Message-ID: <41953asstr$1050840602@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "Vulgar Argot" <VulgarArgotREMOVEALL@CAPSinsidejoke.tv>
Subject: {ASSM} Marigold, Part 13
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 08:10:02 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Marigold, Part 13
by Vulgar Argot
<tags moved to bottom for spoilerage>

Thule met Marigold on the side steps as she came out of the school after
their last class. She snuggled into his arms by way of greeting. He kissed
the top of her head, then tilted her chin up and kissed her on the mouth.

"Mmmm," Marigold said, "any chance I can entice you to stay and help me with
the newspaper today? I've been neglected all of my after-school activities
but one and I can't very well put that on my transcript now, can I?"

Thule laughed, "No, but you have already gotten into Harvard, you know. You
don't have to keep working so hard. Besides, I wanted to take you out and
get you a present today."

"Thule, don't tempt me," said Marigold, kissing him again and pulling away,
"Every year, the seniors abandon the newspaper as soon as they get their
college acceptance letters. That means that every year, the new group comes
in and has to figure everything out all over again. I want to at least
guarantee a smooth handoff before I give up the reins."

Thule let his hand run up and down Marigold's back as he held her close,
"That's very conscientious of you."

"What sort of present?" Marigold asked, pouting.

"I wanted to get you a cell phone," said Thule, grinning evilly, "Now that
you're getting  all frisky, you need a leash."

"I have a cell phone," said Marigold.

"Really?" asked Thule, "What's the number?"

"I don't know," admitted Marigold, "I never carry it."

"Start," said Thule. His face got serious. Making sure there was no one in
earshot, he said, "Once things start going down, it may be extremely
important for me to be able to get a hold of you on short notice...or vice
versa."

Marigold nodded, "Yes, Thule. I will be at your beck and call."

"Good," said Thule, releasing his grip around her. Marigold had started to
walk away towards the newspaper office when he added, "I told Dawn I'd take
her to get one today. Give me a call when you're done and I'll pick you up."

"Okay," said Marigold, glancing back over her shoulder at Thule, "You two
have fun."

Thule shook his head to himself, drew a cigarette out of his pack, and lit
it. There was a small risk a teacher would make him extinguish it, but he
decided to chance it. Now that he was smoking again, he found that it helped
him think.

"Can I get one of those?" Dawn asked as she approached. The companion she'd
been walking with just kept going as if they hadn't been in the middle of a
conversation.

Thule offered her the pack, "You smoke?"

"Almost never," said Dawn, drawing one out, "just when I want to look cool."

Thule lit it for her, then started walking, "Very cost-effective. Marigold
will not be joining our little phone-buying expedition. She's got work to do
at the newspaper and already has a phone she doesn't carry."

Dawn, who was hurrying to catch up, bounced past Thule so that she could
face him, walking backwards, "Great. Does that mean I get promoted to the
front seat?"

"It's a brevet promotion only," said Thule, "and I don't have a bag for you
to wear. So, try to stay ducked down."

"A what?" asked Dawn.

"A bag," said Thule, "a soft receptacle for carrying items in. Most commonly
made of paper, plastic, or cloth. In this case, I was thinking plastic would
be unnecessarily cruel...."

"I know what a bag is," said Dawn, still backpedalling, "What's a brevet
promotion?"

"A promotion in name only," said Thule, "often done in the heat of battle
for the purpose of maintaining the chain of command and rescinded after the
battle is over. For instance, a sergeant can be made into a brevet
lieutenant if the lieutenant over him is killed. But, since non-commissioned
officers are generally not being groomed to become commissioned
officers....I'm giving too much information, aren't I?"

Dawn shook her head. Still walking backwards, she sidestepped to avoid a
chain link fence, "Not at all. I love information I'll probably never have
any use for. Don't you?"

Thule laughed, "Actually, I do. And, while I'm not sure whether you are
humoring me or mocking me, I'm going to pretend that you're humoring me and
thank you for it."

Dawn wrinkled her nose, "Neither, actually. I really do collect facts that I
never know when I'm going to need. For instance, did you know that the
goldfish's memory is only eight seconds long?"

"No," said Thule, "I didn't. What conceivable use would you have for that
fact, though?"

"Well," said Dawn, "I wouldn't lay awake worrying my goldfish were mad at
me...if I had a goldfish. What do you need to know about brevet promotions
for? You're not planning on going into the military, are you?"

"Well, no," said Thule, "but you never know when I might need to raise an
army. I'd hate to lose a battle based on a syntactical error."

"So," asked Dawn, spinning around as she reached the top of the steep cement
staircase that led down the side of the gym to the senior parking lot, "What
were you going to say about brevets?"

"First," asked Thule, "how the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?" asked Dawn.

"Walk backwards all the way from the side steps to the parking lot steps and
not fall on your pretty, little ass?"

"You think I have a pretty, little ass?" Dawn asked.

Thule shook his head, "It's a figure of speech that actually means,
'enormous, hideously deformed ass.' Now, how did you do it?"

Dawn stopped at the passenger door of Thule's car and shrugged, "I've walked
from the school to the gym probably fifteen hundred times. I know the way.
Plus, I watched your face. Whenever you looked like you were about to dive
to my rescue, I know I had to be close to the next obstacle."

"What if I just chose not to rescue you?" said Thule.

"Not in your nature," said Dawn, "You see a damsel in distress, you have to
rescue her."

Thule got into the car, opening the passenger-side door for Dawn. Once she'd
bounced into the car, he said, "So, you know my nature, huh?"

"At least that part of it," said Dawn, "You only radiate it like a freaking
lighthouse." She looked around herself, "I like my brevet. So, what's my new
rank?"

Thule started the car, "Brevet Front Seat Rider, First Class?"

"Too wordy," said Dawn, "How about Brevet Girlfriend?"

"Definitely not," said Thule emphatically, "Now, stop flirting with me. I'm
trying to drive."

"Okay," said Dawn, "Can I flirt with you some more when we get to a stop
light?"

"Do you just live to make my life difficult?" Thule asked.

"Too much?" asked Dawn.

"A little bit," said Thule, sighing.

"Sorry," said Dawn, "but it gets to the point I was making. It's like when
you see those guards outside Buckingham Palace with the big, fluffy hats..."

"Beefeaters," supplied Thule.

"The guards or the hats?" asked Dawn.

"The guards," said Thule, "The hat is called a Tudor bonnet."

Dawn glanced sideways at Thule, but continued, "As I was saying, it's like
when you see those Beefeaters standing guard outside of Buckingham Palace.
You want to see if you can rattle them. So, you make silly faces or say rude
things about the queen, just to see if you can get a rise. You remind me of
them."

"I look like a red Q-Tip with a black top?" asked Thule.

"No," said Dawn, "you're like, completely uncorruptable. Like the FBI or
Batman."

Thule laughed, "I wish that were true."

"Well," admitted Dawn, "maybe not completely. But, you're an honorable guy.
I'm always falling for honorable guys and straight girls. It's probably
avoidance syndrome or something."

Thule gazed out of the windshield, focusing on his driving. He didn't
answer. Dawn watched him, worry spreading on her face.

"Hey," said Dawn, her voice comforting, "it's okay. Really. I'll get over
it. It's just a schoolgirl crush."

Thule laughed hollowly, "Actually, I was just thinking about how wrong you
might be on the honorable thing."

Dawn's face was earnest, "Don't judge yourself too harshly, Thule. I've been
watching you. You've got the tortured 'Dark Knight' thing going. But, you're
still one of the good guys and, ultimately, you'll do the right thing, even
if you have to walk through fire to do it. If you don't, it's going to
totally wreck my image of humanity and I'm sending you the bill for my
psychotherapy."

"All right," said Thule, "I promise. No turning evil in the third act. But,
answer me this. How do you know about the Dark Knight stuff? Weren't you a
cheerleader a couple of weeks ago?"

