My RA Ch. 01

No one could figure out what to do, not everyone wanted to play basketball or watch a lame movie. Mei dragged out her box of board games. There was a big enough choice for everyone to pick one they liked. It really did not matter what games they were playing.

Then one of the girls saw the white board. Each one looked it up and down to see how progress was going. "Dawn, can we call Rose now while the girls are here? They might have some ideas."

Soon Rose appeared stuffing a slice of pepperoni, onion and olive pizza in her face. "BUSTED." Mei said, "We were all having a game night over at our place tonight and one of the girls caught sight of our white board, suffice it to say, they all lost interest in the games. What is your status now?"

"Well my friend could not do the wedding on such short notice. She gave me name of a girl just starting out who said she would give us a cheap price if she can use some of our photos for advertising. It would be her first wedding. She said she would let me taste several kinds of cakes in cupcake form."

Joy said, "Just hire her. I am sure it will taste great. We have no problem with letting her do some advertising." All the ladies were nodding their heads.

Mei asked about the restaurants. "They seem to be expensive; we might need to narrow our list."

Joy screamed, "You will do no such thing! If I have to sell brownies and cupcakes on the quad to get the money for Gail's wedding, I will do it!" Gail is loved here! We are tasked with giving Gail a day she will remember for the rest of her life! No short cuts will be taken! I do not want her to look back and say I wish so and so was at my wedding!"

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Mei broke the silence, "Honeymoon ideas?"

"Somewhere warm but someplace where they won't shoot at you."

"Hawaii has too many people."

"Do we have to get them passports as well?" asked one of the subs.

Mei said, "Orlando had some very fine Inns."

"Ha Ha, they have a little teacup ride also."

"Does anyone know of someone with a time-share we can swap with someone else?"

"My Dad has two, they are on different levels so you can get better stuff, I can ask him."

"Joy how are you doing with the printer and photographer?"

"Printer is a slow go. The photo prof gave me some names, also some of the names of his elite seniors. I am going to a gallery tomorrow to see some of the stuff."

"Our children here say white roses are best."

"Molly said she would give something for the bride on her dress."

"We could have two ring bearers. Do you think we can have a shot at trying to get all the required items in the rhyme from the kid's treasures?"

"Do we want to use some form of blue ribbon in a hand fasting ceremony? I know it has Jewish tradition, but Christianity grew out of that."

Since there were increased numbers on the wedding team now, teams were made so more areas could be covered at one time. Some still had multiple responsibilities and bridesmaids and maid of honor had oversight.

The cake was done. Printer had to be found quickly for invites. Photographer was in hand. Caterers and band needed to be decided. Honeymoon was being checked on. Party supplier was needed.

Clergyman needed. "Rose, is there Clergy out there that we can use?"

"Father Abbot is getting on a bit but I think he can marry people."

"I will sound out Gail? I will ask the Dean to enter into negotiations for the reception dinner. Ask a florist to come out to see the space."

When Joy went to the gallery the next day, she made sure to talk to the manager to get her thoughts. She suggested Eric, a brilliant photography student. She showed Joy several of his pictures hanging in her gallery. Each picture drew the viewer into the essence of the piece. It seemed almost haunting.

Joy finally had to take a trip about an hour from campus to get a good printer. She was trying to avoid a professional printer as it would cost more than students. She liked that silver on ivory cards, they looked sleek. She quickly signed a contract, they would be ready in a week. She was very gratified to get her jobs done, now to get new ones.

"Mei, since Gail and Jerry are coming back to school before the honeymoon, what about an informal reception here? You know everyone will want to congratulate her."

"Maybe Joy, let's think about it after the wedding."

"Mei, how is the band search going? Does Gail mind having Father Abbot marry her? Can I help you with something Mei? You look like you could use a hand. Mei, why are you so quiet?" "Mei this is me you are not talking to."

"Mistress, Mei is not talking to me, I do not know what to do, and this is very unlike her."

"Thank you for telling me Joy. You are becoming a very good sub in addition to being a top notch scholar. Although you have inspired all the subs to get high marks, they will be gunning for the top spot. "

"Mei, what triggered this mood you are in now? We are very concerned about you. Is the wedding causing you problems?"

