College

by Brianna Blake

“But why? I can’t understand. We made out afterwards.”

  “Bro. For god’s sake. Let it go.” Oliver grumbled without patience. He was still mad at their behavior at the party.

  “Oliver! Dylan!” the teacher yelled. “Would you want to share the matter with the rest of the class?”

  “No, Mr. Robson.” They both replied, awkwardly. Some students laughed, including Natasha. Dylan noticed the girl’s reaction.

  “Quiet and do the exercises.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  And Dylan kept quiet for almost another ten minutes.

  “I’m just so confused. I can’t believe she ignores all the chemistry between us.” Dylan kept muttering as he stared at Natasha. She often looked at their direction. “Not that I want a relationship. I just wanted to play, that’s all. She’s so hot. And funny. And nice.”

  “She doesn’t want to play with you. Let it go.” Oliver said again, losing his temper.

  “But that’s not how feelings work! Not now that I know she likes to bottom too. She drives me crazy, man, I’m telling you.”

  “Enough, both of you!” the teacher snapped. Oliver and Dylan stopped talking, swallowing hard. “I won’t punish you right now because we need to continue. But I will hold you two back after class. And if you keep talking, we’ll fix it right now. Did you hear?”

  “Yes, sir...” they replied. Oliver braced himself not to roll his eyes. That’s all he needed. Dylan getting him in trouble. Again.

  Dylan immediately faced Natasha, who laughed, just like the other students. The teacher told the whole room to shut up.

  After class, Lucy left the room with the others, but stood in the hall by the door, waiting for Oliver and Dylan. Natasha also went out but stopped when she saw Lucy there.

  “Oliver being punished. Who would imagine, huh? What’s he like when he’s punished?” Natasha asked Lucy, who was leaning against the wall.

  “He gets serious and quiet. But he surely hates it.” Lucy answered and looked apprehensively at the door. “Poor thing…”

  “What about Dylan?” Natasha asked with a mischievous smile.

  “Dylan says he’s scared of getting a spanking, but I think he doesn’t really care. He knows how to have fun in any situation. Honestly, it’s very hard to see him sad. He’s like that since he’s a kid.”

  “He’s hilarious,” Natasha said, dreamily. “He wants to do a scene with me, you know that?”

  “Oh, yeah. He keeps saying you rejected him.” Lucy said. “Don’t you want to play with him? He’s so cool. And you kissed already.”

  Natasha stared at her.

  “I can’t. I won’t be with anyone from campus.”

  “What do you mean, Natasha? What about the Junction Year? Everyone must have a partner by the last year. You don’t want to be joined with someone random. Nobody wants that!”

  “I know, but I refuse to accept it. I won’t join anyone.” Natasha said, smiling. Lucy frowned.

  “There’s no way to do that… they’ll arrest you.” Lucy said, confused.

  “Jail doesn’t look that bad. What’s the difference, anyway? Being physically locked up and being locked up in a relationship that you didn’t choose. We’ve been in a school for 20 years, with no choices besides obeying. Then, we will stay in a job that we hate until we die. Obeying. Freedom’s not such an option when we think like that,” she said, passionately. “That’s why I rebel. I’ll fight.”

  Lucy stared at her, confused.

  “I had never thought of that.”

  “Thinking about our condition hurts. We’re inside the system, it’s hard to look at it from another point of view. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll put all the revolutionary ideas in your head.”

  “I don’t think Oliver would like this. He’s in the military, you know, right?” Lucy said, and Natasha laughed.

  “He doesn’t have to like it! That’s why you rebel!”

  “Oh… yeah, I don’t know, Natasha. I’m happy. I’m sorry…”

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. The alienation. It’s the school, the government, the media. They put ideas in our heads and hit us if we think differently.”

  “Is that why you get in so much…”

  “Trouble?” Natasha completed. Lucy nodded, quiet. “That’s why, yeah. People just think I’m dumb or just a stupid masochist. I do what I do because of what I believe. I won’t accept this Junction Year bullshit, Lucy. I don’t accept the way they treat us. That’s why I make my opinion very clear.”

  “But it doesn’t work very well, right?” Lucy said, awkwardly. “I mean, you still get punished and everything... you can’t beat them.”

