Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 23:20:10 -0400
From: Sequoyah <sequoyahs-place@home.com>
Subject: The Concord Five

		    ASP--The Concord Five--Chapter One

				Disclaimer
  This is a work of fiction, any coincidence is just that, a coincidence.

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This story is copyright by the author and the author retains all rights.
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				 Postings

ASP--The Concord Five is being posted at http://go.to/gaywritersguild as
well as Nifty. Check it out.

				 Comments

ASP--The Concord Five is a continuation of A Special Place found in the
High School section of Nifty and at http://go.to/gaywritersguild. There has
been no attempt to summarize the previous story or otherwise make ASP--The
Concord Five a stand-alone story and it is not. Readers are warned that
without having read A Special Place ASP--The Concord Five will often not
make sense. The characters are developed in A Special Place and their
adventures prior to the opening of ASP--The Concord Five are critical to
reading and understanding this story.

				Dedication

ASP--The Concord Five is dedicated to those fans who insisted the story of
Michael and Mary Kathryn and their associates continue. I hope you are not
disappointed.

It is also dedicated to SAH whose tireless editing has made A Special Place
much better and whose efforts on the continuation of the story increases my
debt to him.

Finally, it is especially dedicated to those ASP fans who have made the
Yahoo group and interesting place! If you haven't checked it out, it's a
special place made so by a special family, the ASP family.

A note is always appreciated: sequoyahs-place@home.com. Also check out the
Yahoo group devoted to the story at Sequoyahs_Place@yahoogroups.com

A FINAL WARNING: THIS IS NOT A STAND-ALONE STORY. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ A
SPECIAL PLACE, THIS STORY WILL NOT MAKE SENSE.

ASP--The Concord Five--Chapter One--Jacob

As I got in the car, I could hardly hold back the tears. Sure, we were all
sad--as friends always are when a time of separation comes--but it hit me
harder. I was leaving the woman I had come to see as my best friend and now
the love of my life. Michael and Mary Kathryn and Bill and Linda had only
left friends; I had left the light of my life.

Paula and I had talked a lot about that the nights we slept together in the
tent. We talked about a lot of things. We talked about having sex--making
love with no boundaries--and decided it was best to put it off, as
difficult as that proved to be. We talked about how little time we really
had together after we discovered we were in love. And, I guess most
importantly, we talked about what would happen if we found someone else. I
didn't want to even think about that, much less talk about it, but Paula is
a very practical woman.

"Jacob, I can't imagine it happening, but let's be honest. How many high
school romances have you known which lasted when the couple split up--going
to different colleges or, as we are, where one is in college and one is in
high school? I can't think of a single one. Even couples who were
officially engaged didn't make it."

I had to admit she was right, and then protested we were different.

"Maybe we are. I think we are, but what if we're not? There are high school
events you'll want to attend with a date and I'm sure the same will be true
for me. Is that going to be ok? I mean, is it ok for us to date casually
for special occasions or not? If we do, what happens if we fall in love
with someone else?"

"I honestly hadn't thought about that, Paula. I really hadn't. But if we
are in love and if we are committed to each other, I don't see why we can't
date occasionally so long as the person we're dating knows where they
stand. Do you?" I looked at Paula closely because I knew her eyes would
tell me the truth.

"See no reason at all. If we trust each other and make sure the date knows
it's just a friendly kind of thing. No, I see no reason not to." Her eyes
told me she was telling the truth.

"And if we fall in love with someone else?"

"Jacob, all I ask of you is that you be honest. When you see it happening,
don't lie to me. Be a man and be up-front. If that is the way it is, we
might still be friends after the hurt is over, but that's not likely."

"Glad we talked, Babe," I said. "So long as we're honest with each other,
it'll be ok." I leaned over and kissed Paula and, as I did, I said to
myself, "It's going to take some woman to turn my head because I think I've
found the only one for me".

Thoughts, memories, were all racing through my mind as the miles rolled
by. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I did and only woke up when Bill
stopped for gas and a pit stop.


ASP--The Concord Five--Chapter One--Michael

All of us, except Mom and Dad, spent only one night on the road going home,
stopping in a motel somewhere in Kentucky. Because of Mom's condition, she
and Dad took an extra day to get back, stopping and resting frequently, and
calling it a day early on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of us got home late
Tuesday and all were very tired. We had stopped for supper in Concord, so
when we got to Mary Kathryn's, I kissed her goodnight, went home, took a
quick shower and fell into bed.