"Reserve cheerleader," said Dawn, "with an occasional brevet to full
cheerleader. But, Brianne was right about me. I really do feel much more at
home among the geeks. Blame my big brothers for that."

"You have brothers?" asked Thule.

"Three of them," said Dawn, "All in their late twenties and early thirties.
Serious science types, all of em. Practically every conversation I heard
growing up involved Star Trek or Star Wars or Spiderman or, even
occasionally, girls. Now, I have at least a passing interest in all of those
things."

"So," asked Thule, "What's the deal with you and June Kane?"

"What deal?" asked Dawn, suddenly looking trapped.

"Well," said Thule, "she's supposed to be Brianne's closest friend, but
Brianne hates you and yet I see you two chatting, all friendly-like, at the
fountain on Sunday. Then, again today, I see you two walking together,
talking. But, when you slow up to talk to me, she keeps on walking,
pretending as if you weren't even talking to each other. So, she's your
girlfriend, right?"

Dawn's face paled, but she tried to deflect the question by asking, "Let me
get this straight. You were running at full speed, preparing to punch Ian in
the head, and you noticed who I was talking to?"

"Force of habit," said Thule, "I also noticed that, when you stumbled away,
she was afraid to touch you. I suspect it was because someone might see."

"You couldn't have seen that," said Dawn, "you were in the damned fountain."

"No," said Thule, "but you did. And you just confirmed what I suspected
happened."

Dawn slapped Thule on the shoulder, "That was a sneaky, underhanded way of
getting the information. Why didn't you just ask?"

"Because," said Thule, lighting another cigarette, "If you knew I wanted it,
you might have wondered why and you might have lied to me."

Dawn made an outraged noise. Thule said, "And you thought I was honorable.
You might as well start therapy now."

"You didn't have to do that," said Dawn, "I wouldn't lie to you. Ask me
anything."

Thule chuckled, "Have you got a crush on Marigold?"

"No," said Dawn indignantly.

"See?" asked Thule, "Without even thinking, you can lie to me."

"I don't," said Dawn, her voice rising.

"Dawn," said Thule patiently, "I spotted the body language at the fountain,
well enough to guess what happened next. Are you going to tell me I can't
read it when I'm standing still and it's right in front of my face?"

Dawn lowered her head, hiding her face behind her bangs, "Are you mad?"

Thule laughed, "Not at all. I commend you on your good taste. I only asked
because it was the first question that popped into my head that you'd lie to
me about if I asked."

"That's the only reason?" asked Dawn, "Or are you harboring some deep
fantasy about me and her getting all hot and heavy?"

"Well, I hadn't," said Thule, laughing, "but I imagine that I will now."

"Like I said," answered Dawn, "Honorable guys and straight girls. Story of
my life."

"So," said Thule, "have you thought about what kind of phone you wanted to
get?"

"Whatever kind works," said Dawn, "You don't need to....Wait a second. You
changed the subject awfully quickly. Marigold is straight, isn't she?"

"I don't know," admitted Thule, "You would have to ask her that."

"Funny," said Dawn, "because she told me about this one time..." Her voice
got a dreamy, faraway quality.

"Nice try, Robin," said Thule.

"You know," said Dawn as Thule pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall
they were headed for, "If I ask Marigold that question, she might want to
know why I'm asking."

Thule nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt, "She might at that." Before Dawn
could say anything else, he was out of the car.

                              -=-

After Thule had gotten a phone for Dawn and narrowly avoided getting talked
into buying a new high-tech one with lots of bells and whistles for himself,
he said to Dawn, "We've probably got an hour before I have to go pick
Marigold up. You want me to drive you home or would you rather hang out?"

"We can hang out," said Dawn. Then, indicating one of the other shops in the
strip mall, she said, "I'll buy you ice cream. I can afford that at least."

"Thanks," said Thule, "but, I don't want to ruin my appetite."

"Suit yourself," said Dawn, "Do you mind if I get some?"

"Suit yourself," said Thule, "Watching you eat it is all the reward I need."

"Evil, evil boy," said Dawn, smacking him on the shoulder again before
bouncing away to the ice cream shop. Thule went and sat down on one of the
big cement cube benches. The things were provided by a subsidiary of
Vandevoort Industries and all over the area, just another sign of the
pervasiveness of their influence. Dawn came bounding back, a little more
cautiously, with a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a cup. She sat down next
to Thule.

"Aww," said Thule, "a cup. That's no fun to watch."

Dawn grinned mischeivously, then dug her spoon into the dish, drew it out,
held the spoon upside down in front of her face, snaked her tongue out at it
and, closing her eyes, began to lick it gently with just the tip of her
tongue. As Thule sat, transfixed, she licked around the edge of the ice
cream in a circle, teasing little bits away until it began to slide down the
spoon. Then, she moved her tongue quickly up to the tip of the spoon,
catching the dropping ice cream and sucking it into her mouth.

Smiling at Thule, Dawn swung her feet up onto the seat, resting her back
against his shoulder, "Get comfortable," she said, "This may take a while."

Thule sighed, "You're incorrigible."

Dawn laughed, wiggling her shoulders so that Thule moved his arm out of her
way and she could lean more against him, "And you're uncorruptable. I'd say
we make a great pair."

"You know," said Thule after Dawn had begun eating her ice cream normally,
"if you touch the Beefeaters, they're allowed to crack you one."

"So, Thule," asked Dawn, spooning out more ice cream, "You want to take a
swing at me?"

"Not particularly," said Thule, "No."

"Good," said Dawn, "because I don't think I particularly like the rough
stuff. Of course, I might have to try it to be sure."

"So," said Thule, "you managed to skillfully avoid my question about June
Kane."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" Dawn stuck the spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Thule frowned, "I don't trust her."

"Quite honestly," said Dawn, "I don't trust her either. She's not very nice
to me and she doesn't ever want to be seen with me." She shrugged.

"That doesn't bother you?" Thule asked.

Dawn stood up, walked away a bit to throw away her ice cream cup, and came
back. Still standing, she said, "Of course it bothers me. But, sometimes,
you just want to get laid. And, remember, I have to spend another year at
this school after you and Marigold ride off into the sunset. Brianne is
grooming her to be queen bitch. She can protect me and, if I'm in good
enough with her, she probably will. Besides, she's the only girl I've ever
wanted who wanted me back."

Thule nodded. He was about to say something else, but his phone rang.
Glancing at the screen, it was an internal line from the high school.

"Thule here," he said.

"Heya, Thule," said Marigold.

"Heya," said Thule, "are you ready to be picked up?"

"Not exactly," said Marigold, "I've still got another hour and a half or so
to go. There are more people here than I expected. Most of them are leaving
in a half hour. But, Brianne and Ian are going to stay and help until it's
all done."

"Okay," said Thule, glancing at the time on his phone, "so, I should pick
you up around five thirty, then?"

"Sure," said Marigold, "By that point, Ian, Brianne, and I should have
finished up and I'll be ready to go."

"Wait a second," said Thule, "since when is Ian on the paper?"

"Oh," said Marigold, "he's done some sports reporting in the past, but he's
been unusually helpful today."

"Marigold," said Thule, "are you trying to say something that you can't say
out loud because of who's there?"

"Yes," said Marigold, "That would be fine."

"Okay," said Thule, "are you saying that you don't want to be alone with
Brianne and Ian because you think they're up to something?"

"Probably," said Marigold, "but, I don't know."

"Okay," said Thule, "we can be there in a half hour." He was already moving
towards his car, Dawn in tow.

"Oh, that would be nice," said Marigold, "Do you think we could eat
outside?"

Thule was puzzled by the last one, but said, "If you're asking if you should
go outside to get away from them, I wouldn't. As long as there are people
there, you should be fine. If they leave as a group, find some excuse to go
with them. If Ian and Brianne try to tag along, suddenly remember why you
have to stay. We'll be there soon."

"Okay," said Marigold, "I'll see you then. Love you."

"I love you, too," said Thule, "We'll be there soon."

                            -=-

"Doesn't this pile of rust go any faster?" Dawn urged.

