The Freshman
Copyright 2005 by EC

Chapter 22 - Finals week

The Danubians departed Chicago late Saturday afternoon for 
Washington. There was a brief formal ceremony at the university 
marking their departure, followed by an unceremonious trip to the 
O'Hare Airport and a quick flight to Washington. In the US 
capitol there would be no official welcome from any 
Administration officials. The Danubians would go straight to 
their country's embassy for an official dinner, then spend one 
day touring the US capitol before Dukov gave his presentation on 
Monday. Immediately after the National Press Club appearance, 
there would be an overnight stop in Ottawa before the flight to 
Europe. 

Cecilia was very sorry to see the Danubians leave Chicago. 
Although she had only talked three times to the Prime Minister, 
she felt a real affinity towards him. She enjoyed watching him as 
he spoke and interacted with his US hosts. She especially liked 
the way he interacted with his fellow government officials, 
people who until very recently had not been his subordinates, but 
rather his co-workers. Apart from the mandatory exchanges of 
salutes, there was absolutely nothing in Dukov's behavior 
indicating that he saw himself as superior in any way to the 
other members of his delegation. In fact, when speaking to Alexi 
Havlakt, Cecilia could tell that Dukov addressed him with a great 
deal of respect and that he relied on the older man's insight to 
supplement his own.

The members of the Foundation and even some reporters marveled at 
the modest demeanor of the Danubians throughout their visit. The 
only luxury they afforded themselves during the entire trip was a 
day of sightseeing in Washington DC, and even that was simply 
because it was a Sunday and there really was very little else for 
them to do. As for where they stayed, that would be in the 
Danubian Embassy. The Prime Minister had no desire to spend money 
on hotels if it was not necessary.

----------

Cecilia wrote at length to Kimberly Lee about Dukov's visit and 
the impression the delegation had left on her. She asked some 
questions about Alexi Havlakt and asked Kim to fill her in about 
the historical site in Sumy Ris. She also thanked Kim for the 
CD's for Jason's grandmother, mentioning that she already had 
sent them by overnight mail to their final recipient earlier in 
the week.

The online relationship between Kimberly and Cecilia took off 
after Dukov's visit. Cecilia wrote extensively about her current 
semester at the university and her studies to major in economics. 
Kim responded by talking about her own studies and the overall 
lifestyle of the members of "Socrates' Mistresses". The band 
still was producing music, but now that they no longer could sing 
outside of Upper Danubia, its members had decided to pursue other 
careers and keep singing as a hobby.

"I think that's actually helped us a lot, because last year, when 
we were touring, I was seeing the beginnings of tension between 
our members over money and musical direction. I know that when 
our contract got canceled, Dima (my singing partner's husband) 
was happy about it. He didn't want the money. What he wanted was 
for us to sing what we felt, and he thought that the contract and 
the touring and the pressure were starting to get in the way. It 
wasn't fun any more. Now we're back where we started, at the 
Socrates Club. I think it's a lot more enjoyable for all of us, 
because singing is our chance to get together and escape from our 
other responsibilities in life."

Cecilia was aware that whenever "Socrates' Mistresses" sang, they 
always performed in the nude. The band's website had several 
uncensored pictures from recent concerts which clearly showed the 
five singers wearing nothing but their criminal collars while on 
stage. Performing as criminals had become the group's trademark: 
it was where they had started and what they had returned to. That 
decision by the popular group had influenced how Danubians looked 
upon criminals in general and how people currently serving 
sentences saw themselves. 

The music originating from the Socrates Club had become more 
influential than ever and a source of real national pride among 
the Danubians. The Danubian music scene was becoming popular 
throughout Europe and it seemed that Danube City was well on its 
way to being an important destination for tourists interested in 
buying CD's and attending concerts. Hotels and concert halls 
around Danube City were full to capacity, so much so that some of 
the concerts were moving to provincial towns. "Socrates' 
Mistresses" could count on any concert they gave to be sold out, 
so, even with their international contract canceled, they could 
not complain about the income they received from their singing.