"Oh Mistress, Mei came running into Dawn's arms sniffling. Oh Mistress, we are three quarters done and it seems I have run into a brick wall. It is all I can do to keep up with schoolwork."

"Mei it is time you stepped back and let someone else continue with it; you did a great job organizing it. When it starts effecting your well-being you need to delegate."

"If you try to tough it out it will only harm you. Gail would not want that."

"Dawn, we still have so much to do."

"You do not. You are going to bed and let some of the others help with the planning. Right now you have bands and Clergy. I will do the clergy and give bands and party supplies to some of the others. I will call Rose and talk to Joy as to the status of everything. Mei please have a talk with Joy, she is very worried about you."

"Gail, this is Dawn. First, I want you to know that Mei had to step down from planning your wedding. Second, I want to find out who you want to perform the ceremony; we feel it is a very personal choice so we are sounding you out."

"Dawn, I hope Mei will be alright."

"I am sure she will be. She just needs to decompress and relax. We are delegating her duties, clergy is the most immediate need so I am l taking that over."

"About the clergy, I am not sure. I guess someone from my home church."

"Gail, is there any preacher in your home church that you do not want? Is there someone that is more grounded in their faith than others?"

"Father Abbot is getting old, I think one closer to my age would be better. It does not have to be a main pastor, maybe one from singles ministries or something like that, as long as the state recognizes him, ask Rose."

"Joy do you think you can copy everything on the wedding whiteboard into a notebook leaving room for notes? I do not want Mei to deal with this so we can do it my room, bring the girls. I need to talk to Rose tonight to get status updates and an overall sense of where we are and where we need to go."

"Yes Mistress, I can do that and I will call the girls to come over tonight."

All the girls were all abuzz, ready to hear the updates, they so wanted to give Gail a first rate, "Day that she can remember for the rest of her life," wedding.

When all were assembled and Rose was on the screen Dawn explained that "Mei was getting burned out with the project and it was affecting other areas in her life. I will not allow her to work on this project, I hope you all will back me up with this decision."

"Rose, I talked to Gail about the clergy situation. She thinks Father Abbot is too old and thinks someone closer to her age would be better. She suggested that it did not have to be a main pastor but one from singles ministries or young couples, someone younger that is qualified to marry them. "

"That is a good idea Dawn. I will check on that."

"Joy what is your report?"

"I went to the gallery and talked to the manager about the problem. She suggested someone then showed me several pieces he did, they we awesome. You felt like you were in the room. I had to go to a professional printer, he had a good selection, and we get the invites and the like in a week. I am trying to make it a cheap first-class wedding but some expenses will be accrued."

"Food report please, baker, caterers, reception dinner."

"We hired a young baker, she will give us a cheap price if she can get some advertising. All the cupcakes she made me we superb. We just need to work on the design."

"The Dean was going work on the dinner. Caterers are an outstanding issue, maybe we can combine the dinner with the caterer and get a price break."

"Scarlet, can you call the Dean for me so I can get an update?"

"Florist?"

"White roses were decided by the children."

"He came out to see the house and make suggestions. He suggested we rent out different planters with silk flowers, he can add real flowers to fill them out."

"I thought that was a good idea to lower cost."

"Here is the Dean Mistress."

"Thank you Scarlet."

"Hi Alkaia, sorry for calling you so late."

"I have removed Mei from the project for her own sake. I am trying to get up to speed. How the dinner are plans going? We thought we might get a price break if we combined the dinner with the catering."

"Dawn I thought if we just had the close family there plus other guests such as the bridesmaids and best man, say 8-12 people and have everyone at the reception. It would be far more doable."

"Have a cash bar and dessert table. We just pay for appetizer and entrée and water/soda. If we do it in a hotel we could make sure those who want to drink to get a room so you are not drunk behind the wheel. A hotel should already be set up for this kind of thing."

"Sounds good Alkaia, check in on it."

"Scarlet, what did your Dad say about the time-share?"