The Larsens expected me for breakfast Wednesday morning so I was up early,
ran with Mary Kathryn, showered and drove to her place. I told her she
should shower with me, but she wisely decided a fresh woman after a run
would be hard to explain.

We were all reluctant to do anything after the two weeks in Ohio and
getting back tired the night before, but the summer was over. Gabrielle and
Jens were off to work and Mary Kathryn and I were meeting the
Fellowship--what was left of it--and Ms. Jones at 9:30 at the school. She
had asked that we come in to make some plans for the opening of school.

Mary Kathryn and I arrived a bit early and went to Ms. Jones' office. She
asked about our summer, how Matt and Luke were doing, and we told her that
we had been with them as well as Eugene, Larry and Paula and our families
and friends in Ohio for two weeks, getting back the night before. She
wanted to know all about it and we were in the midst of telling her when
Bill, Linda and Jacob came in. They joined in the conversation and we just
talked about the summer until it was well after 10:30.

"Glad you had a good summer, even with all the bad things. Jacob, I'm sorry
about you and your parents, but know that Bill and his family will make you
welcome."

"They have already," Jacob said. "I think they're trying to spoil me," he
laughed.

"Well, you have earned a spoiling from me," Bill said. He then told
Ms. Jones how Jacob had made his dad realize he hadn't been paying
attention to him.

"That's great," Ms. Jones said. "Maybe we can hire him out to wake up
parents this year. And, Jacob, I guess you are a bit lonesome with Paula in
Ohio."

"Lonesome doesn't begin to cover it," Jacob said. "This is going to be a
rough year for the two of us."

"Think we may help by keeping all of you busy," she said, seriously. "But,
first, we have some things to work on such as the calendar, the usual, and
then I have some special things I want to talk to you about, so let's get
busy."

We worked on the calendar of events and what students would be expecting
and when, everything from homecoming to SAT and AP exams. By the time we
had finished, it was lunchtime. "How about taking a break?" Ms. Jones
asked. "It's time for lunch and I have taken the liberty of ordering pizza
for us and have prepared a salad to go with it. Let's go to the courtyard
and wait for the pizza, which should be here in five or ten minutes."

While we were waiting, sipping on soft drinks, Ms. Jones asked, "I heard
something about a trip to the Black Hills, Michael. Was that a vacation
trip?"

"Hardly. Matt and Luke went there to do a vision quest. Mary Kathryn and I
were there for different reasons." Between Mary Kathryn and I, we told her
of our experience there, I mean as far as you tell anyone about medicine
man training and preparing for womanhood. Ms. Jones was fascinated and kept
asking questions, some of which Mary Kathryn and I answered with, "I'm
sorry, Ms. Jones, that's something you don't talk about to others". She was
really fascinated when we told her how Red Hawk had died.

"I guess that means your training is complete then, doesn't it?"

"I don't think so," I replied, "but I don't know what happens next, since
Red Hawk is dead. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Maybe what you have learned can be used in one of the things I want to
happen this year. In one of the workshops I attended this summer, I learned
about high school peer counseling programs. Students counsel and help other
students after a pretty intensive training program. It works where it is
being used. Peer counselors also serve as mediators when students get into
conflicts. One of the things it does is to change discipline. Too often
students are suspended, or even expelled, when they get in trouble. When
that happens, they are put on the street where they often get into deeper
trouble. Maybe we can find an alternative to that."

"I want each of you five to come up with at least three others you
know--sophomores, juniors and seniors--so we can pick a team of twenty. And
don't, by the way, look at just grades or even people who have never caused
trouble. Look at people you are sure could be trained to help other
students--those who, you recall, helped students last year. I was told
students often just go on instinct. Think you can do that? All of you have
had experience without training, so I immediately thought of you as the
core group."

"How long do we have?" Bill asked.

"I have scheduled a camp for a training retreat two weeks after school
starts. You will have a 'for credit' class which will continue training and
provide support. That, of course, will start as soon as school starts. And
you'll need to think of a teacher who can work with you. I have some ideas,
but I'd rather that come from you. In addition, I was thinking of
Ms. Norman as a co-advisor."

