My RA Ch. 01

The Dean, Mei, Jacob and Noel were pleased and Joy was sure Mistress would be if she was here. She was conflicted, for a sub to take a leadership role was disconcerting, however, the main goal of a sub was to please their Mistresses, and she seemed she was doing that.

She had a long talk with the Dean, "Joy, not only have you come here for an education but also to interact with the students. I want you to think about the best way to interact with them and follow your heart. You are to be open-minded. If you decide to be a behind the scenes, out of the limelight sub, so be it. I will not sway you, I will support your decision fully."

Joy asked the Dean if she knew where Mistress was, she had to talk to her. The Dean gave Joy the contact information.

Joy was in tears as she talked to Mistress. They talked for hours on end, finally Joy invited Mistress to the Lodge.

Dawn arrived early so she could talk to Alkaia, she found out that the course was on schedule and she would be a teacher by August. The course description would be ever evolving. Dawn found out that the first semester would be both Masters and subs. In addition, to the core classes there will be two difficult sub classes. This was to separate the pretenders from the serious.

Joy was elated when Mistress arrived. She knew Mistress loved Chinese so she took cooking books from the library so she could make Mistress the best meal she ever had. Indeed it was, even though Joy had to learn how to do many cooking methods, it was well worth it. It was a five course meal.

Mei and Anne did their part by getting the decorations for the theme.

Joy had to find out how to reconcile leader and sub roles.

"Mistress, I do not want anything to do with the limelight. I was fine just doing my studies. Am I now a different person?"

"Joy what do you want? I will respect any decision you make. Do you feel anxious when you have a leadership role? Do you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel excited about leading people?"

"Mistress, I like to do things for people, not up front being flashy. I will quit a job if I have to be flashy."

"I will miss you as a leader Joy. I respect your decision, in many ways I envy it. I know it was a hard decision for you, you asked multiple people to help you out."

It was a blow to lose Joy as a leader, but everyone understood her reasoning for her decision. No one wanted her to go back to her fragile days of the flood. Dawn sent out an email to notify everyone of Joy's decision. She asked all to respect her decision and not to pressure her to change it.

Dawn now had the problem for the class. Joy was originally was to be a part of the class to serve as a role model for the subs. Dawn said, "Joy is in a position she is comfortable with. I do not think that I can be a good Mistress if I just force my sub to do what I want her to do. We will have to alter the class or not do it at all. Alkaia you promised to fully support Joy."

A few days later, Joy heard her decision caused problems with the class. She called Mistress in tears, and Dawn said she would be there in thirty minutes.

Mei and Anne went out for the night.

Dawn was firm with Joy from the start. "Joy it is simple, would you cause someone you care for distress just because they are disagreeing with you?"

"I am disappointed with you Joy. I care for you, and I would never put you in a position that you are uncomfortable being in. I would not want to be in a job I would not like. I hope you think our friendship is stronger than any class we could ever make."

Dawn could see Joy was anxious, poor Teddy was getting the stuffing squeezed out of him. "Joy I have already told Alkaia that I will not take any position that would create distress for you."

"What kind of example and team could we be if there was any kind of friction between us? Do you think you can be the best sub for me if there was friction? People will know you are my sub and if they see a happy and excited sub that would please me. If they see a downtrodden, unhappy sub that is moody and depressed, that would be unacceptable. That kind of Mistress would not care for her subs feelings and should not be a Mistress."

Dawn reached under the bed and grabbed the box with the plaques in them. "I think it is time you hung these proudly on your wall. You can be a good sub and be proud of your accomplishments at the same time. You have done what no other has done."

"You are the glue for everyone around here. Personally, I need a caring friend. You look out for the overlooked. When the children had nothing you were there. When the parents had nothing, you first gave them clean clothes. You were the moving force to get the town back on its feet, and you did it from a hospital bed."

"Mistress, can you tell me about that night? "

"On the day of the flood you were hardly a face in the crowd. You only came to my notice because you were arguing with Mei."

"Joy, it was an inhuman night. Jerry was full of compassion, he knew his skulls could go where the other rescuers could not. He had friends to help him out. Once that commitment was made, you were Northfield, we closed ranks. We didn't even want the doctors to treat you until you went into surgery."