The online conversation shifted to Upper Danubia's criminal 
justice system and Kim's goal to become a Spokeswoman for the 
Criminal specializing in representing convicted foreigners. Kim 
was able to answer Cecilia's questions about the Danubian system 
and the country's unique way of punishing criminals. She wrote at 
length about her ambition to follow in Vladim Dukov's footsteps 
and pursue a career in the Danubian courts. She already was in 
her third year of studies at the Law School at the National 
University in Danube City and recently had been certified as a 
Court Apprentice in Full Standing. 

Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna explained that in the Danubian judicial 
system the Spokesperson for the Criminal took the place of both 
the public defense attorney and the parole officer in the US 
system. The Spokesperson was an extremely important position, 
because the moment a suspect was placed under arrest, he or she 
was placed under the legal custody of a Spokesperson, who had 
duties and rights similar to those of a parent of an underage 
child. The Spokesperson presented the suspect in trial and 
explained the case from the suspect's point of view. If the 
suspect was convicted and collared, it was the Spokesperson's 
responsibility to ensure the client was gainfully employed, 
living a lifestyle that would ensure no further criminal 
activity, and properly adjusting to the harsh conditions and 
demands placed on the convicted criminal's daily life and 
activities. The Spokesperson had final say over anything a client 
did or decided.

In Kim's case, although she was only an Apprentice, she already 
held legal custody over six convicted criminals, all of them 
foreigners arrested in Danube City for drug violations. It 
surprised Cecilia to learn that Kim was rather strict with her 
six clients, very insistent they show her proper protocol at all 
times. As Kim explained: "I'm not their friend. I am their 
custodian and their mentor. It is my duty to watch over them, and 
it is their duty to obey me. If they question what I'm telling 
them to do, I always ask them to look at me and consider whether 
anything I want them to do is going to harm them in any way or 
help me at their expense. Of course they never have an answer to 
that question and so they end up obeying me."

----------

Kim wrote at length about her very first client, a young American 
called Tiffany Walker who was serving a 35-year sentence for 
perjury. Tiffany had been a close friend of Kim in high school 
and was traveling with her and another friend when the three were 
arrested in Danube City. By lying to the arraignment committee, 
she and the other girl narrowly escaped being charged with 
marijuana possession by the Danubian government. They left Danube 
City, abandoning Kim to her fate. The following week the two 
girls' drug use caught up with them when they got sick with 
hepatitis while sharing a needle in a Prague nightclub. Tiffany 
survived, but returned to the US and drifted for nearly two 
years. She spent her time experimenting with various drugs and 
working as a prostitute, her self-esteem totally shattered by her 
disastrous trip to Europe. Finally she ended up back in her 
hometown as a stripper supporting the habit of a methamphetamine 
addict. 

The strip club was where Kim found her former friend when she 
returned to the US for a brief visit after completing her 
sentence. Tiffany had started using methamphetamine when Kim 
confronted her, but fortunately her addiction had not yet 
severely damaged her health. Although she was well-aware of what 
was happening and that she was ruining her prospects for having a 
decent life, Kim's former friend lacked the will to extricate 
herself from her situation. The responsibility of saving Tiffany 
fell to Kim. It was Kim who convinced her to return to Upper 
Danubia, face sentencing, and live as a convicted criminal under 
her supervision. Leaving the US with Kim would be Tiffany's final 
chance to break away from her addictions, the final opportunity 
to save herself that fortunately she took advantage of. Kim's new 
client spent a month in a Danubian rehab program, and then was 
convicted of perjury and sentenced by a Danubian court.

Kim had a comment: "I think Tiffany's story shows just how bad 
meth really is. We both knew that no matter how bad her life 
would be serving as a convicted criminal in Danube City, it was 
the only realistic alternative she had to slowly killing herself 
on meth. And she's still addicted. She hasn't used anything for a 
year and a half, but she still gets those cravings. It's a very 
rough life, the one she has now, but she did manage to get away 
from the old one. Just having gotten away, and not having the 
choice available to kill herself anymore has made her very happy, 
in spite of all the crap she has to put up with as a criminal."