"She was the first one I thought of," Eugene said.

"Well, think of another. It probably should be a male so you have the
male-female dynamic in the advisor team."

"Ok, we'll be thinking about that," Bill said. "It sounds like a very good
idea to me."

"Here's another very radical idea," Ms. Jones continued. "I have talked
with Millie about it and she has taken it to the board. They are reluctant
to give permission for it, but Millie has a couple members as enthusiastic
about it as she is. They have given approval for us to move ahead, subject
to the final plan being approved by them."

"The student council has, for all practical purposes, been an organization
without purpose. This summer I did a lot of reading about the way this
country was set up. Why couldn't a school, which has elected student
officials, be set up to operate in much the same way? Of course there are
some decisions I would have to make and some things I might over-rule, but
why shouldn't the student government be responsible for the rules--like
laws--by which we operate? Why shouldn't students form a court to try
students for infractions of the rules? Why shouldn't students decide how
discretionary funds be spent? I think it would work. Then students would
really take seriously what we as administrators and faculty say, but know
is wrong, 'This is your school'. What do you think about that?"

"Well, as you said, it's a pretty radical idea. Members of the student
government are generally elected in a popularity contest and probably would
not be the best choices," Mary Kathryn observed.

"And just what makes you think that's not true of political leaders?" Linda
asked.

"Now that you mention it..." I mused. "Why not try it? It couldn't be worse
than it is now. 'Course it's gonna take a lot of explaining to get that
across to students."

"Yea, and there will have to be a rough period in which you keep hands off,
at least up front, before students believe it and take the idea seriously,"
Jacob said. "But, you know, I think students will be harder on students
than faculty and administrators are."

"Probably," Ms. Jones said. "I guess I would have to have final say, since
I have to answer to the board and parents. But I'm willing to stay out of
it as much as I can, even if the place starts going to hell in a hand
basket at first."

"As I am sure it will," Mary Kathryn said.

"Well, you have your work laid out for you. Think you can have a final plan
by Monday?"

"We have already called a meeting of the Fellowship--what's left of us--at
the falls Saturday. Why don't you come by late Saturday afternoon and see
what we've come up with? Even have supper with us. We'll be having a picnic
about 4:30 or 5:00," I said.

"Sounds good to me. I've set aside the conference room for you to use. A
copy of the school board's rules and regulations is there for
reference. You don't need to look at them all--I'm sure you don't need to
know the procedure for purchasing toilet paper!" she laughed, "but matters
of discipline, behavior, dress codes are there. If you find something you
think needs changing, write it up with the changes and reasons and I'll
present it to the board or explain why I can't. Any questions?" There were
none and we adjourned to the conference room.

We discussed the peer counseling program and thought it was an excellent
idea, but really weren't ready to recommend others for it without some
thought, so we turned to looking at the new role of the student government.

The first thing we looked at was the student handbook. All of us were
astonished at the pages upon pages of rules. We certainly had never read
them and doubted that many other students had either. All of us could
remember when a teacher had busted a student for disobeying a rule we had
never heard of, but realized they were so many and so nit-picky that could
happen. Actually, because of that, they had no real meaning. After an hour,
we had reduced the rules to very few: "Students are to be academically
honest. Students are to respect the authority of administrators, teachers,
student government members and any other designated authorities. Students
are to respect each other. Students are to respect the property of the
school board and of each other. Students are to respect rules of classroom
behavior as established by each teacher." That was it. Of course, there
would have to be a lot of discussion of the implications of the rules, but
there was no need to have five pages on academic honesty as the old
handbook had. Every student knew the difference between honest work and
cheating.

We were asked to attend the general faculty meeting at the end of the day
and make our presentation. Most teachers were very much for having fewer
rules and all agreed that they would have to take responsibility for
spelling out how they would be applied in their classrooms.

As we were leaving the school, Mary Kathryn and I asked Greywolf and Yong
Jin if we could come by and talk with them about what Ms. Jones had
proposed and they agreed. Both were very supportive of the idea of student
government taking a larger role and of the peer counseling program but, as
the Fellowship did, they needed time to think of people for the counseling
program and how to present the student government's new role to students.

When I got home, I called Christopher and asked if he'd like to go for a
ride in the country. I hadn't seen him since I talked with him earlier. He
didn't seem too interested, but said he'd do anything to get out of jail. I
didn't bother to ask him what he meant, just told him I would pick him up
in half an hour. He said he was at his grandfather's restaurant, so I drove
straight there.

