Inspiration ID 1

by Michael Hudson

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

  The air by the train station was pleasantly brisk, a mix of it being spring, and of it being four in the morning. Richard was used to it and simply stifled a yawn as he stood there as this was simply a part of what he had to do to go to a better school than one in his own town. He was in his normal uniform: a blue, button up shirt with white cuffs and a yellow breast pocket, just like the girl’s uniform.

  The big change to it from the female uniform had meaning behind it, just like every color to their school’s clothing choices did. Instead of any sort of blue or yellow, his pants were entirely black until they got to the ends of his legs where there was a ring of white on each pant leg. The ring showed the base good for males, while the black was a reminder that they weren’t the pillars of society that women were. That was why males only held low ranking government positions, and had to be lifted up by the women who had founded the Coivian Society.

  It was something that only now Richard really thought about, mostly due to the changes around him. He had never really considered why women weren’t given the IDs, but their position in society almost explained it. Men were the ones who shook things up, who broke the status quo by starting fights, so if they could do controlled bursts of their hormones, they could help lift society up with their defect, all while the women of Coivus were able to bless Inspiration Officers with their purity when they were together. A reward for their show of control, and to incentivize further conduct, just like always.

  Or, at least, he suspected that was the reasoning at one point.

  He shook his head, smacking his cheeks for a moment as he refocused. Today wasn’t about any of that. It was one more normal day before he had to start looking at his female classmates in a new way. Not that he spent much time with the other sex.

  By the end of the day, Richard would be choking on that thought.

  For now though, he got to choke on his breath as someone came around from his side before they grabbed onto his shoulders, pulled themselves up, and pecked him on the lips. His reaction was to suck in a breathe, causing him to start coughing as Cierra backed up. “Oh, are you okay? Did I mess something up?

  Richard shook his head, blinking rapidly as he began to calm down. “Wh-what was that for? It’s not like I ordered you or anything!”

  Cierra, who was fortunately not in Richard’s sight as he continued to clear his throat, froze. She had hoped he might come up with the half dozen reasons that had been in her head for the action, but now that she had to vocalize any of them… “Well, um, you see, I thought since you still were new to all of this, and, uh, maybe I could, you know, help a bit with a quick, um, peck from time to time. Right?”

  Richard looked up, staring at his friend as her cheeks were flushed red under his gaze. He stood straight, finally breathing easy again, and showed just how capable he was with understanding what women really meant.

  “Ah, yeah, I suppose that make some sense. Just give me a little more warning next time, okay? ”

  Cierra forced herself not to breathe a sigh of relief, especially as the train pulled in. Once Richard had walked past her to get to the train though, she used the noise of its whistle to smack herself on the forehead as she began muttering, “Stupid,” to herself over and over again.

  ======+++++======

  Richard slowly walked away from the train, humming to himself as he made his way towards a large hill that was tucked into one of the front corners of his school, Grand Noiga Academy. The building itself was massive, capable of holding and teaching almost ten thousand kids at a time, though normally working at half capacity due to the rigorous requirements that were needed to get in.

  The building itself was fairly utilitarian, having been built into large rectangles for each section. First you had the main building, which held the cafeteria, main offices, multiple auditoriums for school assemblies, and other such essentials. Until this year, Richard had never spent much time in it, but he knew the bottom floor of the building all too well now, as a whole quarter of it was dedicated to the senior student government.

  Past that, you had long education blocks, branching off from the main building in different directions, pushing towards the back two corners of the school. Between the six long buildings that made up the classrooms were the recreational fields, where there was enough room and supplies for students to practice everything from self-defense, to discus, to even being able to hold concerts while a tennis tournament was going on.

  The outlying buildings were given to calmer pursuits, hence why they were given the third most amount of the school’s grounds. The one beside the hill was the one he went to most often, and he smiled as he saw his yellow heart midway up the front wall. The best art students got to decorate the art’s building, and he had decided to make a touch of a statement, making a heart of joy, rather than love or lust.

  Unlike the one in his pocket.

  Richard didn’t dare let the thought show as he turned back to the hill. He’d been told about thirty years back a few delinquents, those few who never seemed to be able to learn their manners as Coivus was still plagued by them, had planted a few trees up here as a prank. When the school had seen the three trees, they had enjoyed it, as finally the hill would have something on it instead of just being a grassy knoll.

  Now those three trees stood tall, rising higher than even the main building, though that was mostly due to them being on the hill. More important than that was that their size made it so that you could be anywhere over halfway up the hill and be in shade, making it a perfect place to draw, as the sun wouldn’t blind you while you gazed upon the other students, or just came up with what you wanted.

  He considered himself more of the first type, having done mostly landscapes and portraits, while the small, black haired girl sitting against one of the trees had a more creative spark with her drawings. She would come up with entire worlds, characters beyond imagine, and had even been asked by the writing club to do some work on possible cover concepts for their books. She never let them credit her though, just for the same reason she wore a modified uniform.

