Two Thousand and Ten Ch. 05

Author's Note:

Well, dear friends, here is the penultimate chapter of this story for you all to enjoy. So sit back and get settled in because there is a lot going on in this chapter! We finally find out the truth about Clive, which rocks Lindi's world to its foundations, and Peter makes an unusual discovery that changes his life forever. And as for our friends' relationship with each other, well, read on and find out!

Enjoy!

Two Thousand and Ten

Chapter Five - September and October

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - 7:45am

Lindi sat in the staff room, a mug of instant coffee set before her on the low coffee table. The weather outside, though still warm, was drab and grey with the threat of rain later on. It was the first day of the new term after the summer holidays, and there was a lot for the teaching staff of Westborough-on-sea Secondary School to get through before lessons began later that morning.

It was nice to catch up with her colleagues once again, swapping holiday stories and catching up on all the latest gossip, but Lindi couldn't help but feel just a little gloomy, as the prospect of the new school year stretched out ahead of her. She loved her job, was passionate about teaching in fact, but it was only human to yearn to be back on the beach in summertime, rather than relish the prospect of going back to the grindstone.

"Good morning, everyone! Hope you're all refreshed after the summer break but alas, it is now time to welcome the little darlings back to school for another year." Alice Kingston, the headteacher, announced as she entered the room with a mug of coffee in her hand and a stack of papers and foolscap folders clutched against her chest, "Now as I'm sure you're all well aware by now, we have a lot to get through before morning registration, so without further ado let's get straight into it. Now, the new timetables - there are still one or two things that need to be ironed out..."

It was going to be a long meeting, but the new timetables, new pupils and all the new lesson plans that she and her colleagues were having to deal with, weren't exactly at the forefront of her mind. She was somewhat preoccupied by the fact that, since they had returned from America, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Clive. True, it had only been a couple of days, but ever since they had first started going out together he had either called, texted or emailed her at least once every day. This was most unusual for him. She had of course tried calling him, but every time she rang his number, both his mobile and his home number, all her calls went unanswered. She swore that if she heard the automated voice at the other end of the line prompt her yet again to leave a message after the tone she would throw her phone out of the window.

Where had he got to? Why hadn't he contacted her since their return to England? What was going on with him?

She wondered maybe if he was planning something. When they returned home, Peter had teased her that maybe Clive was planning on asking her to marry him, and she felt her heart skip several beats when she contemplated the thought that maybe Peter's teasing was in actual fact not a million miles from the truth. What if he was planning on popping the question to her? But that still didn't explain why he hadn't at least had the decency to call her, if only just so that she could hear his voice again.

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - 2:02pm

It wasn't very often that Peter did any CAD work these days. Back when he had first started out as a young graduate engineer he'd spent many an hour sat before a PC creating technical drawings from the sketches provided by the senior engineering staff. Now, more than fifteen years later, it was Peter that was the one providing the design sketches for his junior team members to draw up via the firm's state of the art CAD system. He may not be as regular a user as he had been during his earlier career as a mechanical engineer, but he still liked to keep up his CAD skills whenever there was an opportunity to do so. Today, one of his CAD operators was off sick with flu, and so his design team was at that point short-staffed and faced with a last minute rush to put together a full set of drawings and fully rendered 3D models, complete with stress analysis modelling, for an important Japanese client by the end of the week. It was definitely a case of 'all hands to the pumps'.

But rather than being stressed out by the urgency of it all, Peter was absolutely loving it, thriving on the pressure as he normally did. Especially since this particular client was a supplier of machinery to one of Japan's best known roller coaster manufacturers, something that was of course very close to his heart. This particular project however, had nothing to do with roller coasters, alas. Instead, he and his team were designing a machine that would be used to test the latest prosthetic limbs for amputees. The work of a mechanical engineer can be pretty varied; over the years, Peter had worked on machines for all manner of weird and obscure manufacturing processes. He had even once helped design a machine that had the sole purpose of counting lettuce leaves into bags for a company that made pre-packed salads. No manufacturing challenge was too odd or too impossible for Peter and his team.