  “Yeah. I don’t win, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I made the impression I wanted.”

  “So, that’s why you won’t give Dylan a chance? Poor guy, he’s so nice. He’s silly, but he’s always been there for Oliver and me. It was the three of us against the world at our old school. Just like you’re saying.”

  “To tell you the truth, I think he’s pretty cool. And hot.” Natasha said, smiling. Lucy raised her eyebrows.

  “Yeah?!”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to rush things. I need to think. Reflect on the consequences. I don’t want to join anyone, so I don’t know how he would react to that if things got more serious. I don’t want to hurt him and make things weird between us. That’s why I said no. But, yeah, I’d play with him. Have I mentioned he’s hot?” Natasha confessed. Lucy jumped in place.

  “Wow, cool, Natasha, good! So, think carefully, because he’d be so happy!”

  “Lucy, please promise me you won’t tell him,” Natasha said, urgently. “I need to think, I don’t want to rush things, so he can’t know anything. He has to think I wouldn’t give him a chance. Promise me, Lucy.”

  “I promise, I promise, I won’t tell,” Lucy said, still with a huge smile, and the classroom door opened. The boys left, followed by the teacher. Oliver looked very upset, his hands in his pockets, his head down. Dylan not so much. The teacher was still scolding them, but he turned to face the two girls.

  “What are you ladies doing here?” Mr. Robson asked.

  “Waiting, sir...” Lucy said, softly.

  “Dylan! Oliver! Finally!” Natasha exclaimed, not worried about the teacher. “Let’s go get some lunch, I’m starving!”

  “Listen up! You’re in college now. It should no longer be necessary to punish you like this. You have to focus on the Junction Year and on getting a good job. You’ll end up like those people that get punished in the public square. Did you understand?”

  In Chayl, corporal punishments were expected in every circumstance.

  “Yes, Mr. Robson.” All of them said, except for Natasha, but the teacher didn’t notice.

  The four began to walk down the hall toward the cafeteria, leaving the teacher behind.

  “So, what did he do to you guys?” Natasha asked and took Dylan’s arm. Dylan stared at her in disbelief and looked at Oliver.

  “What do you think?” Oliver asked without patience as he hugged Lucy. “Blame that thing over there,” he nodded at Dylan, who stuck his tongue out.

  “Was it the cane or the paddle?” Lucy asked, teasingly. “Did it hurt a lot? I wanna details!”

  “Do you want me to do the same on you?” Oliver replied, but Lucy smiled.

  “Sure,” she said. Dylan and Natasha exchanged surprised and amused glances.

  “Later then,” Oliver said, also teasing her.

  “Get a room, you two,” Dylan said.

  “Shut up. You’re not allowed to speak.” Oliver replied, pretending to be angry.

  “Wow, run away, Dylan! He’s mad!” Natasha said, pulling him and starting to run down the hall.

  “I’m telling you! Natasha, I told you that you love me, and you rejected me anyway! How come?!”

  “And I’ve already said nothing will happen between us, nothing at all, Dylan, now, hurry before they reach us.”

  Chapter 8
. Rugby

  “Rugby?” Dylan asked. Julian smiled.

  “Come on, it’ll be cool.” Julian invited, politely.

  They had met in front of a building. Dylan couldn’t help but think Julian was looking lovely. He was wearing a blue tank top, the school uniform for sports. It showed his tattoos. Dylan wondered how Julian wasn’t feeling cold and noticed that his arm had goosebumps. Shit, focus on what he’s saying, Dylan thought. He also carried a hockey stick. Dylan thought he could use that for something other than playing hockey, but he pushed the thought away. Julian said he’s vanilla, he said he’s vanilla, he repeated to himself.

  “So?” Julian asked softly and smiled.

  “So... so what?” Dylan asked, shaking his head, trying to get back to reality. Julian chuckled.

  “Are you coming to see the training? You know, I thought we had to do something together, all of us.”

  “Okay. Sorry, man, I was thinking of other... things. I’m not much of a sports person, but sure. I want to see you there.” Dylan said and winked. Julian blushed a bit. When he did that, he also wrinkled his nose, which lifted his glasses a little.

  “I called the others too,” Julian announced. Dylan frowned.