"Yes," said Thule, "a lot faster actually, but I'm already going seventy.
I'm not going to do Marigold any good if I get pulled over and have to wait
for a cop to write me a ticket."

As if by magical summoning, a police car pulled out from behind a copse of
trees on the median just as they crossed the town line, sirens blaring, red
and blue flashers going.

"Fuck," shouted Thule, slamming his hands on his steering wheel, "Fuck!
Fuck! Fuck!" Looking over his shoulder to confirm that the cop couldn't be
after anyone other than him, he slowed down and pulled over.

As they sat there, waiting for the officer to approach, Dawn said, "Shit! Do
you want me to flirt with him or something?" Even as she was speaking, she
was pulling off her shirt, revealing a white sports bra underneath.

Thule sighed, "If you think it will help. But, don't go overboard."

Dawn nodded. Pulling down her visor, she reapplied her light pink lipstick
and fluffed up her hair to look a little bit wilder. As the cop car door
opened, she asked, "How do I look?"

"Well," said Thule, "I would soft sell it from this point on or the cop may
insist I leave you here with him."

Dawn licked her lips, "Okay."

The officer walked up to Thule's open window, "Thule," he said, "I didn't
know it was you."

"Oh, heya, Vladi," said Thule, "Good to see you again. Sorry about blowing
past you back there, but..."

Vladi waved him off, "Don't worry about it. Just be careful. You were
speeding in Vonsburgh. They don't know you there." Crouching down a little,
he looked across at Dawn, "Oh, Jeez. I didn't realize you had company."

"Well," said Thule, "now you can see that I do." Vladi seemed to be waiting
for something else, so he added, "I'll be sure to mention to Ivan what a
good job you boys are doing out here."

Vladi touched the tip of his cap, "Much appreciated. Drive safely." Then, he
stood up and walked back to his car. Thule pulled away, his whole body
trembling.

"Well," said Dawn, "that was a lucky break. I guess it's good to have
friends on the force."

"That," said Thule, "was a friend of Randy Vandevoort. I didn't meet him
until yesterday."

"Damn, Thule," said Dawn, "what have you got on Randy Vandevoort?"

"Quite a lot, actually," said Thule, "but mostly, he wants to be friends
with me because he assumes I'm playing Marigold for a sap so I can get to
Jonas's money."

"Really?" asked Dawn, "are you?"

"Of course not," said Thule, "but, I'm content letting him think that. It's
why my star has been rising so fast lately."

"But, you're not really friends with Randy?" asked Dawn.

"Could an honorable man be?" asked Thule.

"No," said Dawn, "I suppose not. But, you have to admit that it is pretty
confusing."

"I know," said Thule, "and I'll explain more of it to you soon. But right
now..."

Dawn filled in for him, "More rescuing. Less talking."

Thule nodded. Even with the stop, he still got to the newspaper office in
thirty five minutes by applying a lead foot the rest of the way. Because it
was closest, he pulled into teacher parking lot and parked there.

Going at a fast trot, Dawn catching up as she could, Thule headed up to the
newspaper office. As he came in the door, he saw Brianne and Ian crowded in
around Marigold's desk, which she was sitting at.

"I hope it's okay that I came early," Thule said, "we got finished early in
Vonsburgh. So, I thought we would help you get done faster."

Brianne and Ian jumped back guiltily at the sound of Thule's voice. Thule
asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," said Brianne, "we were just conferring on the physical layout."

Dawn came in behind Thule, trying not to pant. Marigold said, "Well, I'm
glad you two are here. I don't want this to take all night. Thule, if you
could copyedit the galleys that are done. Dawn, if you could do paste up on
these," she crossed the room and handed Dawn a pile of letter-sized papers,
"we should be done in no time."

So, for the next twenty minutes, they worked side by side in more or less
complete silence. Finally, Brianne broke the silence by saying, "Thule, did
you talk to Ioke about the tutoring yet?"

Thule cursed inwardly, but said calmly, "No. Thanks for reminding me." He
pulled out his wallet, "Here's a card with my cell phone number on it. Have
her call me and we'll set up a time."

"Oh," said Marigold, a little too casually, not looking up from the light
table, "what are you tutoring Ioke in?"

"Math," said Brianne, looking at Thule and licking her lips, "He offered to
help me with my math, too. Hey, Thule, maybe you could do me and Ioke
together." Marigold looked up sharply.

"Well," said Thule, deliberately missing the double entendre, "you two are
at different levels. The subject matter would be completely different."

Based on the triumphant, self-satisfied smile on Brianne face, Thule thought
that he must have kept up the double entendre somehow, but couldn't figure
out how. But she said, "It's true. I am much more advanced."

The lascivious tone of Brianne's voice was so strong that Ian finally caught
it. He looked up from the articles he was trimming and stared directly at
Thule with anger flashing in his eyes.

Thule just smiled at him, though, "Of course," he said, "you and Brianne
should be on the same level. Maybe I could help the two of you with your
math at the same time." Then, to make sure the football player didn't miss
his meaning, he stared at Ian's package for a long second. Ian and Brianne
were so shocked that they didn't see Marigold cover her mouth to keep from
laughing.

"Yeah, uh," said Ian slowly, "that might be all right."

"Good," Thule smiled and, with a quick glance at Ian's now-excited groin,
went back to work.

Ten minutes later, Brianne said, "Oh, Marigold, honey, I forgot. There's
something Ian and I have to do tonight. Can you three finish up without us?"

"Well," said Marigold, looking up from her computer and pushing hair out of
her eyes, "I suppose we could, although it would be faster if you two were
here."

"Sorry," shrugged Brianne. As she was going out the door, she turned, "Why,
Dawn, you're looking rather naked today."

Dawn, who was still dressed in blue jeans and sports bra, said, "Thank you,
Brianne. I'll see you in math tomorrow--or sooner."

Brianne didn't harumph as she turned to leave, but she clearly wanted to.
Ian gave Thule an inquisitive look at he left, but Thule's features were
curiously blank. After they had left, Marigold leapt up from her desk, ran
to the office door, closed, and locked it. Then, she ran over to Thule,
throwing herself into his arms, laying her head on his solar plexus.

"Oof," said Thule.

"I'm so glad you showed up when you did," said Marigold. She reached up,
grasped the back of Thule's head, and drew him down into a passionate kiss.
Thule braced the back of her head with one hand, wiping away her single tear
with his thumb. When he pulled away, he asked, "What happened."

"Nothing," said Marigold, "and I was starting to feel stupid for having
called you. But, they were clearly up to something. They kept getting closer
and increasingly cryptic in their comments, like they had some inside joke
they weren't telling me about. I think you got here just on time."

Still hugging Thule, Marigold turned to Dawn, "Why are you so naked anyway?"

"I got stopped for speeding on the way over here..." began Thule.

"...and, I was going to flash him if I thought it would help get Thule here
sooner," said Dawn.

"You were?" asked Thule, "I thought I said 'don't overdo it.'"

"I didn't say it was the most subtle approach," said Dawn, "but as a
last-ditch effort."

Marigold, seemingly overcome, unwrapped one arm from around Thule and waved
Dawn over. Dawn came over and Marigold pulled her into the hug, pinning her
between Thule and herself so that Thule was standing behind Dawn and
Marigold was facing them both. Then, she hugged them both fiercely.

"You two are the best," Marigold said, tears welling up in her eyes, "I'd
never make it without you."

Thule tried to stand as still as possible and think of baseball. When he was
sure he could speak evenly, he said, "We should get this paper done."

Marigold nodded and released them. Dawn turned around and hugged Thule
directly. A half foot taller than Marigold, her head fit comfortably under
his chin. To Marigold she said, "It's not every day you get to hug a knight
in shining armor."

"Actually," said Marigold, smiling, "it is."

"Well, okay," said Dawn, "It's not everyday I get to hug a knight in shining
armor."

Marigold gave a dismissive wave, "Hug him all you want. In spite of the
shining armor, he's like a big teddy bear."