What made Tiffany's existence in Danube City truly unusual was 
her personal life. In spite of being a convicted criminal, she 
was the fiancé of Vladik Dukov, who was a police officer and the 
Prime Minister's son. Eventually Tiffany and Vladik would get 
married, but getting married, even to the Prime Minister's son, 
would not affect her legal status as a criminal. Until she 
completed her sentence, Kim would remain her custodian. Tiffany 
would have to answer to her Spokeswoman, not her husband.

There was a further detail about Tiffany's situation that Cecilia 
found totally astounding. In Upper Danubia, the arresting police 
officer was responsible for inflicting any corporal punishments 
assigned by the trial judge as part of the criminal's sentence. 
In Tiffany's case, the law meant that, because he had present 
during her initial arrest, Vladik Dukov was assigned to 
administer the yearly switchings. At the conclusion of her trial 
it was Vladik who switched Tiffany in court, and he switched her 
a second time the past summer.

When Tiffany became engaged, Kim offered to have another police 
officer assigned to punish her. However, Tiffany insisted that 
no, she did not want anyone else to switch her other than Vladik. 
She felt that the yearly switchings were an important part of her 
redemption and it was important that the person punishing her was 
the man who loved her. Vladik was quite severe with the switch 
and showed no mercy, not even to his own fiancé. Still, Tiffany 
insisted that he remain in charge of her punishments.

Kim concluded: "I suppose the situation between Tiffany and 
Vladik, and her whole attitude, must sound totally weird to you. 
You'd have to know what she's gone through in life to understand 
why she is the way she is. I'd guess none of this makes much 
sense to you, but here in Danube City the way people think is 
different from the way people think in the US. If you've ever 
seen anyone on drugs, you'll know that changes the way they think 
also."

Cecilia knew, from her own experiences, that Kim's last sentence 
was very true.

----------

The concept of legal custody fascinated Cecilia, partly because 
of her long-term plans for Jason. She knew that in Upper Danubia, 
custody was a legally binding arrangement, fully sanctioned and 
codified under Danubian law. Cecilia asked Kim if custody 
arrangements ever happened between people other than 
Spokespersons and criminals. Her heart jumped when she received 
Kim's answer; most definitely there were many instances of non-
judicial custody in Upper Danubia. The two most common were 
public penance and cases of identified substance abusers. A 
person performing public penance placed himself under the custody 
of the Danubian Church, for a period of time agreed upon by the 
sinner and a Temple Priest. The other most common instance of 
non-judicial custody involved people who were identified 
substance abusers, but had not been convicted of any crime. The 
philosophy of the Danubian government was that substance abusers 
had forfeited the right to control their own lives, but could not 
be subjected to the judicial system if they had not broken any 
laws. The solution was to award formal custody to a family 
member, most often a spouse. Kim concluded: "I'd guess that's why 
we don't have too many drunks in the Duchy. How many men are 
going to want to take orders from a pissed-off wife who's got 
legal authority from the government?"

Kim's final comment got Cecilia thinking...hmm...a husband under 
the custody of his wife...legal custody. She wrote back: "I was 
curious about something. Does this whole custody thing apply only 
to substance abusers? Are there ever any cases that a husband is 
placed under the custody of his wife, because, maybe they both 
agreed that what's best for their marriage?"

Kim answered: "Sometimes it happens that way. Most often it's for 
adultery or some other thing that one partner did to offend the 
other. Those cases are handled by the Church, and they fall under 
the rules for public penance. That means the person who is 
surrendering custody has to give up their clothing, wear a 
collar, and kneel before their partner. I have a classmate at the 
university who's doing that right now. She's engaged, but a year 
ago she went to Germany for a semester and had an affair while 
she was there. She came back feeling all guilty about it, so she 
confessed to her fiancé. I guess he was willing to forgive her, 
but she wouldn't forgive herself. Finally she went to the Temple 
and asked a Priest to collar her and write up a certificate of 
custody for her fiancé. She took the certificate and gave it to 
him, and insists on kneeling whenever she speaks to him. What's 
weird was that it was something she insisted on doing, not 
because it was anything he really wanted. And she's gotten used 
to living like that. She's been wearing her collar for over a 
year. They're getting married next month, but she says she wants 
to keep wearing her collar even after the wedding. I wouldn't be 
surprised if she stays that way the rest of her life."