  “I thought it was a date!” he exclaimed. Julian turned even redder. “I’m kidding, silly.”

  “Oliver said he has to work, but he’ll meet us before his shift. See you in a few minutes?”

  In less than half an hour, Oliver, Lucy, and Dylan were gathered in the rugby field. They sat in the stands, watching the practice. Julian was there with the rest of his teammates. The game filled the air with noise and life. He glanced toward his friends a few times, smiling, but mostly kept focused.

  Natasha hadn’t appeared yet and when they thought she wouldn’t come, they spotted her. She had a broad smile, wasn’t wearing her uniform, but a pink tight dress that showed her body curves, and she carried two plastic bags.

  “Sorry I’m late. I had to get the snacks,” she said as she approached. Her face was flushed but her golden hair gleamed. She set the bags in the stands. Lucy took a beer from the bag but put it back quickly, as if she’d touched something hot.

  “Natasha! We’re on campus! What if they see that?! Booze isn’t allowed here!” Lucy exclaimed but began to laugh at the prospect of getting in trouble. Dylan grabbed a bag of chips.

  “Where’s Julian?” Natasha asked, ignoring Lucy. Oliver pointed to the field. The training was almost over, and some players were already moving to the showers.

  “Hide the booze,” Oliver said, seriously, “wait for the game to end.”

  “Go! Julian! Go!” Natasha shouted like a cheerleader. The team looked up at them. Oliver rolled his eyes, but Lucy also stood up, joining the cheerleading even though the game was almost over.

  Julian grabbed the ball, ran across the human barrier, using his shoulder to defend himself, and didn’t seem to mind when he was thrown down to the muddy ground. He was back on his feet in no time, ready to keep going.

  When the game was over, he waved to his friends, showing that he would go to the showers, as he was covered in mud. The team began to disperse, the game noise decreased, and only the four were left in the stands.

  “Let’s have a drink now,” Natasha said, looking around to see if any guard was close.

  “What for, huh?” Oliver asked, unable to hide his impatience. Natasha gave him a defiant look.

  “Because I can!” she said and laughed. She took a can of beer from the bag, opened it, and began to gulp it down. Oliver just snorted.

  “Can I have one too?” Lucy asked, looking at him. Dylan grabbed a bottle of vodka from the bag.

  “It’s almost lunchtime. Definitely acceptable to drink,” Dylan said with a shrug. He opened the bottle and drank straight from it. Natasha laughed, holding Dylan’s arm.

  “Please?” Lucy asked Oliver, who grunted.

  “Okay. But don’t drink too much. I have to go to work.” Oliver said, getting up.

  “Take this chocolate with you,” Natasha offered, handing him a bar of chocolate. He shook his head.

  “I can’t eat this before my shift.”

  “Wow, how dull you are,” Natasha teased. Oliver didn’t find it funny. He was very close to losing his temper. He rolled his eyes again, sighing, when Natasha started to chug vodka down.

  “Why are you drinking so much?” Oliver asked, annoyed. She was still drinking, her eyes were filling with tears. Unable to stand up still, she sat down.

  “I have to go to the detention room now,” she confessed, drunk, and started laughing, holding Dylan’s arm again. “It’ll be funnier like this.”

  “You gotta be kidding me.” Oliver said, putting his hands on his face.

  “Detention?” Lucy asked, finishing a can of beer. She got another one, cracked it open, and took some sips.

  “Yeah. Disrespect, not delivering tasks on time, something like that. I have to be there in…” she looked at her watch, “I was supposed to be there twenty minutes ago,” she said and started laughing again.

  “Natasha, you’re crazy!” Lucy exclaimed. Oliver looked at Natasha, reprovingly.

  “Why do you do that, huh? It’s not funny.” Oliver said as she reached for him to help her up. Dylan also helped her. “You can’t show up in detention like that.”

  “It’s the only way I’ll show up!” Natasha exclaimed, still faking a big smile. “Now, see you all later,” she said, theatrically, and started moving toward the campus, but Julian appeared just in time.

  “Natasha? Are you okay?” Julian asked, concerned because the girl staggered. Natasha fell into his arms, laughing, then walked away, on her way to the detention, saying nothing. Julian stared at his friends, lost.