"Do you think the crew teams could endure those conditions in normal circumstances? Flood waters, hours on end battling 75 mph headwinds?"

"You had two schools unite before they ever saw your face."

"The Fire Chief, Police Chief and doctors all ceded until you went into the OR. They kept logistical control, but we kept you safe. You were in a trance like state of shock."

"You Joy, are special. I am honored to be your friend. I hope, I can be one after you leave school. Everyone knows you are special. Some may have never met someone like you before."

"Well Mistress, you did make a commitment to me, so you are stuck with me."

"Joy, being stuck with you will be in the top five best decisions I will ever make in my life. Now let's go out to eat, bring Teddy. If they are so uncaring to not let you bring Teddy then I don't want to eat there anyway, ever."

It was a lot for Joy to take in and process. Over the next few days, she thought about what Dawn said to her and if the points were valid. She just wanted to learn to be a good sub, go to classes and follow her rules. She wanted that from "day one."

This being the glue for the whole area was hard to deal with. Many of Dawn's points were valid, she did not know about the hospital as she was in shock. She did know Dawn was sleeping beside her and Mei was with her when she woke up. She remembered crying when Mei gave her 'Bear', she heard all about 'Bear'.

'Bear' had to be one of her most precious belongings, having him since she was three.

Joy told Mei "I have talked to both 'Teddy' and 'Bear', and we have decided that 'Bear' is rightfully your bear. " "I have swapped 'Bear' for 'Teddy.'" It seemed silly about adults having bears but 'Teddy'? Was a comfort to her?

"Could she be a leader without being a leader?" Joy decided to just be herself, but pay extra special attention to how others interact with her.

Joy needed a distraction. She walked into town only to be swarmed by little children. Every parent knew about Joy's decision, but Joy was loved by all. The older adults moved their chairs behind the children. Joy brought several children's books with her, she made funny faces and noises and flapped her arms like a chicken. The children were in rapt attention, as were the adults. She made it a special time and it took some of her worries away just being silly.

Mei was getting excited as summer break was fast approaching, Joy had agreed with her to take time off for the breaks and go somewhere, this time it was Mei's parents in Florida.

Mei had not been able to be much of a confidante lately as Joy had to have several serious talks with Mistress. Mei asked her parents if they could think of a way to help Joy, the only time she smiled was when she was with the children.

Ru thought a trip to Orlando was in order; you have to smile in mouse ears.

The night before Joy and Mei left, Joy took 'Cubby' aside and told him tomorrow morning she was taking a trip to Disney World, and she wanted to know what 'Cubby' wanted. They whispered for ten minutes before Joy gave 'Cubby' back to Anne.

Anne wanted to know what they talked about before she realized Joy would never tell. 'Cubby,' I hope you told her to get something good for me." Joy called Mei's parents to ask them. Find some good stores that sells Teddy Bear apparel, we got three bears to outfit to the max.

Mei's Mom was having a blast. She thought the idea was a great one; she hadn't shopped for kids' stuff in a long time. She started with the Disney area. She had to tell one manager after another that her daughter and her college roommates all had teddy bears; apparently you had to have one with a bear name in order to live there.

"We have a 'Bear' (my daughter's bear), 'Teddy' and 'Cubby' to get outfits for. There may be a fourth one. "

Mei's Mom sent pictures of all the bears, along with tailored measurements.

Joy gave Mei a note, she laughed and was in total agreement.

Joy texted Mei's Mom, special order changed, eight sets, five more bears. Let their creativity run wild. Joy included bios for all the owners, where they live, hobbies etc. so some pieces could be individualized.

When the manager told the seamstresses the news they first giggled. The manager said most of it we can use scrap material for the clothing. The manager bought five identical bears. She thought it odd adults were spending hundreds of dollars on teddy bears for adults, and she then realized she spent far more every year on haircuts.

The clothing was of the highest caliber, so detailed oriented. They moved from geographical themes to time periods, even little bear shoes. While most of the clothing was the same the order specified some items be different to give each bear individuality.