When I went inside, Demetri greeted me heartily and asked what I had been
up to. I told him about all of us going to Ohio and helping the crew there
get set up, then asked where Christopher was. Demetri rolled his eyes and
motioned with his head to the back room as he called out, "Christopher,
someone here to see you".

Christopher came, almost running from the back room, a huge smile on his
face. When he saw me, he came to a sudden halt and the smile
disappeared. "Oh, it's you," he said in a voice he might have used to greet
an executioner.

"Yea, it's me. If you don't want to go with me, fine. I have other things
to do so I don't need to waste your time or mine." I saw no reason to
ignore his expression and obvious feelings.

"Oh, I'll go. It's just that I thought you were someone else."

We went outside and climbed into the Tracker. As we did, I noticed that
Christopher had a few more things pierced which I wouldn't have believed
had someone told me, because I didn't think he had anything unpierced when
I first met him. As we started out of town, I asked, "What've you been up
to this summer?".

"Mostly being worked and bored to death. The old man insists that I work in
his rundown place and I'm there six or eight hours some days. Other than
that, I've mostly been bored except when one of the guys comes by."

"Who've you been hanging out with? Anyone I know?"

"I guess. They sure know you. I've made friends with the real kewl crowd,
Dude, you know Kenny Haines, Frank Kitchen and Spike Ellis and that bunch
of kewl dudes."

"Kewl dudes, my ass," I thought. "That bunch are the bottom-feeders
deluxe. They have been in and out of juvenile detention so often they think
it's home because they are still young enough not to get sent to jail for
dealing drugs, alcohol violations, vandalism and theft. Yep, they are kewl
dudes all right." I decided not to say anything about them and just see
what Christopher would tell me.

"What have you and they been up to? Having fun?"

"Sure have, man, when I can get some money out of the old man. I mean he
pays me for working, but it's not enough. We got a-hold of some great grass
last week, but it's gone and I'd sure like some more. Kenny's picking up
some today, I hope. Yea, and we found a guy who will buy beer for us. He
takes half, but I've been able to sneak a bit from the till occasionally so
we can party. But you're not into fun are you, boy?"

I was ready to demonstrate just how much a boy I was NOT by busting the son
of a bitch one, but held my temper. "Sure I'm into fun. It's just that I
don't need weed or beer to have fun."

"Don't know what you're missing. Still haven't found a chick to screw. I
was used to getting a lot of pussy when I was hanging out at my old lady's,
but can't seem to connect here. I mean other than what the dudes come up
with. But I will." He cupped his cock and balls in his hand and jiggled
them. "Sure need some pussy. You getting any ass these days? Hear you got a
regular girlfriend."

Ok, he had stepped over the line this time but I still kept my
cool--mostly. "First of all, Christopher, if I am or am not having sex with
my woman, it's none of your damn business and would not be something I'd
talk about to someone I barely know. Second, I don't like the way you refer
to Mary Kathryn, my woman. You make her sound like some kind of tramp or
whore and I don't like it."

He laughed and said, "You answered my question. You're not getting any
ass."

I was really steaming. I pulled to the side of the road, looked him in the
eye and said, "Christopher, who you run with and what you do is your
business. You're being a damn fool and you'll learn that soon enough, but
that's your affair. BUT my relationship with Mary Kathryn is not your
business and if you make another remark suggesting she is trash, I will
beat the shit out of you. You better understand that. Now do you want to go
back or shall we start over?"

"Hey, be kewl, dude. Just be kewl."

I calmed down some and we drove out to the farm. Christopher said he had
never seen a real farm, so we just walked around the place where I answered
questions. I couldn't believe he was so fascinated by things like
vegetables growing in the garden, cows feeding and so on. "Look, I would
really like to see how you get milk out of them cows," he said.

"Sorry, can't show you that since most of 'them cows' are bulls and are
just about as capable of giving milk as you are."

"That's the reason they have only one teat, they don't give milk."

"Not a teat, dude. They have only one of those just as you have only one."

"Oh," he said.

"We raise beef cattle, not milch cows. So we don't milk cows, but maybe I
can show you how to get milk out of a cow. It's almost 5:00. There's a
dairy farm not too far from here and they should be ready to start
milking. Let's go."

