizegiving dress like that at school? And why has she changed now?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because she's a wild card. We have a lot of experience with difficult people at parties and how to keep them from making trouble. From what we know so far, we can't place her." He paused, "Look, there is a reason I wanted to talk to you two away from George and Julian. It sounds as though the real problem George has with her is that she does not hide her intelligence."

Claire looked at the man and said, "That's part of it. If she had kept quiet in class but produced first-class essays, it wouldn't have been such a problem."

Bess said, "But she would still have done best in the exams."

Dom said, "Easier to say it was a fluke or even not own up to it."

Bess mused, "It's not that she insists that she is as good as the men; it's that she behaves as though she's better."

Claire nodded and said, "She's toned it down this year but still argues her corner with George and Mark, and she plays to win. Mark enjoys it, George doesn't." She paused, "If you want to know whether she will cause problems, I doubt she will start them, but she won't back down."

"Is anyone likely to start something with her?"

"Depends on how drunk people get. Look, I know Joanna is your friend's girlfriend, but she is the most likely person to cause a problem." Claire looked like she wanted to say more but restrained herself.

"Is it simply because she's clever that she's called a whore?" Dom held his hands up. "Look, I knew boys at my school who hated women being cleverer than they were and said that they slept with the teacher to get good marks. Total bullshit, but they talked themselves into believing it."

Claire replied, "That's not entirely true. She thinks differently from the rest of us. She was happy to go to films or plays with last year's upper sixth and then go for a drink and a bite to eat. She told them she had enjoyed the evening and would be happy to go out with them again in a month, provided that she wanted to see the film. She just didn't want to have a boyfriend."

"That sounds reasonable to me. I would have been happy to have had such a conversation at the end of the evening when I was still at school. There must have been more than that. Did she not allow them a kiss and cuddle?"

Bess said, "That isn't her reputation, according to Joanna."

"She took the view that if a man buys the tickets and drinks, then he is entitled to a little reciprocal fun." Claire hesitated.

David said, "You must know that George and Joanna have told me and Bess here their version of the truth."

Claire said, "OK, we all know that's the way things work if you want to be invited out again. It's one of the reasons I prefer having a proper boyfriend. It's just that she spelt it out and let them know the score. Some hanky panky during the adverts and the trailers and in the car or pub afterwards, but no kissing while the film was on. Also, no repeat trip for a month."

"And she didn't understand why they didn't react well to this?"

"Not at first. Look, it shouldn't be a problem now. The boys she went out with have all left now, and most of our year are a bit ashamed of what they said about her."