  “She’s insane.” Dylan said.

  “I’ll be serious with her later,” Oliver said, angry. “She needs help. She may think this is funny, but it isn’t.”

  “You can’t do anything, bro. Let it go.” Dylan said, and Oliver didn’t answer, just stared at him.

  “She’ll end up in jail.”

  “Nah,” Dylan said and sat on the stands, smiling. He took another bag of chips from the bag. “Sit down, let’s have some chips. Forget about her. You can’t control everyone, Oliver.”

  “Screw you, Dylan,” Oliver said, seriously. “I’ll go to work. See you later,” he said and kissed Lucy. Julian was still staring at them, confused. “Lucy, you’re not Natasha. I won’t have you drinking like that. Gimme this beer here.”

  “I’m not drinking like her!” Lucy exclaimed, frowning.

  “Yeah, but you already drank a whole can of beer and I won’t be here, so I don’t want you drinking anymore.” Oliver said and reached out for the beer she was holding. She held it a bit longer, while he waited with his palm open. She gave in and put it there, pouting. “Good girl.”

  “This’s not fair. We’d agreed I could drink.” Lucy whispered, tears filling her eyes.

  “I know, baby, we’ll have to renegotiate it. I don’t want you drinking right now. You’re already a bit drunk.” Oliver said, softer now.

  “You can’t do this.” Lucy said, crossing her arms, challenging him. “I will drink if I want to drink.”

  “Do you want to be punished right now?” Oliver asked, serious.

  “You can’t do that.”

  “When we agreed to be in this relationship, you said you wanted me to take care of you and you agreed that you’d obey me. Right? This’s an order, I don’t want you to drink anymore. Besides, this isn’t even my rule, it’s a college’s rule, if any guard see us drinking, we are screwed. No more.”

  Lucy stared at him in disbelief, narrowing her eyes, but said nothing.

  “And we’ll discuss your behavior later.” Oliver completed, tough. Lucy’s eyes were filled with tears. No one said anything else, so he turned to go away for work.

  “He can’t do that,” Lucy muttered when he had walked away. “We had agreed that I could drink, he just can’t chan
ge that out of the blue.”

  “It must be hard to be in a D/s relationship all the time,” Julian noted, empathically. Lucy sighed.

  “I don’t know what he’s thinking. Doesn’t he trust me? He thinks I’ll chug down this whole bottle just like Natasha? I’ll show him.” Lucy said and took the bottle of vodka from Dylan’s hand.

  “Don’t do this, Lucy. He’s right, you’re already a bit drunk,” Dylan said, but Lucy was already drinking from the bottle, just as Natasha had done. She started coughing, got to her feet and howled, mimicking a copied, unauthenticated version of Natasha.

  The boys just stared at her, and that wasn’t the reaction Lucy wanted. So, she drank more and shook her head to increase the effect. She wasn’t used to drinking so much.

  “Stop, Dylan!” Lucy shouted, while Dylan tried to get the bottle from her hand. “You can’t tell me what to do either! You two are the same, thinking that everyone must do things your way. That’s why Natasha doesn’t want to get in a relationship!”

  Dylan stopped and stared at her.

  “Lucy, calm down. Gimme this bottle here.”

  “You’re just like Oliver, making everyone do what you want. Natasha is right when she says she wouldn’t play with you even though she finds you hot.”

  “She finds me hot?” Dylan stopped trying to get the bottle and smiled. Lucy raised her eyebrows.

  “I wasn’t supposed to say that! I promised I wouldn’t!” Lucy exclaimed and now tears started falling down her face. “What am I doing? I feel sick…”

  Then Lucy burst into tears. Dylan and Julian once again exchanged almost desperate glances, unsure what to do. They let her cry for a while until she said:

  “I know he’s right. I shouldn’t drink. He’s always compassionate and always thinking about me, and now look at me, I drank a lot, I disobeyed him, and I’m sure he won’t want me anymore!” Lucy said, all at once, in a way that only alcohol allows, while tears welled up. “And I told you about Natasha!”

  “Lucy, Oliver’s crazy about you, he would do anything for you no matter what you did. Come here.” Dylan said and hugged her. She began to cry in his chest.