  See, and for reasons that mostly baffled Richard, the girl was shy. However, he never tried to push Alice out of her bubble, except in rare moments like the last art show where he forced her to take credit for her pieces, somewhat like what had happened to him. Fortunately, she hadn’t been recruited into the student council because of it .

  That may have been because of the large, white coat that she wore at all times. It covered most of her body and was a sign of the type of person she was. Soft, caring, and gentle, but unable to participate in society as others would deem normal. It was akin to the delinquents that got forced to wear black shirts or blouses, but was normally seen as a positive thing, as these shy people normally never meant anyone harm and would only ever be a kindness to society, so long as they found a good place.

  Richard sat down next to her, smiling as she stopped sketching to look at him, using her notebook to cover her face. Her sparkling, blue eyes were beautiful, which was a shame, as her hair usually covered one of them. On the other hand, when she was hiding her face like this, with only one of her eyes able to be seen, it went from beautiful to adorable.

  He could hear her clear her throat as she lowered her notebook. She had a small smile on that was cute and tight lipped, along with the beginnings of blush on her cheeks. Richard merely smiled back, enjoying that he was able to appreciate her beauty better now, even though he was used to her blushing around him. She said it was just because she was shy, and he was inclined to believe it. Not that he’d seen her in enough crowds to really test the theory.

  Alice opened her notebook back up, with the current picture being to that of what appeared to be a robotic nurse as she whispered, “Uh, h-hi, Richard. How are you?”

  Richard pulled out his own sketchbook, glancing around them while he did so as to figure out what was around them. He didn’t really see any of the students doing anyt
hing interesting, but he did spot a few birds on the roof of the main building, and it had been a while since he had sketched it. “I’ve been better, mostly due to the stress of yesterday, but I’m doing well now. How about you?”

  Alice fidgeted in her place, a fairly normal response for her with questions as well, before she answered back, “I-I’m fine. ”

  This morning though, that wasn’t all the two said. No, this time Alice would not simply enjoy Richard’s quiet company, but added to her normal response with, “Though, um, did you know my birthday was coming up on Sunday?”

  Richard’s eyes widened before he pulled out his phone, going to his calendar as fast as he could. When he got there, he saw that he had nothing going on Sunday, but that should have been impossible if Alice’s birthday was then. How could he have deleted his best art partner’s birthday? “No, I didn’t. I’m so sorry for having gotten rid of it. I don’t even know when I did.”

  Alice moved to put hand on Richard’s arm, before her hands practically froze beside it. For a moment, her arms stayed locked as she had to watch Richard worry, before she forced them to gently land on him, shaking nervously as she did so. “N-no, it’s fine. You didn’t know because, well, um… I don’t let people usually know. E-even you.”

  She then moved away, her fingers tapping each other as she continued with, “It’s my ei-eighteenth though, so, well, I thought I would try to do something special. It’s going to be at F-F-Farafall I-Indoor Water Park, N-noon, and please, don’t bring a gift.” She looked down, her face about as red as a beet. “I know the train ride alone will cost you a good bit, and I really don’t need one.”

  For a second, Richard opened his mouth to let her know that he was moving tomorrow, or that he got a monthly allowance of ten-thousand dollars so that he could focus on doing activities in Coivus and find better ways to inspire others. However, that would need a lot of explanations, and if there was one girl he knew would fear him if she knew about the card, it was Alice.

  Instead, he swallowed his pride and nodded. “I’d be happy to come. Will anyone else be there? ”

  Alice grabbed the end of her hair with one hand as she looked away, saying in her soft voice, “Oh, I’ve asked a couple people, but none of them were able to give me a response so quickly.” She then looked back at him, and almost breathlessly, as if trying not to let him hear, she asked, “Are you sure you want to come?”

  Richard nodded, before giving her a thumbs up and a grin, hoping it would make relax a little. “Of course I would! How could I say no to one of my best friends?”

  Alice nodded, her heart racing as Richard, having figured out she was done talking, opened his sketchbook. Alice on the other hand toyed with the top button of her large, baggy coat, her heart beating in her ears as the thought of what would happen on Sunday threatened to make her pass out.

  ======+++++======

  “I’m happy to see it wasn’t something medical that caused yesterday’s incident. I would have had to feel responsible for it.”

  Richard nodded, keeping his breathing even as they two students began their second lap around the first of ten recreational courts. They were out for gym, just like any other day. And, just like any other day, he wondered how Karen spoke while they ran. Than again, he knew she was capable of more, and could probably beat any other student in the school on a race.

  The reason she didn’t go full tilt was for his sake. She was a good teacher, and had offered to help him get in better shape once he joined the student council. In three quarters of school, he had made good progress, being stronger, faster, and having more endurance than most guys in his class, all because he was trying to do that which Karen considered satisfactory for a workout. However, he normally bet that if allowed to do what was satisfactory for the standards she put on herself, he’d have to be able to do triple what they already did .