Cecilia's heart pounded and she could feel the wetness building 
between her legs. Jason...that was what she fantasized about 
doing with Jason. She wanted complete dominance over him and make 
him kneel whenever he spoke to her. Apparently if she were 
Danubian she could do it, become his legal custodian and control 
every detail of his life. To have him wear a collar, follow her 
around naked in public, drop to his knees whenever he spoke to 
her, and have him be legally required to do anything she 
commanded him to do…that was exactly what she wanted for her 
relationship with her boyfriend. If only she had some means of 
getting herself and Jason to Danube City…

----------

The semester was drawing to a close. The professors gave their 
final lectures, there was a two-day break for students to catch 
up on studying for their finals, and then the tests. Burnside had 
Cecilia proctor the examinations for the freshman classes, 
including the exam for the Theory class that had to be re-written 
because it had been compromised. Cecilia's heart pounded and her 
face turned red when the professor handed her a stack of re-
written tests to pass out. However, true to her word, Burnside 
made no comment whatsoever about the unexpected extra work 
Cecilia had forced her to do. The matter between the two women 
had been settled during the Halloween party. The only reminder 
she ever would have of the incident would be a copy of the 
department memo ending her academic probation. The memo would be 
issued on the day final grades for the semester were posted.

Cecilia quickly found out that Burnside was perfectly willing to 
bend the rules of her department when she felt it was necessary. 
In spite of being on probation and officially prohibited from 
assisting with grading tests, Burnside tasked Cecilia with 
helping Mark Gertz grade 50 essay exams. She ordered Cecilia to 
make photocopies of the essays, and then write corrections and 
comments on the copies to give to the TA. Cecilia felt the 
exercise was a horrible waste of effort and paper, but Burnside 
wanted to prepare her scholarship student to work as an assistant 
during her junior year. If Cecilia had any problems with her 
ability to grade other students' work, Burnside wanted to catch 
them early and use the following semester to correct them. 
Precisely because Burnside selected and prepared her assistants 
in advance, her grading always went smoothly.

----------

In addition to her own exams for her sophomore classes, Cecilia 
had to worry about the success of her floor in general and Jason 
and his friends in particular. She grilled them ruthlessly and 
demanded they spend as much time as possible helping other floor 
residents. As a result, Jason and his friends went into their 
exams confident that they knew the material, and were well-
practiced in explaining it to others. Jason finished his first 
semester with four "A's" and two "B's" for final grades. Mike did 
even better, getting all "A's", including a very rare "A" from 
Ruth Burnside. Ken and Lisa each got three "A's" and three "B's". 
The four students thus had begun their college careers with solid 
academic averages.

Jason, for the first time in his life, felt that he could face 
his father with confidence when he went home for Christmas. 
Whatever criticism Mr. Schmidt might have had in store would be 
muted by his son's academic success. Obviously his grandmother, 
who had argued with his father to let him study out of state, 
would be vindicated by Jason's performance. Perhaps there would 
be no warmth between him and his parents, but Jason could look 
forward to a peaceful Christmas break without having to listen to 
constant digs about what a failure he was. 

----------

In spite of their academic success over the fall semester, 
Christmas would be a difficult time for young couple, because 
they would be forced to spend three weeks separated from each 
other. Jason could not stay in the dorm because the university 
required all freshmen to vacate over Christmas break. Only RA's 
could stay in their rooms, which was fortunate because Cecilia 
had nowhere else to go. The issue of her traveling to Wisconsin 
never came up, given that no one; not her, not Jason, not Jason's 
parents; had any desire to endure a repeat of the Thanksgiving 
disaster. 