He allowed his mind to wander momentarily, back to that amazing night in Georgia with Sandy, the travelling, troubleshooting plotter engineer that helped keep drawing offices across the southeastern United States running smoothly. He recalled her fabulous naked body, the softness of her skin, her wonderfully luscious breasts and the warmth of her...

But before he could get carried away with his recollection of the southern belle's body, there was a knock at his office door.

"Yes, Tom, what is it?" Peter said sharply to one of his juniors.

"Erm... sorry to bother you, Peter, but there is a woman down at reception? She says she wants to see you?" Tom said apologetically.

Peter sighed.

"A woman, you say." he replied, "Did she say what she wanted to see me for?"

"No, she just asked to see you? I was wondering if she was family or something?" Tom answered, with his usual upward inflection that made him sound like everything he said was a question, it was a vocal trait that Peter always found a little irritating.

Lindi? Peter thought to himself, why on earth would she come here to his office? Unless... unless something terrible had happened.

"Whatever." Peter sighed as he stood up.

He headed downstairs from the design office towards the reception area, where his suspicions were confirmed. The woman was indeed Lindi. It had been raining for the past hour and she was soaked through and shivering. And it was also immediately apparent to him that she had been crying.

"Ohhh, Peter..." She sobbed as soon as she saw him, "I'm in such a horrible mess..."

"Shhh... It's alright, Lin. I'm here." Peter said as he took his friend into his arms and held her comfortingly to his chest, "I'm here. What's happened?"

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - 11:13am

Earlier that morning...

One of the prefects had passed a message to Lindi during one of her classes - as soon as she had finished her lesson she was to report to the headteacher's office. She wondered what on earth Mrs. Kingston wanted her for - maybe it was just for a brief catch-up after the long summer break. But then, she had already pretty much done that with the rest of the staff earlier that morning, before morning registration. Dutifully, once she had finished her lesson on the Roman occupation of Britain, she headed towards the headteacher's office as had been requested of her.

"You wanted to see me, Alice?" Lindi said as she knocked on the headteacher's door.

"Ah, yes, Ms, Vernham - Lindi, thanks for coming at such short notice."

"That's okay - I have a free period before lunch anyway." Lindi replied.

"Please, take a seat."

Lindi sat before the headteacher's desk.

"Now, I'm um... well, let's just say that a somewhat... delicate situation has arisen." Mrs. Kingston began.

"What, with one of my pupils?" Lindi supposed.

"No - I er... I'm afraid this concerns you."

"Me?"

"I take it you've heard of FriendNet?"

"Well of course I have." Lindi answered, in reply to Mrs. Kingston's mentioning of the popular social network, "I've never seen the point of connecting with my old classmates and stuff, so I'm not a member."

"Yes, well a lot of the students here are members!" Mrs. Kingston replied, "And this... whoever it is that's behind it... could become a disaster if any of the students get hold of..."

"Get hold of what??!!" Lindi interrupted angrily.

Mrs. Kingston sighed. She unlocked her desk drawer and pulled out a large brown envelope.

"This arrived in the post this morning."

Lindi cautiously took the envelope and opened it. It contained only two things - a brief note on a sheet of A4 paper, and a large glossy print of a photograph.

A photograph of Lindi.

A photograph of Lindi, naked, and with everything on display for the camera. Her heart just about stopped as soon as she set her eyes upon it.

"Is this you?" Mrs. Kingston said gravely as Lindi stared at the image, "Or has it been... what do they say? Photoshopped? I would appreciate your honesty in this matter."

"Yes... it's me." Lindi admitted, an overwhelming feeling of shame coursing through her veins.

"I see." Mrs. Kingston replied.

"My boyfriend, Clive, took it - he's a photographer you see." Lindi began to explain, but already her voice was beginning to crack, "He... he told me he'd never... show them to..."

But Lindi could go no further - she burst into a flood of anguished tears. She felt so... used, and disgusted, both in herself but especially with Clive. Why would he have done such a thing? What on earth was he...?