When we arrived at the Heidelberg farm, several men were preparing cows for
milking while other cows were already in the milking stalls being
milked. Mr. Heidelberg was at the end of the long milking parlor and I told
Christopher to walk quietly as we started toward him.

"Hi, Michael, haven't see you in a coon's age," Mr. Heidelberg said as he
extended his hand. As I shook it I said, "Mr. Heidelberg, this is
Christopher. He's Demetri's grandson."

"Demetri that runs the Greek place?"

"Yea, that's my granddaddy."

"Got a great man for a grandfather, son," Mr. Heidelberg said. "He's got a
good heart. Well, what can I do for you, Michael?"

I laughed. "Christopher wants to see how you get milk out of a cow."

"Well, Christopher, if you look at the cows in here, they have a milking
machine attached to their teats. It uses a vacuum to milk them. But I guess
you'd like to see how it was done by hand. I've got a kind of pet cow who
is willing to be milked by hand. I'll bring her in shortly. Meanwhile, make
yourself at home." We walked around and again I answered questions. A few
minutes later, Mr. Heidelberg came in leading a cow. "This is Daisy," he
said, as he placed a bucket of feed in front of her, and walked back, sat
on a low stool and started milking, both hands producing powerful streams
of milk which foamed as it hit the bucket. After a while he asked,
"Michael, can you milk?".

"Not with both hands, and I'm not very good, but I can do it."
Mr. Heidelberg got up and I took his place on the stool and produced a
pretty weak stream of milk. After I had struggled bravely for a while,
Mr. Heidelberg asked, "Want to try, Christopher?". Christopher nodded and
took my place.

Try as he would, he couldn't get any milk. Mr. Heidelberg placed his hand
over Christopher's to show him the movement needed. After he tried for a
few minutes, Christopher had finally produced a tiny stream once or
twice. Finally, Daisy looked around at him and gave him a swat with her
tail, tumbling him backwards off the stool. Mr. Heidelberg laughed as he
reached out and pulled Christopher to his feet. "I know it looks easy, but
you have to learn a technique, just like doing anything. Daisy knows you
are new at this and gets a bit annoyed. Guess you're not hurt."

"No, just embarrassed," Christopher replied.

"Don't be. She can still do that to me if I don't watch it," Mr. Heidelberg
said. "Well, I guess we all had enough hand milking today," he added as he
led Daisy to a milking stall.

"Thanks, Mr. Heidelberg," I said, shaking hands with him.

"Yea, thanks," Christopher said, sticking his hand out.

As we were walking back to the Tracker, Christopher said, "Dude, that
milking machine thing could give you one hell of a blow job," and
laughed. I decided not to tell him it would probably give him one that he
would regret, as some dairy boys I know had found out!

Once we started back to town, he started talking shit about weed and beer
and pussy again. I was pretty pissed when I let him off. I was sure that
most of what he was saying was pure smoke and bullshit, but I wondered why
he thought he had to talk such shit to me.

I took him back to the restaurant and when I let him out said, "Laters". As
I drove off I thought to myself, "This is not a project I want!".

I talked to Mary Kathryn about my time with Christopher, and how he seemed
to be ok when we were on the farm and at the dairy, but I got pissed all
over again when I told her how he talked about women and her. "Michael, he
wasn't talking about me," she said, "but about the women he has known or
probably thought about. Maybe that's the only kind he has known."

"Mary Kathryn, I have never had such mixed feelings about a person as I
have about Christopher. On the one hand, he's an asshole, a user, and a
no-good jerk. On the other, when I look at his granddad, I know there has
to be something worthwhile in him if he hasn't killed it already. I think I
saw that coming out while we were at the farm and dairy. Still, on the one
hand, I'd like to just beat the living shit out of him and on the other I'd
like to try to help him make something of himself."

"Well, I know where you stand," Mary Kathryn laughed, "...confused. I guess
we'll just have to keep working until he chooses one way or another."

"I guess so, but it's not going to be easy," I replied.

I decided I'd ask Christopher to join the Fellowship at the school
Thursday, and when I called him late Wednesday night, Demetri said he
hadn't come in yet. "He's out and gone all hours and I don't know what to
do about it," he said.