Dawn gave Thule another squeeze, "I was just noticing that," she said. When
she released him, she had a look on her face that hovered between
mischievous and evil.

An hour later, when they'd finally gotten the galley proofs printed,
proofed, and dummied up, Thule sat on the faded gray couch nearest the door.
Marigold came and flopped down next to him. Dawn sat on the nearest desk,
facing them.

"Now," said Marigold, "all we need to do is run those over to the printer
and we're done."

"When do they close?" asked Thule.

"Not until ten," said Marigold, "We've got four and a half hours to spare."

Thule relaxed. Editing and doing actual mechanical cutting and pasting was
strenuous because it was so detailed. His shoulders ached with the effort of
keeping his hands steady while cutting articles from their printouts.
Marigold said, "Now that that's done, I was wondering if you could explain
something to me, Thule?"

"Yes, love of my life?" said Thule.

"Did I or did I not see you just come on to Brianne and Ian?"

"Yeah," said Dawn, "I noticed that, too."

Thule nodded, "Yup. I figure that Brianne is still pissed at both of you
and, in her mind, what better way of getting back at both of you and taking
a shot at Randy at the same time than by sleeping with me? As long as she
thinks she's got a shot at it, she's very friendly to me. Since she and Ian
are plotting something against you, I need to move against them soon. If I
can play them off of each other, I have a better chance of driving a wedge
between them."

"But, sleeping with them?" said Marigold, "There's got to be an easier way."

Thule nodded, "I have no intention of sleeping with them. If I can break
them up, particularly with what I have in mind, it will be entirely
reasonable of me to want to put as much distance between us as possible."

Dawn said, "Oo. What have you got planned? This I've got to hear."

"Leave me some surprises," said Thule, "Within a week, you should see."

                                  -=-

When they got to his car, Thule saw a yellow slip of paper under his
windshield wiper, "Shit," he said, pulling it off.

"What is it?" asked Marigold as she got in her side.

"Un-fucking-believable," said Thule, "I can probably get away with murder in
this town, but I can't get away with parking in the teachers' parking lot.
I've got detention tomorrow."

For some reason, Marigold and Dawn found that hysterically funny. Once they
started giggling, they fed off of each other until tears were leaking out of
the corners of their eyes. Thule didn't understand why they found it so
funny.

"Listen," said Thule when he was reasonably sure the paroxysms had died
down, "this actually illustrates a point I needed to make. Now that things
are heating up, you two should never be alone, particularly at school. As
long as you're in class or busy hallways, you should be okay. If you have to
go anywhere else, find each other. Or, find me. In an emergency, find Oxana
or one of the guys with the crew cuts we eat lunch with. But, use the buddy
system. Remember, if you're not with her, she might be alone and that's not
acceptable. Always keep your phones with you. If you get the slightest whiff
of danger, call me. I'd rather go to a hundred false alarms than miss one
real emergency."

"Wow," said Dawn, "you're really demanding. Is he always this demanding?"

Marigold smiled, "Pretty much. It's the basis of our relationship. He tells
me what to do and I do it."

Dawn looked back and forth between them. Thule kept his eyes on the road.
Marigold was still grinning from the gigglefest that she and Dawn had just
finished. Finally, Dawn said, "You're kidding, right?"

"No," said Marigold, "He gives me orders and I imagine that he's going to do
something really awful to me if I don't follow them."

Dawn sat up straighter in the back seat, "You're serious, aren't you?"

Marigold nodded.

"That's so..." Dawn seemed to be searching for a word, "un-PC."

Thule hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he let it go. He said,
"I've never been much for PC."

"So, Thule," asked Dawn, "what would you do to Marigold if she disobeyed?"

Thule chuckled in the chiaroscuro of gathering twilight. Then, with deep
menace in his voice, he said, "Bad, bad things."

                          -=-

After they'd dropped Dawn off at home, they drove in silence for a while.
When it had become uncomfortable, Thule said, "Did you have to tell Dawn
about our arrangement?"

Marigold shrugged, "You seemed to be letting her in on the plan and I've
been dying for someone I can talk to. By the way, why are you letting her in
on the plan?"

It was Thule's turn to shrug, "Because she's a valuable ally and, after
today, I'm convinced that she would go to the wall for you. I believe she
was honestly ready to stay with the cop who pulled me over and distract him
by any means necessary just so that I could get to you on time."

"I got some sense of that," said Marigold, "But, what did I do to deserve
such loyalty?"

Thule chuckled, "I guess you were just lovable you. Sometimes, that's all it
takes."

Marigold turned to face Thule more directly in her seat, "Are you saying
she's in love with me?"

"I wasn't," said Thule, "but, she might be. I wouldn't worry about it,
though.  I found out today that she's seeing June Kane."

"That's the cheerleader?" said Marigold incredulously, "Thule, it can't be.
She's one of the biggest homophobes I know. She won't change or shower with
other girls in the locker room. She flinches every time she's touched. It
can't be her."

"Her body language is a little bit weird," said Thule, "but Dawn confirmed
it for me herself. Sometimes, that's how it manifests itself. People get
homophobic because they can't come to terms with their own latent
homosexuality."

"Still," said Marigold, "I don't like her. She's at least as mean as
Brianne. She's not a good match for Dawn."

"I agree," said Thule, "and so does Dawn. It's a marriage of convenience,
though. Dawn believes June can protect her next year."

"That's so sad," said Marigold, "Why didn't you tell her that things are
going to be different next year?"

"Because I don't know if they are," said Thule, "If I succeed, the
Vandevoorts will be gone, but June Kane is going to be just as tyrannical as
Brianne is."

After about a minute of silence, Marigold said, "We should do something
about June Kane."

"No," said Thule, "she hasn't done anything that warrants the kind of
revenge I dish out. She's garden variety evil, the sort that thrives in
every high school in America. Even without the Vandevoorts, Mannsborough
High isn't going to become a utopia."

"Ioke is nice," said Marigold, seemingly a propos of nothing.

"In what way?" asked Thule, feeling like he was treading on eggshells.

"I mean," said Marigold, "Ioke is a genuinely nice person. If June Kane were
out of the way, she'd be the most likely person to be cheerleading captain
next year. She's better at it than anyone. She's so limber and athletic. She
can practically rise from a full-out split without using her hands."

"Err, yes," said Thule, coughing, "what was your point?"

"That was my point," said Marigold, "Ioke is one of the nicest people I've
ever met. She's quiet, so she doesn't arouse Brianne's anger, but a really
sweet person. If she were the head of the cheerleading squad, they wouldn't
be such a group of harpies."

Thule nodded, "If I can arrange it, I will."

As they got close to her street, Marigold said, "Take me to your house."

"Are you sure?" asked Thule.

Marigold nodded, "Jonas is getting computer lessons and my mother is at a
women's auxiliary meeting tonight. Give me your phone."

Thule handed it over, "Bossy," he grumbled.

Marigold stuck out her tongue at him before dialing. Then, she said, "Hi,
guys. This is Marigold. I'm going to cook Thule dinner tonight to thank him
for helping out with the newspaper. If you need me, you can reach me at his
house or via his cell phone." She read the two numbers off from memory,
"Otherwise, I'll be home late." She hung up.

Thule said, "They're going to know..."

"Thule," said Marigold, "They already know. Besides, I gave them a chance to
tell me to come home earlier. By the time they get home, we'll just be
finishing dinner."

"You know," said Thule, "I am damned impressed. What a subtle and effective
way to get your parents to give their blessing to you putting out without
actually having to bring up the subject."

"Yeah," said Marigold, "it's a damned-near Thulian solution."

                                   -=-

Thule knew he was going to get fat if he wasn't careful around Marigold.
Surveying the ingredients in his refrigerator and freezer, she'd ended up
making chicken cordon bleu and fettucini alfredo. After the filling meal,
they sat together on the couch, staring at the blank tv until Thule turned
it on to the news. It was a slow week, focused on some sort of congressional
sex scandal or another. Thule hadn't kept track. Marigold, on the other
hand, seemed entranced.