As their three-week separation loomed, Cecilia and Jason felt 
very uneasy, almost scared. They had become so emotionally 
dependent on each other that each felt lost if the other was not 
nearby. Cecilia was even more affected by the pending separation 
than was Jason. The thought of being apart from him tormented her 
because she needed him. She was confused over her distress and 
became very angry with herself. She had promised herself that 
after Vicente, she never again would become psychologically 
dependent on a boyfriend. Because she needed Jason so badly, she 
had broken that promise. She asked herself, if she and Jason had 
agreed that she was the one in charge of their relationship, why 
should she be so upset at the thought of being separated from 
him? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

The only answer she could find was that she felt safe when she 
was with him. He loved her with all of his being, and in her own 
way, she loved him in return. For the only time in her life she 
trusted a man enough to partially be able open up to him. The 
reason she was able to open up to him at all was because, as she 
said it, he didn't give her any shit. There was a second part of 
that reason: while he "didn't give her no shit", he certainly 
took it from her. He calmly put up with her demands, her 
controlling behavior, her foul temper, and her mood swings with 
patience and cheerfulness. He loved her enough to consistently 
withstand her quirks, day after day. She fully knew that she was 
as hard to get along with as a woman possibly could be, and yet 
he still loved her.

At that point in her life Cecilia did not realize, by insisting 
on remaining in control of every aspect of her relationship with 
Jason, that she unwittingly had thwarted her lifelong goal of 
maintaining her own emotional independence. By living his life to 
suit her needs, Jason had made Cecilia emotionally dependent on 
him. She needed him to be present in her life and obey her 
orders, every bit as much as he needed her to prevent his own 
weaknesses from allowing him fail. 

At the end of their first semester together, it was Jason who 
actually understood the situation between himself and Cecilia 
better than she did. By coming together they had filled voids in 
each other's lives. Their souls, damaged and incomplete alone, 
fit together like two pieces of a puzzle into a bond that 
actually worked for both of them. Jason understood something else 
that was important. The Christmas of his freshman year would be 
the final time of his life that he would or could be separated 
from Cecilia. Over the spring semester the ties between them 
would only strengthen, to the point that neither would be able to 
go anywhere or do anything without the other. 

Perhaps the Danubians had the best way of saying it, the path of 
their lives already had been chosen, the only option they had was 
to follow.

----------

On their final night together, Jason invited Cecilia to dinner 
and a late semester musical recital at the Music School. As 
usual, they went well dressed, she in her Danubian dress and he 
in a dark suit. They both were much quieter then usual. They 
wanted to enjoy their final night of the year and feel each 
other's presence, but there really was no need for them to try to 
express themselves with words.

It was a clear but bitterly cold night as they walked back to 
Huntington Hall. The campus was mostly empty because the majority 
of the students already had left. As they returned, she was very 
affectionate and very subdued, her normal demeanor totally 
lacking. Jason knew that night was one of those rare occasions it 
was up to him to take control of the evening.

There was to be a final round of love-making in Cecilia's room. 
The distress from she felt facing the next three weeks without 
him showed very clearly in her face. Her normal bossiness was 
gone, replaced by a rare submissiveness and vulnerability. That 
night she wanted to surrender herself and have him take charge of 
their lovemaking. She signaled her desire by quietly standing in 
the middle of her room, quietly waiting to be told what he wanted 
her to do.

Jason remained fully dressed, except for his coat, which he took 
off and hung up. He then gently unbuttoned and removed her coat, 
and hung it up next to his own. He undid the ties of the Danubian 
dress, loosening them as much as possible. He kissed her neck for 
a few seconds, and then motioned her to raise her arms. He pulled 
the dress up over her head and, knowing how important that dress 
was to her, carefully hung it up.

Cecilia was left wearing nothing but her shoes and her usual 
thong. He decided to take off the thong first, knowing that she 
would feel much more naked if he left her shoes on for a few 
minutes. He ran his hands down her bare back, caught the skimpy 
waistband of her underwear with his thumbs, and proceeded to 
lower the thong to her feet. He motioned her to step out of it, 
and put the tiny garment in her linen bag.

Cecilia's shapely dark figure, illuminated by the closet light 
and unencumbered by any cloth, beckoned Jason to explore with his 
eyes and with his hands. He relished the sight of her, looking so 
vulnerable and helpless wearing nothing but her shoes. As he 
foresaw, she looked and felt much more naked in just her shoes 
than she would have wearing nothing at all.