"Doesn't he have a curfew from the trouble he got in before he came here?"
I had no idea whether he did or not, but thought there must be one.

"I don't know. I guess I should look over the agreement he signed to get to
come," he said.

"Have him call when he gets in," I said.

It was 1:00 when he called and the phone irritated Dad big time, but he
didn't say much. He didn't have to, he just called from his bedroom,
"Michael, it's for you".

"Michael here," I said into the phone.

"It's Christopher," the voice on the other end said. "You wanted me to call
you?" Christopher's voice was definitely slurred.

"Yea, I wanted to invite you to go to the school tomorrow with a group of
us."

"Why the fuck would I want to go to the fucking school before I have to?"
he asked.

I explained what we were doing and when I finished said, "I thought you
might be interested in getting to know some people."

"Fucking damn teachers' fucking pets? No, thank you."

I was pissed at him again but, knowing his condition, I said, "Just a
thought. Sorry," and hung up. This guy was definitely a problem, but I had
promised Demetri I would keep an eye on him and, by damn, I would!

When the Fellowship got to school the next morning, we compared notes on
who we thought might be good as peer counselors. Among us, we came up with
eleven. That meant we could add four more if all of them accepted. It was a
pretty mixed bag. Of course there were good students who had never been in
trouble, but there were also a couple who had been in real trouble but
seemed to be straight now. There were a couple of girls, a guy we thought
might be gay, a football player and a cheerleader, and one additional
basketball player Bill said had really changed during basketball camp. When
we showed the list to Ms. Jones, she thought we had done a good job but
took one off the list because she had moved during the summer. She added
one we did not know who had been sent away to boarding school last year
while her mother and father were going through a nasty divorce, but who was
coming back to live with her father.

The rest of the day we spent setting up the student government and its
committees and so forth for its new role in school. When we finished, we
presented our findings to the faculty again. Ms. Moore, who had seemed very
opposed to the idea the day before, said we had done a good job and maybe
she had been wrong in her statements that day. "I'll definitely take a
'wait and see' attitude," she said. "You certainly deserve a chance to
prove this will work, and I'll support it until I see it's not working."

"You know, Janice, it's going to be rough at first. This is, after all,
something very new for all of us, and very radical."

"I'm willing to hold judgement until the rough time should be over," she
said.

"That's all I ask," Ms. Jones said.

Ms. Jones had asked that we meet with her in her office after the faculty
meeting. When we got there, Ms. Norman was already present and greeted us
all warmly. "I'm really excited about the peer counseling program," she
said. "I have heard how well it is working in other places and am really
glad we're going to have a shot at it. Who have you decided on as a
co-advisor?"

"We haven't," I answered.

"Well, who would you suggest?"

I wanted to suggest Greywolf, but didn't think I should. It would be almost
like Matt suggesting his father. Besides, I wasn't sure I wanted Greywolf
to hear what I might say.

"To my mind, the best person for the job is Mr. Allen or Greywolf," Jacob
said.

"I'm afraid Mr. Allen is out," Ms. Jones said. "He's being given many more
responsibilities this year. If he wasn't, I would agree he is an excellent
choice. What about Greywolf? Why not Greywolf?"

"I think he is the most obvious choice. The number one reason is that we
all know him so well and know what he stands for. He sure seems to have a
grasp of what teenagers need and want. I don't know any other faculty
member nearly as well and we would start out with a high level of trust in
him," Jacob replied.

"How about the rest of you?" Ms. Norman asked, looking around at all of us.

"I certainly think Jacob has spoken for all of us," Bill said.

"Same here," Linda said. "We have been through a lot with him, both here
and outside school, and he's perfect."

"Michael, Mary Kathryn, you haven't said anything and I didn't notice you
nodding agreement," Ms. Jones said. "What's your position?"

"I can't speak for Mary Kathryn," I said, "and I think Greywolf is perfect
except, well, I'm not sure I want to be telling secrets with Greywolf in
the room. I mean suppose, just suppose, Mary Kathryn and I were, maybe,
kinda, having sex and that caused some problem or something and... well,
you know." Damn it, I blushed.

"Mary Kathryn?"

"Ms. Jones, I was thinking about the same thing--not about having sex, but
suppose Michael and I had a problem. Could Greywolf leave it here at
school?"

"As you said, all of you know him very well; better, I am sure, than I
do. What do you think?"