"Don't tell me you've been keeping up with this thing," said Thule, "It's so
tawdry."

"No," said Marigold, "this is the first I've heard of it. I almost never
watch tv anymore. In fact, it's probably been about two years since the last
time I did. Jonas doesn't approve of it, calls it the idiot box. And, with
everything I've been doing for school, it's just been easier not to watch."

Thule nodded. Marigold lay her head on his lap, stretching her body out onto
the remainder of the couch. As Thule stroked her hair, she asked, "Thule,
would you say we have a traditional relationship?"

Thule chuckled, "Sure. Boy meets girl. Boy blackmails girl. Boy forces girl
into depraved sex acts. Girl likes it. Boy is driven by guilt to take
horrific revenge on his classmates. Boy and girl live happily ever after.
I'm sure that Hallmark is missing a golden marketing opportunity by not
going after our demographic."

"That's not quite what I meant," said Marigold.

"So, what did you mean?" asked Thule.

After several false starts, Marigold said, "Do you think we're meant to be
together, just with each other, forever?"

Thule thought before answering, stroking Marigold's hair, "I could be very
happy with that."

Marigold sighed, "I think I could be too, but...I think I talked about
marriage too early."

"Well," said Thule, "that puts you in accordance with more or less everyone
else."

"But, I do want to marry you," said Marigold.

"I want to marry you, too," said Thule, "Or, at least, I want to spend the
rest of my life with you and marriage seems like the best way to accomplish
that. I love you, Marigold."

"I love you too, Thule," said Marigold.

Thule sat, stroking her hair and ignoring the news on tv, "So?" he said,
finally.

"So," said Marigold, "Last night, I finally got around to looking Jonas up
on the Internet, just to see what everybody knew about him, but I didn't and
I came across this link to a site about polyamory."

"In relation to Jonas?" Thule asked.

"No," said Marigold, "actually, Miss Simone, the art teacher, used the word
one day and it kind of stuck in my head. Once I figured out how to use a
search engine and finished reading about Jonas, I was thinking about some
other terms I could search on. This was one of them."

"The first one?" asked Thule.

"Well, yes," said Marigold, "but, I was wondering if you could ever see us
being like that."

"I don't know," said Thule, "I'm still trying to get my head around the fact
that there's a 'we' at all half the time. Could you see us being like that?"

"It's kind of like you said," answered Marigold, "I'm still getting used to
the idea that I can enjoy sex with anyone. Elliot was so anti-sex and down
on my body that I was seriously thinking of sex as my 'wifely duty.'" She
shuddered, "But, you make me feel desireable and sexy. I love making love to
you. I love fucking you. I had no idea sex could feel so good. I just
figured that sex was something you did to get married or, for that matter,
to get into Harvard." She smiled at her own little joke, "So, the idea of
marrying early and only having sex with that one person I married made
perfect sense. Now...." She trailed off.

"Now, you're not so sure," said Thule.

"If I say yes," asked Marigold, "will I lose you. Because, if I'll lose you,
the answer is no. I love you, Thule."

"No," said Thule, "you won't lose me."

Marigold breathed a heavy sigh, "It's just that we're going away to college
next year and we're going to meet lots of people and there's so much I want
out of life now...but, at the same time, it would kill me to lose you. And,
if I had to choose between you and everyone else, I'd choose you. So, I need
to know. Do I have to choose?"

Thule said, "You know, there are a lot of unhappy poly people. The web sites
don't tell you that. They're very politicized and want to present poly as a
panacea for all of the world's ills. In their own way, they're as smug as
the Christians who say that monogamy is God's law."

"I understand," said Marigold, a little sadly.

"I'm not done," said Thule, "As I was saying, it's a different way to lead
your life, not necessarily better or worse. It's entirely possible that
involving more people that closely in your life causes the number of
problems to rise exponentially. Didn't you ever notice how nuts Miss Simone
is most of the time?"

"I just assumed that was because she was an artist," said Marigold, "Are you
saying it's because she's poly?"

"I'm saying it's because she's a drama queen who needs to be the center of
attention," said Thule, "and with two boyfriends and a girlfriend, she often
is. But, she creates all kinds of problems for herself and having all those
people so deeply entangled in her life makes them much worse. So, poly may
not be the right choice for Miss Simone."

"I see," said Marigold.

"Of course," added Thule, "I can't see that monogamy would be right for her
either. She's too needy for any one man. And, unfortunately, sedation is not
really a lifestyle choice."

"Well," said Marigold, "neither one of us is like Miss Simone. You're the
most intensely rational person I know and I, well, I may have my dramatic
urges, but I do what you tell me."

"What about," asked Thule, "when you saw me with Maya? It almost made you
sick to your stomach."

"It was awful," agreed Marigold, "but, it was awful because I knew you
shouldn't be fucking her. She was crazy and I was afraid she was going to be
in our life. Once I realized that you weren't interested in clasping Maya to
your bosom, it didn't bother me so much."

"What if," asked Thule, "I wanted to fuck Brianne?"

"Why would you want to fuck Brianne?" asked Marigold, sounding annoyed.

"Call it a hypothetical question," said Thule.

Marigold thought about it, "I would be revolted." Then, as she thought about
it, she added, "I would insist you wear a condom. And I would still probably
want you boiled before I let you touch me again."

Thule laughed, "Good. He said. I would be revolted too."

"I don't understand," said Marigold, puzzled.

"Relationships are about negotiation," said Thule, "all relationships. There
is no one, true way. Anything we can agree on between us is our right to do.
If we were going to be poly, we would have to set terms. I don't want you
sleeping with just anyone and, as you have demonstrated, you don't want me
sleeping with just anyone. As long as you can be honest with me about what
you want and don't want, we may be able to manage it."

Marigold pulled herself into Thule's lap, kissing him on the mouth, "I love
you, Thule."

Thule smiled indulgently at her, "I love you, too, Marigold. Of course, you
realize I'm barely going to have time for one relationship until this whole
sordid mess is over and done with. Don't you?"

Marigold blinked at Thule in confusion, "But, I thought you were expecting
to sleep with somebody else as part of this whole sordid mess. Isn't that
what all the speeches about doing things that are pleasureable, but you
don't like and how I might hate you when this is all over about?"

"Err," said Thule, "somewhat. Although, the last bit includes any number of
dirty tricks I may have to pull, like kidnapping and assault."

Marigold wriggled against Thule until he spread his legs and she could kneel
between them. She kissed his chest, just above the top button. Then, she
unbuttoned it, "I've come to terms with that. You're not going to do those
things unless they're absolutely necessary. Dawn was right. You really are a
knight in shining armor, but you're really more like a samauri, and you'd
sooner commit seppiku than violate your own personal bushido. It's very
sexy." Reaching the last button on his shirt, she dipped her tongue in
Thule's navel. He shuddered a little in pleasure.

"This discussion is not over, Marigold," said Thule.

"So, said Marigold, unbuckling his belt, "Keep talking."

Thule roared, sitting up, catching Marigold around the waist, and throwing
her over his shoulder as he rose. Holding onto the backs of her thighs, he
carried her into the bedroom that way as Marigold instinctively pounded on
his back with her fists, giggling so hard that she couldn't put much
strength behind the blows. Once he got her into the room, he flopped her
down on the bed. Marigold looked up, expectantly, her breath coming
shallowly, her legs akimbo, as much as the calf-length stretchy red skirt
would allow. Thule caught the skirt by the hem and pulled it up until it was
gathered around her lap. Grinning wickedly, he climbed into the spot now
vacated by the skirt.

"If you expect to be with someone more than once," said Thule, "I want to
know them." He slid his hands under her marigold-colored top. Marigold
shivered at the touch.

Marigold nodded. Thule lowered his head to her belly and placed a kiss
there, "Nobody as skeevy as Paul, not even once," he said, "If you have any
doubt as to the skeeve factor, check with me."