But then, Lindi recalled the kiss. At the final theme park of their recent road trip up the eastern seaboard of the USA, she and Peter had felt a sudden rush of desire between them - something that had begun to be a regular occurrence whenever they found themselves alone together, however much they tried to fight against it. It was just a kiss - nothing more to it than that, she had justified it to herself, and at the time it happened Clive was nowhere to be seen. He was elsewhere, at one of the concession stands buying hotdogs at the time. But what if... what if he had seen them? Suddenly, her blood ran cold.

He did see them kissing - he must've done. He had become jealous by what he had seen, and now he was taking his revenge on her for betraying him.

"Oh... shit." Lindi muttered between her tears.

"I don't get it - where does FriendNet come into all this?" She asked once she had gathered herself up a little.

"Read the note." Mrs. Kingston instructed.

Lindi really didn't want to, but with a lump in her throat that felt like she had swallowed a golf ball, she picked up the sheet of paper and read the message. It was printed anonymously in arial font, and was certainly sharp and to the point. It read:

To whom it may concern,

Ms. Melinda Vernham is a whore and a slut! I am in possession of a number of images like the one enclosed, wherein she displays herself in the most lewd, wanton and pornographic manner. Unless I hear from Westborough Secondary School within the next seven days I shall be uploading these images of Ms. Vernham, lewdly cavorting naked and unashamedly, to a FriendNet group that I shall make available to to the public. It would not be good for Ms Vernham's career, and for the school's public image, if such images were to be in the public domain.

"Well?" Mrs. Kingston said once Lindi had finished reading, "Have you anything to say for yourself about this?"

"That... utter bastard." Lindi growled, "These were supposed to be private!"

"Well, if whoever sent this is serious about sharing them online, then all hell could break loose." Mrs. Kingston said, her tone of voice conveying the gravity of the situation, "Do you know who is behind this?"

"Well, I can't prove it for certain." Lindi replied, "I mean, for all I know someone might've, I don't know, broken into his studio or hacked into his computer or something. But the man who took them, his name is Clive Datchet, and he lives in Swanborough."

"I see. Well, we shall have to be very careful in how we handle this." Mrs. Kingston said with an unmistakable tone of caution to her voice, "Officially, I shall have to suspend you, I'm sure you can understand of course, but given the... embarrassing nature of this material, I shall not mention any of this to the rest of the staff. Unofficially, you are on compassionate leave following a family bereavement - at least, that is what I shall say to the rest of the staff to explain your absence."

"Yes, erm... thanks." Lindi answered, her head spinning with emotions of hurt, embarrassment, anger, betrayal, and a monumental sense of dread.

"I suggest you get hold of this Clive character and persuade him to not carry out his threat." Mrs. Kingston continued, "Unless you'd like me to get the police involved - this is blackmail, after all."

"What?! No! No police... not yet, anyway." Lindi replied tearfully, "I'll get hold of him - by his bollocks - literally!"

"Okay, well just try not to do anything too hasty." Mrs. Kingston warned, "God only knows how unstable this guy is. Now, I shall have to ask you to leave the premises. But please keep me in the loop on this, okay. I want this resolved as quickly and as cleanly as possible - not just for the school, but for yourself also."

"Um... yes." Lindi replied, more tears welling up in her eyes.

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - 2:07pm

Lindi sobbed and shivered as she sat alongside Peter in his BMW in his specially reserved parking space outside his office. The rain outside spattered down on the car heavily, as Peter tried his best to calm his friend.

"That... bastard!" Lindi cried, "I can't believe he could stoop so low!"

She tearfully told Peter all about her photo session with Clive earlier that year. It had all started innocently enough, with her modelling some expensively glamorous designer dresses. Later on, she had progressed to modelling some bikinis, and the poses had gradually become more and more suggestive. After posing for some further shots in only her lingerie, which included a very daring pair of black panties, Clive had persuaded her to pose completely naked. At the time, she had found it quite an adrenaline rush, as she stood there completely nude whilst Clive snapped image after image of her. The poses had gone from merely being suggestive, to being risqué and finally, to being filthily pornographic. And it was one of those pornographic images, taken of her on her back, with her legs splayed widely opened as she used her hands to part her labia, displaying her insides for the camera, that Clive had sent to her headteacher.

"Holy shit." Peter said as Lindi showed him the picture.