"I could see where that might be a problem for Michael and Mary Kathryn,"
Bill said. "Yea, I can see where it might be a problem for them but,
knowing Greywolf--not as well as they do, of course, but pretty well--I
don't think it would be a problem for him. I think he could and would honor
confidentiality for them as well as for someone else. But I can see where
it could be a problem for them."

"No-one said you had to talk about your own problems before the whole group
or before Greywolf," Ms. Norman said. "And I'm sure he would have no
problem with keeping general discussions and others' problems to
himself. Actually, I don't think he would have a problem keeping your own
secrets unless he thought you might be in danger."

"And you need to make clear that is the one reason, and the only reason,
confidentiality will be broken--to protect the safety of the person you are
working with or someone else. If a person is talking about suicide, for
example, you have to seek help whether the person gives you permission or
not."

"To tell the truth, I can't think of anyone I trust more than Greywolf,"
Mary Kathryn said. "It's just that the idea of discussing certain things
with him present might be difficult, and I guess if I needed to talk with
someone, I could see one of you."

"Sure you could and I hope you would," Ms. Norman said. "So are we agreed
Greywolf will be asked to become co-advisor?" We all agreed.

"Let's see now. Jacob, you are student government vice-president and
Michael is president. Bill, do you have an office?" Ms. Jones asked.

"He's secretary of state or whatever my closest advisor is," I answered.

"How about you two?" she asked, looking at Linda and Mary Kathryn.

"Guess I'm first lady," Mary Kathryn laughed. "Actually, I had thought
about running for junior class president last year, but decided I really
didn't want the job."

"I'm senior class president," Linda said.

"Then, Mary Kathryn, I guess you are head of the peer counselors by
default. Talk to Greywolf and see if he's willing to take on another job,"
Ms. Jones said. "We need to get the student government organized as soon as
possible. So, Michael, you and Jacob need to be ready to present the new
plan Tuesday at opening assembly, and you can say more about it Thursday
when you introduce the officers and committees of the new order. Students
need to realize that student government is a great deal more important than
in previous years. Tuesday will be a madhouse regardless of what we do, but
I think we'll start with assembly, have short classes-thirty-minute classes
will count--and then spend the rest of the day working on organizing the
student council. Teachers not involved in the student government will take
the rest of the students to get the final touches done so school can get
down to business Wednesday."

"What about freshmen representatives?" Jacob asked. "They will not have
been elected. Usually the election is held at the end of the third week of
school."

"Since they are coming from two different schools, they won't know each
other," Linda said.

"The election is always a runaway for Constitution since it is twice the
size of Liberty," Mary Kathryn reminded us.

"Ms. Jones, that is always a problem. Why can't we have two elections, one
for former Liberty students and one for Constitution? Their representatives
could have half a vote instead of a full vote. Then, before Christmas
break, we could have another election to choose new representatives. That
way students would have plenty of time to get to know each other," I
suggested.

"Don't you think that would keep the Liberty-Constitution split?" Ms. Jones
asked.

"Don't think it will be any worse than before," I offered. "After all, the
representatives will have to get together or they will cancel each other's
vote."

"Ok, we'll do it that way. You've done good work today. See you tomorrow?"

"I think not," I said. "We have done about all we can do. Jacob and I need
to get speeches ready, but we can do that without coming here."

"I think I hear the falls calling," she laughed.

"You're right. And we'll be there Saturday as well. You're coming by for
supper, aren't you? And you too, Ms. Norman."

"About 4:30 or 5:00 you said?"

"Right. Ms. Norman?"

"Would love to come."

We left the office and, as we headed to the parking lot, we decided we'd
meet at the falls about noon and Jacob and I would have a draft of our
speeches. "By the way, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask Christopher to
join us. He probably won't, but I'm going to need all the help I can get
with that asshole." Everyone saw no reason not to invite him, but we were
all pretty sure he wouldn't come.

After we left the others, Mary Kathryn and I drove home and then walked to
the falls. We crossed the canes and were hardly to the beach before we had
shed all our clothes. We swam for almost an hour, horsing around and having
a good time, then lay on the beach making out. Both of us had to call a
halt a couple times before things get out of hand. Well, things actually
got IN hand and both of us were under considerably less sexual tension when
we got dressed and left the falls.