Marigold writhed beneath Thule's kisses. Thule said, "If it starts to feel
wrong for either of us, we can come to the other and say, 'I want to change
the agreement.'" Remembering that her top had buttons, Thule began to
unbutton them, "You don't let something bothering you fester. You promise to
communicate what you're feeling."

"You, too," said Marigold.

Thule laughed, sliding an arm under Marigold so that he could lift her and
pull the top away, "I never have a problem expressing what I need to
express."

Marigold laughed too, purring at the same time as Thule's hands caressed her
belly and ribs. Her hips started to rise and fall of their own accord, "No,"
she said, "you don't. Do you?"

Thule reached around with both hands and unhooked Marigold's bra. As he
pulled his hands back around her again, he ran the backs of them over her
breasts. his rough knuckles rubbing her nippleas as they went. Marigold sat
up, part to let him pull the bra free, but part to kiss him lustily on the
mouth, licking his lips, wrestling with his tongue. She moaned wordlessly.

"God, Thule," she said, "you really have turned me into some kind of
demented sex kitten, haven't you?"

"I prefer to think," said Thule, one arm holding her to him so that her
breasts pressed into his coarse chest hair, "that I just put you in touch
with your inner kitten."

Marigold licked Thule on the neck, at the same time undoing the top button
on his jeans.

"Wait," said Thule, "slow down. You've still got to tell me your terms."

"Love me," said Marigold, "Always keep me first in your heart. Don't be
stupid about who you sleep with." She unzipped his fly, "Don't change who
you are." She reached into his boxers and wrapped her hand around Thule's
engorged manhood.

"Those aren't really rules," said Thule, his hand pushing ineffectively at
the waistband of her skirt, which would ride back three quarters of the way
up whenever he pushed a quarter down, "This is never going to be fair and
equitable if you don't tell me what you want."

"I am telling you," said Marigold, pushing Thule back so that he lay on the
bed, "That's what I want. And, it's not supposed to be equitable. Our
relationship never has been. It's been about me trusting you to be you and
loving you for it." She shucked off Thule's pants and boxers in one
efficient motion, "I know you would never intentionally hurt me." She kissed
his inner thigh, "So, follow your sense of honor. Act honorably." She kissed
his other thigh.

"Don't you want..." gasped Thule, "...anything...specific?"

Marigold was already taking Thule into her mouth when he asked. Instead, she
licked it from the top of the balls to the tip of the glans and placed a
kiss on its tip, "Don't sleep with Brianne," she said finally, "and don't
fuck Maya again. Is that good?"

"Fine," said Thule, pushing her head down onto his cock. Marigold nearly
choked before she could position herself properly. Then, she turned and
adjusted her head and Thule's cock until she could take the glans all the
way into her throat. Thule gasped in surprise.

"What else," he gasped, "have you been studying on the Internet?"

Marigold extracted Thule from her mouth, licking as she went, "I don't know
how people ever got an education without it," she said, laughing wickedly.
She moved to bring her head down again, but Thule caught her by the back of
her hair and pushed her face down on the bed. Then, he stood and, with both
hands grasping the waistband, pulled off the stretchy skirt. After that, he
quickly peeled off the panties, using only a single finger to do it.

Thule looked down at Marigold's naked body, "Mine," he grunted.

"Yours," Marigold said, smiling and spreading her legs for him, "Come and
take it."

Instead of coming down to her, Thule reached down with both hands, wrapped
them around Marigold's waist and lifted her into the air before pulling her
against him. Marigold wrapped her legs around Thule, trying to maintain
balance. He entered her then, without preamble. Then, with her legs locked
on the small of his back and his hands clenching her buttocks tightly, he
began to drive into her. Holding her in midair, he savaged her with his
cock. Then, he moved one hand to the center of her bottom and the other to
the small of her back and began driving in harder.

"Oh, God, Thule," Marigold cried out, her fingernails leaving shallow
furrows in his back as she scrambled for purchase.  She came hard, again and
again. It seemed like a very long time before Thule finally had to lay her
body on the bed, both of them now being too slick with sweat to maintain
traction.

As Thule lay over her, driving away, Marigold managed to gasp out, "Brute."

Thule laughed, "Flatterer."

"Neanderthal," Marigold growled.

"Yeah," said Thule, "keep talking."

"Un-PC," said Marigold defiantly.

Thule laughed triumphantly and, seemingly impossibly, redoubled his efforts.
It was a long time before Marigold could say anything at all after that. It
wasn't until Thule slid a single index finger, coated with warm, thick
massage oil into her ass that she said, "Oh, God, Thule," again, then added,
"Break me."

Thule laughed, "With pleasure." Sliding out of her, he sat up.

"Yes," said Marigold, "with pleasure. That's how I want you to do it."

Thule gathered Marigold up in his arms. Realizing what he was about to do,
Marigold tried to scramble away at the last second. But, it was too late.
Crushing her body to his, her legs folded up between them, he took her
anally, kissing her roughly on the mouth as he did.

Marigold tried to protest. She felt so obscene and exposed that her face
burned with embarassment. But, as Thule's hands gripped her hips and drove
her down onto him again and again, she lost all awareness of anything but
her own pleasure. When Thule came inside of her, Marigold cried out in joy
and pleasure, wrapped her hands around the back of Thule's head and kissed
him hard on the mouth. Thule held her there, quivering with pleasure, until
he slid out, spent.

When he dropped Marigold off at home, Thule walked her to the door, kissing
her relatively chastely on the porch. Jonas waved to him from the other end
of the front hall, saying, "Hello, Thule." It was a greeting, but not an
invitation, which seemed about right, all things considered.

                            -=-

Thule didn't get to see much of Marigold that week. Sure, he saw her every
day during classes and lunch and on the rides to and from school. But, he
was playing catch-up to get everything for school and work done. Tuesday, he
sat in the detention hall and caught up on homework. Wednesday, he spent at
Tarr going over IT staffing requrements with Jonas and Mac. Jonas pretended
not to notice Thule's fading shiner. But, since he also pretended not to
know that Thule had deflowered his stepdaughter, Thule considered it a more
than fair trade. Thursday, he went up to the lab for a meeting and to bring
home more work. He'd brought Marigold home with him after some activity or
another that night, but she seemed drained by her own schedule and fell
asleep on his bed. So, he spent most of her visit coding.

By Friday, he was on a slow simmer. After he'd dropped Dawn off, he turned
to Marigold, "I need you."

"Sure," she answered, not looking up from the physics textbook she was
reviewing, "What for?"

Thule reached up under her skirt. Today, it was a black denim one that only
came an inch below the knee. Agressively pushing aside her panties, he ran
his fingertip over Marigold's clitoris. Marigold prompty dropped her nine
hundred page textbook on his wrist. Thule yowled in pain and protest,
pulling the injured hand away.

"Oh, Thule," said Marigold, taking his hand and pulling it back towards her,
"I'm so sorry." She kissed the wrist. Thule stroked her cheek with his
fingertips, "but, you've got to be more careful. You startled me."

Thule grunted, "I can't be careful. That's the problem. I need you now."

"What?" asked Marigold, "here in the car, in front of Dawn's house?"

"I suppose it could wait until we got to my place," Thule said reluctantly.

"We would never have time," said Marigold, "I promised I'd be home by
quarter after four. My mother is having some of the lady's auxiliary over
for tea and they want to see me. What about tomorrow?"

"Can't do it," said Thule, "Randy's party is tomorrow. And, I don't want to
be too mellow when I get there. I want you now, Marigold." He grinned
toothily, "And, now that you've wounded my only other source of relief, it's
much more urgent."

"Drive towards my house," said Marigold.

"Aren't your parents home?" asked Thule.

"I said towards," answered Marigold, "not to."

Thule drove until they were about five minutes from Marigold's house, where
they came upon a wide, dirt trail, "Pull over here," Marigold said. Thule
did as he was told. Marigold got into the car, drawing him deeper into the
woods and away from the wide trail. Soon, they were in a secluded grove, a
small stream running through it and a thick carpet of moss covering a large
part of the ground.