"He is going to take a look, it may be too late but give it a try." "It seems there are many in Europe we might get."

"Rose, Gail wants a surprise, how about a clothing optional beach?" LOL

"She has never been to Europe, but I think a nude beach would be too much for her." "We better tell them to get passports."

"Scarlet can you give Rose the password for the time-shares, so we can narrow the choices down? I think France might good if we can get it, can't be more romantic than the 'City of Lights.'"

"You should find out from your Dad how much you can dicker with these people or if they know of a good place near Paris they could stay at."

"Now onto our next item. Dance floor, tables, chairs, and decorations. Cheryl you are musical, do you think you can take the band responsibility on? We need a good mix of slow and fast dances and pop and oldies. See if you can get some tracks online to save time."

"Yes mum."

"Joy, you wanted a party here after the wedding? Ask Alkaia and see if the children can help, she loves them so."

"That is enough for tonight, let me know if you can think of something we need to hop on. "

"Remember, Mei needs to keep up with her studies and relax, visit her sometime to just hang out. I am going to suggest some early nights for the time being. Thanks Rose. Let's come back Saturday night."

All the subs were happy to be helping in Gail's wedding, but even more so Dawn. Dawn was considered head Mistress at the school and Joy was the de facto head sub. She would reject the title. Joy did not want flashy. She was all about inner beauty, and she thought it was the best way to serve her Mistress. Most subs stylized their own rules from Joy's.

The days just seemed to fly by. Rose emailed Joy all the contact information for the invites. While fifty invites is not much, it was decided to invite two children, one boy and one girl. They would be in charge of putting the stamps on the envelopes. The students thought it was important to include the children whenever possible; they are always overlooked on this kind of project.

Tonight was the big meeting. A lot of things would be coming together tonight, and then the students can shift to other tasks.

"Joy report please."

"The invites are out, Eric, the photographer, is aware the baker will be taking advertising shots. He will be in charge of the wedding and all sales that are generated. The baker will make her money through advertising."

"Scarlet how are the honeymoon plans coming?"

"We got a massive break. The time-share person could not trade down but told us of a bed and breakfast type of place just outside Paris. They are giving us off-season prices. Everything should be in place by the next meeting."

"Rose, report please."

"The young couples group has a young pastor that can marry and bury them. I felt very relaxed at our interview, he is easy to talk to. I talked to some of his group, they all raved about him. He is very much grounded in his faith it seems. It does not hurt that he is cute."

"Rose, did we make any more decisions with the florist?"

"Not fully Dawn, he is onboard so we just have to figure what we can do within our budget."

"Anyone else?"

"Mistress."

"Yes Michelle?"

"I am working on the decorations and party favors. I need to coordinate with Rose as to color schemes and centerpieces. I thought we could do some of that cheaper than the florist."

"For the reception here, we thought soap bubbles would be a big hit."

"We can buy the non-alcoholic stuff there along with champagne shaped plastic glasses, and tablecloths at the location. The bigger stuff like tables and the like we will need to rent. Would you like if I enquired about that as well?"

"Could you please Michelle, it will give us a sense of what we need."

"Cheryl, report please."

"You would not believe how many crappy groups there are out there. I have heard better karaoke singers that were drunk. On the bright side, that helps narrow things down. I am still working on it Mistress, will know more by next meeting."

"I am sorry Mistress, I should not have phrased my comment like I did."

"Quite right Cheryl. I will let it pass this time as you recognized your error. Do not make a habit of it or you will find you will not be able to sit for a week. Mei gave me a leather flogger for Christmas. Sleeping is hard to do standing up."

"Yes Mistress, you have my word."

The next night Mistress, Alkaia and Mei went to the club again. It was Mistress's turn tonight. She did not have all the props like Alkaia had but the subs have been helping her settle into her role as they interacted with her. Mistress Ellen asked "Dawn how things were going?"

"Well, I had to discipline Joy, twenty hard swats got my message through. Mei gave me this flogger so I need your advice on the care for it and how to handle it best. I can't just shove a remote controlled egg in them and watch them dance for my amusement. I am also conflicted, I graduate in a few months and I am not sure what will happen afterwards."