I got home before Mom and Dad, looked at the supper menu Mom had posted and
saw that there was nothing I couldn't do to get it ready so Mom wouldn't
have to do it. As I busied myself in the kitchen, I realized I really
hadn't had a chance to talk to them since they got back from Ohio.

They had got back in the early evening the day before, and Mom had been
very tired so I didn't do more than ask how their trip had been. Mom said
it was good, but she was exhausted. Since I had eaten at the Larsens' and
Mom and Dad had eaten before they came home, they had gone to bed very
early. Mom was six-and-a-half months pregnant and probably shouldn't have
made the trip, but she had insisted and her doctor had okayed it provided
she and Dad took it easy--and they had.

When they came in, I said, "Supper in half an hour". Mom grabbed and kissed
me then said, "Michael, you are an absolute dream! I am dead on my feet. I
had a really busy day and wasn't really rested from the trip. I think I
want a shower before supper and just relax with my feet up." She left and I
heard the shower start shortly afterward.

Dad set the table while I finished supper, and he put the food on the table
as Mom came out of their bedroom in her robe. As Dad held her chair for
her, she sat down and said, "Michael, I really do appreciate your doing
supper. If I knew then what I know now, I think I might not have made the
trip. I'm glad I did, but I really paid for it today. I told LaShandra, my
new receptionist, I would be in the office only six hours a day, beginning
Monday. I've also been told I will no longer be on-call at the hospital
until I go back full-time after the babies are born."

"I think you should start half-days next week," Dad said.

"I will, David, if I find I am getting too tired. Michael, will you say
grace?"

I did and we started eating. "Son, you are a good cook!" Dad said after a
couple bites. "Tell me, what's going on at school before it starts?"

I told Dad and Mom about the peer counseling program and the new role for
the student government. "I'm really excited about it, but also a bit
frightened," I concluded.

"Anything as different from what has been, as these two programs are, is
bound to have problems. I think the new role of the student government will
be such a radical change that even the best students will have to have some
time to adjust to it. Those who want to cause trouble will test the limits
in every way they can. And, of course, there are those who don't want
freedom because they don't want to accept the responsibility for their
actions. You know, if you are told exactly what to do, it's 'they' doing to
you, so you can be completely irresponsible," Mom said.

"Well, Jacob and I have the responsibility of explaining it to the student
body. The Fellowship is meeting at the falls tomorrow at noon. Jacob and I
are supposed to have draft speeches then. We're planning on spending
Saturday there as well. Ms. Jones and Ms. Norman are joining us for a
picnic around 4:30 or 5:00. We want all the families there too."

"Sounds good--the picnic and your new roles at school," Mom said.

"I fixed dessert," I said, "fresh fruit cups and oatmeal cookies. Want them
with coffee on the patio and watch the sunset?"

"Sounds like a winner," Dad said, and Mom nodded.

We didn't have much to say as we sat watching the sunset on an evening that
was cool for late August. It was actually dark before we took our dishes
inside. Mom went on to bed and Dad and I cleaned up the kitchen.

When we finished, I went upstairs and phoned Christopher. He wasn't at home
again and his grandfather said, "Michael, he's out and gone very night. I
don't know where he is or what he is doing--well, that's not quite true. I
know some nights he comes home drunk and on others I can smell he has been
smoking--not cigarettes either. One night he came in smelling of weed and
sex. You know, he had been having sex and I could smell it. I don't know
what to do. If I turn him in as I am supposed to do, he'll have to go back
to the detention center where he was before I got him out. Yet if I don't
turn him in and he gets picked up, I would be in a lot of trouble. I'm just
about at my wits' end. I'm too old for this."

"Demetri, I don't know whether I am too young or too old, but he's a mess
and I really don't know what to say. Yesterday we drove out here and he
really seemed like a different person. I do know that the bunch he's
running with are bottom-feeding scumbags and real trouble. Well, tell him I
called, but I don't want him calling here at some unholy hour again. I was
going to invite him to join us at the falls tomorrow, but he refused before
and we would be doing some pretty important work. Just tell him we're
spending the day at the falls Saturday and would like for him to come. If
he's interested, I'll pick him up."

"Sure wish he'd take up with you and your friends, but I don't know."

Christopher didn't call and I didn't call him again about Saturday. I had
his answer.