  That’s what he got for training with the Senior Student Council’s Head of Discipline. The seniors were put under stricter rules than anyone else in the school to help them get ready for life afterwards. As such, the staff needed help keeping the rules intact, and the strongest, most just of the seniors was recruited to do such a task. In fact, Karen was considered as an informal instructor, having all the authority of the teacher while still being taught, and she had to deal with the delinquents that had managed to stay into senior year.

  All of that made him happy that he worked out with her. The girl had been the subject of his drawings before, in part due to the fact that she stood out in most crowds by being taller than ninety percent of the student body, including Richard. However, the other big reason for that was that she would be alone a lot more than other students, usually feeding birds or studying when others participated in after school activities.

  It was because of this that he had known anyone on the student council, and despite only having met a handful of times, Karen had been the one to vouch for him so as to allow a male to be such a prominent helper to the council, even if he technically wasn’t a part of it. Men simply weren’t responsible enough, being able to be more prone to giving into their hormones and breaking rules, leading to there usually being three male delinquents to every female one. It also meant that if he had messed up, it would have been her that had been punished.

  And all of this ran through his head as they continued into their third lap because their history made his new perspective… awkward. He wanted to continue to think of Karen as only the pillar of purity she was, but…

  Her body could only lead to thinking of all the impure things one could do to her .

  To start, Karen’s choice for gym. Gym was one of the only times that students were allowed to wear just about anything, and Karen had chosen a white t-shirt to go along the black shorts that barely came underneath her tight, perfectly molded ass. Now, of course, when one was not at work it was rude to use symbolism against them, so the black shorts meant nothing, but he could just imagine them getting pulled down a bit, staying tightly coiled against her skin, forcing her ass up as she blushed.

  Of course, those sorts of thoughts were in part a product of their training, as Richard had no idea how he had never noticed it popping up and down right in front of him. It didn’t really bounce, as it was too well toned for that, but the steady, rhythmic movement of her legs still made it impossible to ignore as it rose and fell.

  What didn’t need gym attire to be distracting was that she was the largest chested girl in school, with her being probably about a cup size larger than Cierra. It went well with her strong body, looking like just another part of her that grew to be more than average, just like her height, but it still didn’t mean Richard could ignore them. Especially as they finished the laps and moved into pushups. On the ground, looking at her for the count, he could look straight down her shirt at the impressive mounds. Emphasis on could, as Richard wouldn’t allow himself to dare do that to such a valued friend of his.

  The only things he could really think of that wasn’t sexual about her body was the long, white braid that bounced behind her head, or her brown eyes that could paralyze someone with a glare. Now if only he could have focused on those while they trained.

  They continued their normal routine for Friday’s, set by Karen, as the students dictated what they themselves did on that day, but Karen began to falter. It wasn’t noticeable at first, as it had caused her to forget to say the whole count towards the end of their pushups. When they did jumping jacks next, it became a touch more noticeable, as she seemed to not keep jumping as high, causing her to slightly stumble from time to time as her legs tried to spread themselves as far as they were used to.

  Fortunately for her, especially while they got on the ground to do sit ups, and she forced his legs together in a vice grip, Richard was distracted for what he suspected was wholly different reasons. See, he had made the mistake of thinking about and watching her, having gotten at least the beginnings of an erection while they ran. He had made sure that his shorts didn’t bec
ome tight on it, just like now. All so Karen wouldn’t notice it, but like this, it would be tougher than it had before.

  By the time he was supposedly done with his sit ups, the bell had rung for them to get back to the locker rooms and get ready. Karen, who was on her feet before most people had registered the command, stated back to Richard, “Today was a good workout. It’s good to see whatever happened yesterday didn’t hurt your performance.”

  She then broke out into a full sprint towards the locker rooms. She almost tried ripping the poor door off of its hinges, and before it had closed, she had managed to get into a bathroom stall and slammed the lock into place. She then leaned against the wall of the bathroom, her breath coming in hard and shallow, only staying silent due to the practice she’d put into such a skill.

  Richard had been wrong. Oh how wrong Richard had been Karen thought as she slipped a finger along where her tight shorts were wet against her slit, her eyes lowering a little as thoughts, thoughts a Coivian girl, let alone one from as noble a family as hers, should never have. Only now, she knew that she’d been underestimating her beloved’s cock, and she hated herself for the two fingers that pushed against her moist nethers.

  It was what she had to do to keep controlled though. To stay as the good girl that he knew. To be something he could accept on the day that he might be interested in being more than just friends. On the day when she would be told she deserved to be by his side, instead of merely being gifted with it. Until then, she would take this burden with joy, so long as it kept him near.

  ======+++++======

  Richard stretched out as he took the washcloth he held away from the last desk in the student council room, smiling at himself for a job well done. While he had moments where he wished that he didn’t have to spend time on this, when he was here, with the others, those thoughts disappeared. He was helping, doing his duty as a citizen, much like what he would be like outside of school now.

  His eyes glanced over the long row of desks, pushed together to make a meeting table, with a large teacher’s desk being at the front for the president. They were all spotless, and those in the sun shone bright enough to possibly blind someone. The Coivian standard.