Still completely dressed in his suit, he hugged her. As her bare 
skin pressed up against the layers of cloth still covering the 
body of her boyfriend, she felt even more vulnerable. She was in 
a very submissive mood and he would be able to enjoy her from his 
favorite sexual position, on her elbows and knees with her bottom 
spread, with her very wet vagina properly presented for his 
pleasure. He suspected that had he wanted to put her over his lap 
and spank her, at that moment she would have allowed him to do 
so. 

He took her hands and made her turn around. They were facing a 
full-length mirror, so he made her look at herself and the 
contrast of her naked body against his suit. She continued to 
stand facing her own image as he ran his hands over her breasts 
and kissed her neck. He had been right. The sight of herself, her 
bare body exposed and contrasting with her well-dressed 
companion, excited her. She felt the familiar burning and wetness 
between her legs as she continued to study her image and feel his 
hands explore her body. For a long time he played with her, 
lightly touching and kissing her, as she silently stood watching 
herself become more and more aroused. Yes…he knew her body. He 
knew how to torment her, tease her, and make her desperate. 
Tonight she would have to wait until he was ready to relieve her 
burning desire. Without saying anything out loud, that was what 
she had agreed, to surrender herself and let him take control of 
her body.

He turned her around so that her bottom was facing the mirror. 
She looked back at herself as he ran his hands over her tender 
backside, exploring her bottom-cheeks and running his fingertips 
along the sensitive area in between. She was sweating and 
trembling with anticipation. He could feel her heart beating and 
hear her irregular breaths. He realized the moment had come.

He pulled off her shoes and guided her onto her bed. Her 
instincts took over and she became desperate to be entered and 
satisfied. She arched her back, shamelessly exposing herself, 
placing her trembling bottom-hole and glistening vulva on full 
display for her love. For the moment she had forgotten about 
everything else in her life. What she needed was to be taken, to 
be entered, and to be fulfilled.

He struggled out of his own clothing and threw everything on a 
chair. Seeing her lovely sweaty body so submissively presented 
made him very hard, and very desperate to get inside her. Still, 
he wanted to make her wait, just a little bit longer. He gently 
ran the palm of his hand over her posterior, massaging and 
lightly patting it. She reared back slightly, inviting him to 
explore the wet, sensitive area in between. 

He took out a condom and with unsteady hands pulled the 
protection over his very stiff penis. He kissed her sweaty bottom 
and then pushed into her. She reared back, gasping and pushing 
hard against him, desperate to get him as far inside her as 
possible. He grabbed her thighs and roughly moved back and forth. 
As he thrust and thrust, a thought passed through his head that 
made him very, very aroused.

Her reaction to having her bottom caressed and patted had made 
him understand something important. At some point in the future 
he was destined to spank her. That night she would have allowed 
him to do it, but he knew better than to jump at the first 
chance. If he made her wait, later on she would actually want him 
to spank her, not just allow it. She would let him know that she 
actually needed to be spanked. She would beg him to do it. When 
that moment came he would place her over his lap and gently 
massage her trembling bottom. He would start slowly, going from 
massaging to gentle pats, from gentle pats to soft slaps, then 
from soft slaps to much harder slaps. It would be a very long 
spanking, with plenty of kisses and caresses mixed with painful 
swats. 

He knew it would happen someday, the way he envisioned it. He 
could read it in her eyes. But before that moment came he would 
have to spend much more of his own life meeting her needs and 
submitting to her discipline. He could only spank her when she 
completely and fully trusted him, and that moment of trust would 
not come until long after he had given himself over to her, fully 
and completely. He was well on his way to completely surrendering 
himself to her, but he knew he still had a long way to go.

Still, as he continued thrusting into his gasping companion, 
Jason's thoughts were not focused on the further sacrifices in 
life he would have to make to ensure her happiness. Instead he 
was thinking about her lovely dark bottom, properly positioned 
over his lap, ready and waiting to receive the sensuous slaps of 
a lover's spanking. Her bottom filled his thoughts and fantasies 
as he continued thrusting and thrusting, as she squealed from a 
savagely wonderful orgasm.