"I used to come here for solitude," said Marigold, "I thought it was another
world."

"Take off your panties," ordered Thule, his voice a harsh rasp.

Marigold looked like she wanted to protest. So, Thule pushed her back
against a wide beech tree. His eyes were a little wild. And, when Marigold
looked like she still might protest, he covered her mouth with one hand, his
other hand reaching up under her skirt, pushing it up, dragging away her
underwear.

Then, he was inside of her. Marigold braced herself for some discomfort, but
was surprised to discover that he entered her fairly easily. She was already
soaking wet from anticipation of this. After a few thrusts, he was too. He
pounded into her like it was an assault. Marigold held onto him for dear
life. Now, his hand covering her mouth muffled her cries of pleasure.
Somewhere, some shred of Marigold told her she shouldn't be enjoying this,
but she firmly told that shred to mind its own damned business.

Eventually, Thule had to shift both hands underneath her so as to maintain
momentum. If it hurt to put her weight on his injured wrist, he gave no
sign.

It didn't take long for Thule to come inside of her. Even so, Marigold's
body was vibrating with the pleasure it had been subjected to and she felt
like she could come again at the slightest provocation.

Thule said shakily, "Come on. Let's get back to the car. Can't keep the
women's auxiliary waiting."

Marigold looked at him, stunned, "Wait a second. Help me get these twigs and
things out of my hair."

Thule smiled, picking at a few places, "That should do it."

As they walked back to the car, Marigold asked, "What was that all about?"

Thule said, "It had been too damned long--and I wasn't going to get another
chance until at least Tuesday, unless I tried to steal you away between
Sunday church and Sunday dinner. And," he added, still panting, "I'm going
into the den of vipers tomorrow. I just...wanted to remember what I'm doing
all of this for."

"I thought," said Marigold, "you were doing it for Maya."

"No," said Thule, "that hasn't been true for a while." But, he didn't
elaborate.

                            -=-

As it turned out, Thule did get to see Marigold the very next day. He wound
up chauffering her and Dawn to the school in order to do preparations for
the junior formal. The junior formal was held on the grounds in Avery
Jefferson Hall, which had a big, modular space that was normally subdivided
into classrooms for the more artistic pursuits and used for adult education
at night, but could be made into a single dance floor. Thule considered it
one of many white elephants built by a high school with too many donors and
not enough buildings to put names on.

Dawn was even bouncier than usual. The cause of her excitement was clear,
"June invited me to this dance. She promised to dance with me and kiss me
with everybody watching. I'm so excited. She's ready to come out and I'm
going to come out with her."

Thule said, "Congratulations. How are you going to get there?"

"June's picking me up," said Dawn, "She's got a car."

Thule made an unhappy face, but couldn't think of anything he could say that
would convince Dawn that a different course of action than the one she'd
chosen would be prudent. So, he said, "Well, be careful. But, I hope it
turns out for the best and you're just as happy when you come home as you
are now."

"Happier," said Dawn, "I think I'm in love. No more lost causes."

                            -=-

After that, Thule headed home. He'd bought a new outfit, khakis and a
pea-green button-down shirt, nearly identical to what Randy had worn the
first day of school this year. He'd already sewn a dozen small pockets into
the outfit. Now, he needed to load them. Pulling the duffel bag out of the
closet, he selected a dozen small items and laid them out on a white cloth
on the bed. The pills, he put in flat, plastic baggies. Then, he examined
the items. The Swiss Army Knife, he wrapped in a thin chamois so it would be
less likely to slip out. Next, he placed one item in each pocket. None of
the items were bigger than Thule's ring finger and most of them considerably
smaller. Once he had sewn each shut pocket with a loose stitch meant to
easily tear free when he wanted them to, the items were completely invisible
from the outside.

Thule then took the khakis and shirt and shook them upside down. He whipped
them back and forth. When he was satisfied that the items would not come
loose, he laid the clothing back on the bed, pushed each item down into the
bottom of its respective pocket again, and smoothed the clothes out.

Then, he got in the shower. Any lapses in personal hygiene, real or
imagined, would almost certainly lead to a loss of status. Toweling off
thoroughly, he dressed in his boxer-briefs and undershirt, then put on and
buttoned up the pea green shirt. After that, he threaded the new leather
belt he'd bought to go with the outfit into the khakis before sliding them
on. Tucking his shirt in all the way around, he closed, zipped, and belted
the pants.

Finally, he pulled on his dress socks and the crowning acheivement of the
outfit. Opening the small, black shoebox, he pulled out a pair of Italian
loafers, identical to ones Randy had been bragging about paying five hundred
dollars for two weeks ago. Thule had managed to get them off of the Internet
for one fifty. It was still about five times what he'd ever paid for a pair
of shoes before, but it felt all right because Randy had paid five hundred
dollars for the same shoes.

Looking in the full-length mirror on his bedroom door, Thule knew that he
looked like he belonged at one of Randy Vandevoort's parties. The outfit
also signalled, loud and clear, that he chose to belong there.

Checking his clock, Thule saw that he had just under three hours before he
was supposed to head out to the party. So, he began methodically unbuttoning
the shirt as the first step to taking the outfit off again so that it
wouldn't be wrinkled when he left. But, his home phone rang. Muttering at
the interruption, he walked into the kitchen. The Caller ID read, "RANDY V
CELL" as if the Randy part were more important than the Vandevoort part.
Thule let it ring, standing and listening.

"Hey, Postal," said Randy, using the sobriquet he had bequeathed on Thule,
"Remember that fun I said I was going to have set up for today before the
party? Well, it's a go. Get your butt down to the high school gym in the
next twenty minutes or you're only going to get sloppy seconds, at best. Oh,
yeah. Come in the door at the top."

Thule muttered to himself. He wondered which girl had been dumb enough to
let herself be talked into one of the football team's ritual gangbangs. He
knew from studying the team that they had one every year. Freshman year, it
had been Colleen Shea. Sophomore year, it had been Posie Weingarten. Junior
year, it had been Clara Grayhill. This year, it had been the Greek exchange
student, Atalanta something or other. Colleen had committed suicide less
than a week later. Posie and Clara had turned into sluts and basket cases,
probably as bad as Maya. Atalanta, to date, hadn't shown any ill effects
that Thule could see.

Suddenly, Thule's superior mathematical skill caught up with him. Randy
talked one girl a year into being the guest of honor at one of these events.
If there were more than one a year, he didn't talk, he just took.

And Thule had just realized who Randy's planned victim was.

Rushing into his bedroom, he jammed the zipper on the duffel bag when it was
three-quarters shut. Cursing, he picked it up and bolted out to the car,
throwing it on the back seat. Gravel sprayed all over the front yard as he
peeled out of the driveway, leaving a long path of burnt rubber behind.

                           -=-

If there were any cops out today, Thule didn't see them. It was a good
thing, too. Even Vladi might have had a hard time turning his back on
Thule's car, traveling so fast it was starting to rock on its suspension
system, the needle buried at eighty five. All the while, he drove with one
hand and kept trying to get Marigold on her cell phone with the other.

He got to the school in record time. Pulling into the senior parking lot, he
ran to the gym's downstairs door. He knew why Randy had said the upstairs
door. There was a staircase from the coach's office down to the locker rooms
where you could get all the way down to the locker rooms without being seen
by anyone in the gym or on the ordinary stairs.

He fumbled around in the duffel bag, looking for his gun, praying he
wouldn't need it. Everything in the bag was in a jumble from being thrown
into the back seat so roughly. Thule thought he'd looked down for just a
second, but when he looked up, Dawn was already standing at the bottom door,
opening it, and entering the lobby that separated the two locker rooms.

Thule wanted to shout, but he didn't think she would hear him. Instead, he
grabbed the whole duffel bag and bolted for the gym.