At least he hadn't actually asked her to see it, but she felt that she should show it to him. She knew Peter was on FriendNet, and so if it ever did find its way online he'd be bound to see it anyway. And besides, she wanted to give Peter some idea of what they were up against

"Why did you... I mean... what were you thinking? Posing for him like... like this?!?" Peter continued.

"It was just a bit of fun!" Lindi sobbed in her defence, "How was I to know he'd do something as low as this!"

"But why?" Peter queried, "Why on earth would he want to blackmail you like this?"

"Oh, I think you know very well why, Peter Swanmore!" Lindi glowered.

It took Peter a moment to figure out what Lindi was getting at.

"What, you think he?" Peter replied, "He couldn't have! He was buying hotdogs for pity's sake! He was nowhere to be seen!"

"Just because we couldn't see him, doesn't mean he couldn't see us!" Lindi replied harshly, fighting back her tears.

"It was just a kiss!" Peter said defensively, "Nothing more than that."

"You practically had your tongue down my throat, as I seem to recall!"

"Hey, don't blame me for all this!" Peter retorted, "I seem to remember you were only too happy to let it happen at the time!"

Lindi saw the hurt expression on Peter's face, and realised that blaming him was not only counterproductive, but was also morally wrong. The truth was they they had both allowed it to happen.

"I'm not blaming you Peter!" Lindi sobbed angrily, "Gahh, this is such a mess! What am I going to do Peter? I've already been suspended - if this gets out I could lose my job over this!"

"I think the first thing we ought to do is to get you home and out of those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia." Peter said logically, "And then we'll have to go and try and have it out with Clive, to find out what the fuck he thinks he's doing! Have you tried calling his mobile?"

"Of course I have!" Lindi said through her shivering tears, "It just went straight to his fucking voicemail!"

"Okay then, well if Mohammed won't come to the mountain..." Peter suggested.

"What? You mean go round to his place?"

"Well, this studio of his would do for starters." Peter replied, "Y'know, visit the scene of the crime and all that - it may give us an insight into what we're up against."

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - 2:36pm

As soon as Peter followed Lindi into her flat, he went straight to her bathroom and proceeded to run a hot bath for her.

"Get those wet clothes off before you freeze to death!" He called out to her as she stood and shivered in her hallway, "Don't worry, I won't look."

"Hmph! It wouldn't m-make a d-damned scrap of d-difference now!" Lindi said through chattering teeth, as she stood in the hallway outside the bathroom. After all, he had seen her naked before, and he had also seen the photograph of her that Clive had sent to the school.

So she started to pull off her cold, clinging wet clothes, dropping them in a wet heap on the floor. Peter left her to get in the bath, once she was down to just her underwear, and he picked up the pile of clothes and took them to deposit them in her laundry basket.

"I'll get you some clean clothes, okay Lin?" Peter called out.

"Okay." He heard Lindi's muffled voice from the bathroom.

He went into her bedroom, a place he had been many times before over the years, although mainly to help her with decorating it, so he was at least familiar with the layout of her wardrobe and where she kept everything. Opening her wardrobe, he picked out a pair of jeans, a blouse and a sweater - he wasn't sure if she'd approve of his choices, but the priority was to get her warm and dry, first and foremost.

Turning to her chest of drawers, he picked out a bra and some panties for her. Once again, he wasn't sure if his choice would meet with Lindi's approval. For one thing, women's relationship with their underwear was something that utterly baffled him, and he knew that Lindi was very particular about her lingerie. But at least he figured that maybe she wasn't in the mood for delicate lacy panties, and instead opted for a more sensible looking pair of pink cotton briefs, and a bra that matched them - well, almost matched them. He then took a couple of fresh towels from her airing cupboard and added them to the stack of fresh clothes.

He knocked on the bathroom door and opened it a fraction. Averting his eyes, because he felt that the last thing she needed was to be seen in a state of naked vulnerability, he placed the clean set of clothes onto the bathroom floor, pushed them in with his foot, and then closed the door before heading to the kitchen to make some coffee. Realising that he'd just left the office without any explanation, he pulled out his phone.