It was fun working on a project where the customer wanted you to dream big on a small scale. The workers asked the manager if they could thank the customer for the opportunity. It took ten days to do the job. Fashion books that covered every Era were brought in, and ideas were made while they sowed.

Meanwhile everyone was entertaining themselves on rides.

Ru was having the time of his life. They always got to each park at daybreak and went from the back of the park to the front (while everyone else was going front to the back.)

By doing so they met several characters, Minnie was very nice but Anna and Elsa were charming; they had to have pictures and videos of them. Mei even got a video of Anna and Elsa signing their autograph books to show the kids it was the actual signature.

Ru loved Space Mountain.

Well you can't eat healthy at a theme park, corn dogs, funnel cake, cotton candy, Mickey Mouse ice cream and French fries. They would have a good dinner that night.

The next day it was going to be over 100 degrees; the water park would be on today's agenda. They all stuck together, when one got tired they all took a rest. It was better than trying to find people in a mobbed park.

Lunch came quickly as everyone was exhausted. Today some veggies were smuggled in, and somehow they had the strength to stay until closing.

"Mei, do you think we could make a kid's corner at the club? We have all these kid oriented pictures. Why can't they have a place of their own?"

They had a few extra days so they went to Disney World again. Almost immediately "Anna" and "Elsa" cornered them. "Joy, you have inspired us all, here look at this, as everyone watched the viewfinder the four were stunned. We figured you would like to do something for the kids, we want to help."

Joy made a phone call to the Mayor's office, "Mr. Mayor, this is Joy down in Disney World. I have a couple people who want to talk to you."

"Mr. Mayor, I am 'Anna' and I am 'Elsa' and we here want to go have a visit to your neck of the woods. We would love to do something for your kids. Maybe an activities center to keep them safe or something like that. We heard that your town got flattened last fall."

"Don't ever let this special one get away from you. I will tell my boss to expect a call from you."

Everyone went to the food court after that. It was all a blur after that.

Soon after the Mayor called Joy and asked if it was a hoax or not. "Mr. Mayor, if you do not make that phone call and just one kid finds out they missed 'Anna' and 'Elsa', you may have a small riot on your hands."

That evening the Mayor attended the council meeting. "Well to make a long story short, I got a call from Joy down at Disney World. I had a long talk with 'Anna' and 'Elsa.' Disney wants to come here."

"It was a little overwhelming so I had to tell someone."

"The way I see it, this is a need to know basis. If you tell, you get fired. They have the dream team, we follow their lead. We need to get ideas for them. If we build something, it has to be central. I would love an activities center, Davey almost got hit last week. Where would we put it?" The one thought I had was if we could relocate someone and make it a win-win situation. I can't give a great deal to everyone.

A councilman asked, "Well, where is the center of the residential area?"

"Main Street and South Street."

"To think that nine months ago our town was razed and now we can't find room."

Joy was screaming as the 3-D flaming sword came at her, quickly she did two diving summer-saults to avoid the blade. Now she was behind her foe. With one two-handed slice it was over. The others got knocked out early but Ru's wife lasted far longer than he did. The crowd applauded Joy as she was the sole survivor, usually everyone gets killed. Ru could appreciate the tactics Joy used, be faster, and hit where he cannot hit you.

"Mei look",

"Oh no, you are not getting me up there."

"Nice knowing you Mei, I would come but Mother hates heights."

Mei did like the indoor skydiving.

Alas, it was time to go home. Joy was jumping out of her skin to see the bear clothes. They were lovely; Joy gave the addresses to the owner, and Mei snuck a trinket in one of the boxes.

Anne recruited some guys to help her move the heavy boxes into the Lodge. Anne found her name on a box.

"Open it Anne." She was just pawing through the box and not finding anything but scraps of cloths. She was very disappointed.

Mei went over to 'Cubby' and was just about to hand him to her, Well look at 'Cubby' going on a night on the town."

Joy said, "That's nothing compared to this. Anne cried when she saw the jacket with "Cubby "stitched on it."

"I am sure glad 'Cubby' didn't want a she bear."

Joy grabbed the phone, "Hello Mistress, you got a box today?"

So did Anne, "What did you get?"

"Joy, I got the most loving thing anyone ever gave me. I am not sure what to make of the tiny crop though."