As he reached the clear glass door to the lobby, he saw Dawn standing in
front of the closed door to the women's locker room, apparently debating
whether or not to go in. Slowing his pace so as not to make so much noise,
he pushed the door open, then sprinted at Dawn.

Dawn looked up, so surprised at this apparation in khaki and pea green
bearing down on her that she had only just opened her mouth to scream when
Thule clamped his hand down, cutting it off. Lifting her off of her feet
like a ragdoll, he turned and let his momentum carry them into the boys'
locker room. Dawn squirmed, but Thule held her tight, carrying her through
the empty locker room, into the bathroom outside of the shower area. Before
releasing his hold on her mouth, he held up a finger from his free and and
held it perpendicular to his lips in the universal signal for quiet. Dawn
looked at him like he was completely insane, but stayed silent when Thule
cautiously removed his hand.

Taking a pad and pencil from his duffel bag, Thule wrote, "It's a trap."
When Dawn raised an eyebrow quizzically, he wrote, "Football team inside
girl's locker room. June K setting you up."

Dawn shook her head emphatically, indicating disbelief. Thule crab walked
over to the showers and indicated Dawn should follow him. She did, still
looking skeptical. Then, Thule cupped his hand around his ear to indicate
she should listen.

For the next ten minutes or so, they crouched there, ears pressed against
the wall, complete silence broken only by the steady drip-drip-drip of the
shower heads. Then, through the wall, they heard.

"Where is this bitch? We've got a party to get ready for." The query was
immediately followed by loud, concentrated shusshing from many lips. Dawn
paled and almost fell over. Thule steadied her.

Another five minutes passed before someone said, "June, where is she? She
was supposed to be here like twenty minutes ago."

Thule rummaged in his bag for an audio recorder, found it and started
recording.

"I'm sure she's on her way," said the unmistakable voice of June Kane, "You
should have seen her drooling all over me this week. She's probably just
powdering her nose. Now, keep it down."

Another ten minutes passed, during which time the grumbling started again.
Eventually, Thule heard footsteps crossing the floor of the locker room on
the other side.

"Screw this," said Randy Vandevoort's voice, "We might as well head over to
my place and start the party. I'll be sure to tell Brianne to send someone
hot enough to lure a lesbian in here next time, June." Even through the
wall, the mockery was plain.

"I did not screw up," said June Kane, stamping her foot sharply, "She must
have just chickened out."

"Whatever," said Randy, "Guys, let's go."

"Wait," said another voice Thule didn't recognize through the wall, "Miss
Bitch here said she'd provide a piece of tail here today. I say we hold her
to it."

There was a general murmer of agreement. But, Randy's voice said, "No way,
guys. Brianne would come down on us all like a ton of bricks.

Thule allowed himself a heavy sigh of relief, but realized it had been too
soon when he heard Ian say, "I doubt it. Just yesterday, she called June
here an ungrateful cunt."

Thule closed his eyes and braced himself. This could only go one direction
now. It took him a few precious seconds to find enough calm in himself to
start methodically searching through his bag for his gun.

Dawn picked up the pad and wrote, "What are you doing?"

Thule crooked a finger, leading her back into the locker room proper. When
they were there, he said, "I'm going to go in there and stop them, as soon
as I find my gun."

"Stop them?" asked Dawn, "Why? It sounds like she's getting what she
deserves. She just tried to set me up to be gang raped."

"I know," said Thule. His smile was pained and apologetic, "But, she's still
a damsel in distress. I can't not help her. Come on." He picked up the bag
and started walking towards the normal exit from the locker room. Dawn
followed.

Thule handed Dawn his car keys. Displaying them one at a time, he said,
"Door. Ignition. Run to my car. Get in and start it up. If anybody but me
comes out, get out of here. Call Marigold's house. Jonas will help."

Thule crouched in the doorway of the men's locker room. As Dawn made a run
for it, he gripped his survival knife, ready to jump if anybody came at her.
But, she made it to the car unmolested.

Picking up his bag, Thule ran across to the girls' locker room. He hadn't
bothered to share with Dawn the sickening realization that he had never
moved his gun back into his duffel bag after securing it in the dresser the
night Maya had her meltdown. It would only worry her necessarily.

But, as he pushed open the locker room door, he realized that it would have
worried her correctly. June Kane had apparently invited the entire football
team. As a result, there were now twelve guys gathered loosely around her.
She lay on one of the long, narrow changing benches, her clothes torn away,
her elbows bound together under the bench with a strip of her skirt.

Already, Randy Vandevoort was on top of her, between her legs, pounding away
at her. If she was trying to scream, Thule couldn't hear it. Ian was
mounting her face, pumping away just as furiously as Randy was. On top of
that, the rest of their teammates were cheering them on.

Thule knew he would never be able to stop them with a knife. He probably
couldn't have stopped them with a gun. But, with a gun, at least he could
have tried. He was just about to crawl backwards out of the room when he
spied a collection of old pens wedged in between the wall and the wire to
the emergency exit sign. Rummaging through his bag, he came out with the pen
camera he'd swiped from Paul, the one the older man had thought he was so
clever using to get a second copy of his romp with Marigold, but been dumb
enough to glance at when Thule asked for the tape.

Thule turned the camera on, turned it as much towards the action as he
could, then backed quietly out of the room. Once clear, he loped for the car
as fast as he could. Dawn drove towards him, leaning over to open the door
when they met.

"Where to?" she asked.

"Avery Jeff," said Thule, "We've got to collect Marigold. Then, to a pay
phone."

Marigold was standing outside Avery Jefferson Hall when they got there,
looking vexed.

"Brianne was supposed to come back," said Marigold, "and help me close up.
And you," she said, poking an accusing finger at Dawn, "were supposed to be
buddy. I've been alone here for like a half hour."

"Oh, Marigold," said Dawn, wrapping the shorter girl in a powerful hug,
tears rolling down her cheeks, "I'm so sorry. I was really stupid."

Marigold looked like she was about to reassure Dawn, but Thule broke in,
"There's trouble," he said, "bad trouble. Get in the car."

Marigold did, climbing in the back seat. As they pulled away, she asked,
"Why is Dawn driving? What's going on?"

"June Kane," said Thule grimly, "set up a rendez-vous with Dawn in the
girls' locker room. But, it was actually a setup to turn her over to Randy
and the football team. When Dawn didn't show up, they turned on June. We
have to get to a pay phone, but not the one at the IHOP. It's the first one
the cops will think to ask about. Go to the one outside the old Esso station
that's not open anymore. The phone still works and it's out of the way."

"Wait," said Marigold, "What are you doing here, Thule? How did you get word
of this?"

"Randy called me," said Thule, "to invite me to join the fun. I figured out
they were going after Dawn and got here as soon as I could."

"And why are you calling the cops?" asked Marigold, "It sounds like she's
getting exactly what she deserves."

Thule shouted in exasperation, "Didn't anybody ever tell you that you never
blame the victim for being raped? What the hell is wrong with you two?"

They drove in uncomfortable silence for about a half minute. Then, Dawn
spoke up and said, "I think in this case, an exception must be made."

When they got to the old Esso station, Thule jumped out of the car, ran over
to the pay phone and, relieved to find it working, called the police.

"Mannsborough 911," said the operator.

"Oh my God," shouted Thule, "There some dreg at the school with a gun."

"Sir," said the operator, "please calm down. Is this the high school?"

"Yes," shouted Thule, more hysterical, "Don't tell me to calm down. The
fucker shot Randy. He shot Randy Vandevoort." Then, he hung up.

He walked back to the car. In his normal, calm voice, he said to Dawn,
"Slide over." Then, he got in the car, turned around and drove away.

As he got back to the turnoff that would lead him home, Thule saw the first
three squad cars fly past, flashers and sirens going. But, since he was
driving towards the school, none of them paid him any notice.


Marigold, Part 13
by Vulgar Argot
TAGS: mf, rom, mff-nosex, f/ice-cream, anal, oral, rape, m+/f

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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