"Why can't you use an egg Dawn? I heard they are quite fun."

"I made promises to Joy and set guidelines for her. I should at least have rules for myself and perhaps share them with Joy so she knows I am following standards also."

"Bravo Dawn, you can't have a double standard. Joy needs to know exactly where she stands. She also needs to know where you are going to stand under any situation. You are learning fast. I can't help you with your commitment problem. After the meeting I will talk to you about the flogger."

After the meeting, Mistress Ellen showed Dawn how to make the flogger supple and how to use the flogger on a sub. She then went onto explain about the Master/ sub contracts. "You can spell out in great detail what each one wants of the other and what kind of limits are considered offensive. You can't use it as an escape clause. That would be very unfair to Joy, she would consider it a betrayal. You would lose respect of 35,000 people that will rush to protect her just as they are sworn to uphold their promise. Protect her from you, her Mistress."

"To say the least, you are in a unique situation that I hope you can work out. Those contracts are usually a long time contract unless you have a trial period, but she has been your sub since September. You have passed that stage."

"That collar you gave her is equivalent to a boy and girl friend going steady. The next step up, the training collar, is equivalent to engagement and finally the formal collar is equivalent to marriage. You also have that commitment from three people which may give you some latitude."

Dawn had a lot to think about.

"Hello, Alkaia, Dawn here. I have to start thinking of Joy and myself after I graduate."

"Were you planning on continuing the program in the years to come? If you do continue it, don't you need to both state the qualifications for teaching in some fashion and also the criteria for the courses themselves? We had a situation fall into our lap. I did not intend for it to happen, but I made a commitment to Joy and I need to find out how to proceed."

"Yes Dawn, I need to also get it approved. The board can see the need from the students. The great grades the subs are getting, outpacing the Masters, will not hurt. Do you know someone who might be interested in a position, or develop a criteria for applicants?"

"If you do, you may want to tell them it starts with a student petition. Since South Hill is a sister college it may also qualify for all registered students. The endorsement of the Mayor for the class as to how the test project affected the town could be crucial. Then after it is approved it has to get funded and staffed. Tell them to get a move on it so seniors count. I have the forms."

The next day Dawn walked into the Dean's office only to see two large stacks of petition forms.

The Secretary said "Let me know if you need more. I would go to the Mayor's office first to get the endorsement. Citing no under aged drinking or drug calls happened since the promise was given would hold credence to positive effects for the town. Perhaps the two colleges can split your paycheck. You have a table outside each cafeteria. Good luck."

"Michelle, can you do me a huge favor? Can you make me two large signs one saying 'Petition to create master / sub classes for SHU and another for NFU. '"

Michelle's squeal was so loud Dawn had to hold the phone away from her ear.

"Right away Mistress."

Dawn walked into the Mayor's office to make an appointment.

"I think this is what you came here for Dawn. There are no secrets around here when it involves Joy."

Dawn was handed more than ten pages with endorsements from the Mayor, Fire Chief and Police Chief. It gave stats about under aged drinking and drug use. It mentioned how Joy affected the entire town, from the flood, to inspired clean-up and other ways the town is better because of the subs.

When Dawn made it to SHU Michelle had already had recruited three SHU students to man the table. As soon as Dawn put the forms down three long lines formed.

Michelle skipped the whole way back to NFU. Again three long lines appeared as soon as Dawn put the forms down.

When night came, the students just picked up the blank forms and went door to door in every dorm.

When the Dean looked at the endorsement, she smiled, "I guess I need to do my job now. I happen to know the petition is going door to door in every dorm."

Dawn was shell shocked.

"Dawn, you really have no idea of what an impact you and Joy have made on all of us. You two have literally changed how we live our lives, for the better, not because of any event like the flood or clean up, it goes much deeper than that. It is like you two have changed our entire moral code and we are better for it. We see and treat other people in a whole different light. Personally, I will never be able to thank you two enough for how you changed me. The board is probably already looking for ways to fund the class and to pay you."