"Joy, tell Mei it was so nice of you to include me in your bear family. I think he has more clothes than me."

"You need to pick a name, Mistress, a bear name. I guess if I am going to be a Mistress and evoke evil it should be 'Blackie.'"

Next the Dean and Faith showed up. The Dean's bear had a velvet smoking jacket on with a pipe and slippers (he had already read the Times and did the crossword puzzle in ink.)

He made himself right at home. "What is his name Dean?"

"It is 'Specs.' He is kind of a lay about."

Faith ran up to Anne and said, "This is 'Sonie', I tried to get gold colors. I need to get him a cross. He will be my comforter.

They talked about Disney, about how Mickey ignored them, but Minnie was nice. They said it was more than they could have asked for. They were speaking rather cryptically.

"Skype call Mei."

"Hi Mom, how are you?"

"Mei if I did not love you so much I would kill you. Both Mom and bear had a pink top on and silver badges that read Number One Mom. His name is 'Boo-boo.;" You girls were very naughty sending these out with us standing right there."

"We have not heard from Joy's parents probably the wire broke under the weight of the ice or they are waiting for the box to thaw."

Everyone squeezed in holding their bears, introductions were made all around.

Finally Joy got her call, Mom was grinning ear to ear, "Meet Goldie Joy, because you have a heart of gold. Goldie was dressed up in western gear, he was the Sheriff around these parts."

Joy was crying, her whole world was turning upside-down. She just wanted to be a sub, all anyone could do is be inspired by her and follow her example. She did not want to be on a pedestal.

Her mother sensed her discomfort, "Joy, tell me what the problem is."

"Mom why do I attract people so. I do not try to, I find it uncomfortable unless I am around the children, they get me, and we are kindred spirits. I can't even go on vacation without it happening. Sometimes I just want to go and hide. Why can't I just be a normal student, instead I am Joy, who seems to have elite status. I am just not happy anymore. I'm am so confused. Do you have any words of wisdom?"

"Joy, you attract people because they have never met anyone like you before. It seems to happen all the time because you are being you. You are not a fake, I am sure many people have tried to make you one and failed miserably. You are a breath of fresh air, and who doesn't want to be around that. You seem to think that being kind to others is a curse."

"Thanks Mom, I guess I needed a shoulder to cry on."

Joy became a recluse, just going to class and doing double Bible study; she was going to make full use of her now treasured research books. The town grew worried, she stopped her trips into the town. The children were asking why? Some were asking if they had done something wrong. The parents assured them that it was not their fault. Joy just needed some time alone to sort out her feelings and problems. Joy was talking to her Mom every night into the wee hours of the day.

Faith came over to the Lodge one night, she gave Anne a nod and both Anne and Mei headed to the library.

No words were spoken, Faith just rocked Joy. Joy had to find a center before she could find solutions. Faith would have to make many trips, Joy was deeply divided.

Faith sent for Molly to come. Molly didn't know how she could help, she was just a five year old. On the way to the Lodge Mei told Molly "Molly, Joy needs a friend to talk to. She needs someone she can tell all her adult problems to. All you have to do is love her."

"Joy is confused and you can help Joy forget her problems by just having someone to talk to. Molly just crawl into Joy's lap and hug each other. Molly, everything Joy says is a secret unless Joy says she could talk about it. Molly it is all right to keep what Joy says to you as a secret."

"Joy needs a friend who does not have someone who does not tattle on her. How do you think she could feel if you betray what everything she entrusts to you?"

"You have the same job I have with Joy. We know you are only a five year old, we want you to ask adults to help you. Adults ask other adults for help. That is the kind of friend Joy thinks you are to her."

Molly did not know what to say. She did know she could handle hugging and loving Joy. Molly decided she would not understand the adult stuff but hugs she understood.

When Mei and Molly made it to the Lodge Molly ran over to her friend and embraced her.

Mei left to study with Anne.

Joy was surprised to see Molly, Joy just cried. Molly crawled onto Joy's lap, and hugged her even more. Joy just cried and just babbled her problems as she cried. Joy's troubled soul aligned with Molly's calm soul. Molly just fell asleep hugging Joy.