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Subject: {ASSM} Lupe and Dana Naked in School (2/5) (mf ff, exhib, voy, naked, NIS,   rom, 1st, silly, fant)
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Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 01:10:01 -0500
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d


Yes, it's a Naked In School story about a fairy with purty moth wings
and a sunny outlook on life.  If ya got a problem with that, Dana'll put
goblins in your underwear AND pack your locker with glitter -- and that
stuff doesn't wash out easily.  As Lupe might say, don't mess with
magic, man.

The NIS collection is at /~NIS/Naked.html; the "What
Would a Unicorn Do?" folder is available at
http://www.mcphee.com/items/11562.html.

P. Random

---


-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - mmm... Fastmail...

<1st attachment, "FairyNIS-2.txt" begin>


Lupe and Dana Naked in School
(mf ff, exhib, voy, naked, NIS, rom, 1st, silly, fant)
by pseudoRandom

2. Tuesday

Dana

The next morning, I needed another triple-shot mochaccino -- usually I get 
a double-shot, except for Mondays, but I was totally wiped.  Even aside
from my first day in the Program, I'd fluttered home like a couple hours 
before dawn.  What I said about so not the morning person?  All that and a 
cherry on top, that Tuesday.

	I was so out of it, I almost bound my antennae under my hair as 
usual, before remembering it didn't matter today -- everyone knew I was a 
fairy.  Everyone at school, that is.  Other people, well, they could just 
imaging I was wearing them or something.  The latest glitter fashion.  
Pity I didn't have time to dress up in glitter.

	The thought of dusting my body with glitter made me shivery -- 
shivery in that nice way that Babs and Lupe had shown me.  I almost would 
have undressed to do it, but I was already running late and, as I said, I 
needed my mochaccino.  As it was, I wished I could fly to school.  My 
bag's too heavy, though -- not to mention, it was overcast and blustering 
for rain.  Besides, my stepfather's car is faster, except for like having 
to stop at lights.

	Because I'd made us start late, Jim dropped me off at the corner 
-- or HE'd've gotten to work late.  So I walked up to the main entrance, 
where a crowd watched Program kids stripping.  Which I'd have to do, in a 
minute.

	Drat it.

	Tatja spotted me and hurried over.  "Danes, Lupe says he's sorry, 
but he couldn't wait any longer and had to undress."

	Why did ... ?  Oh -- he'd meant to strip with me, supporting his 
Program partner.  How sweet of him.  I almost shivered at the memory of 
yesterday.

	Then a gust of damp wind caught me, and I did shiver.

	I spotted Fritz's glasses, heading for us -- and the memories of 
what happened yesterday with HIM made me shiver again, again not in a good 
way.  But Tats didn't seem annoyed at either of us.  Maybe, possibly, 
Fritz hadn't told what had happened.  He stopped in front of us and held 
up his camera.

	"Ready?"

	Tatja rolled her eyes.  "He wants to capture how your wings are 
folded up on film."

	"In pixels, thank you very much," he told her.

	"Won't work," I said, and started for the main door.

	One thing about being under five foot tall?  It's harder to get 
through crowds without pushing -- none of the big kids see you.  Tatja, 
the big blonde goddess that she is, shoved forward and ran interference 
for me.

	"Why not?" Fritz asked behind me.

	"It just won't."  It can't be captured on camera.  It's magic.  I 
mean, how else would they fit under my shirt?

	Though of course, he had to try it.  Skinner said he wouldn't mind 
if I faced away from the crowd when I pulled off my shirt, given how 
everyone was interested in my luna moth wings.  So I did.  A second after 
I lifted it over my head, I unfurled.

	The crowd gasped.  "Freaky," I heard one girl say, and a boy said, 
"Dude."

	I turned around, and Fritz scrolled through his photos.  "I don't 
get it," he finally said.  "They're not there, then suddenly they're 
there."

	"Told ya."

	The bell rang, and Skinner said, "If you please, Miss Partlow."

	Huh? I looked at him stupidly, until he pointed at my skirt.  Oh, 
right -- had to take that off, too.  I quickly stripped as students 
started streaming into the school, and retrieved my mochaccino from Tats.

	"How did you survive in Elfland without coffee?" Fritz asked.

	"Badly," I muttered.  I didn't like to admit that -- it's hard for 
me to deal with badness.  But then, mornings hadn't been as bad there as 
on earth: Elfland schools have more flexible schedules -- they have to 
deal with moth and firefly fairies all the time, not to mention brownies 
and hobs.

	"Dana," someone said behind me -- my editor, Jimbo.  "Sorry I 
didn't get back before you had to leave.  Can we finish the interview 
later?"

	I nodded -- though I wondered what Fritz had told him.  Then we 
were at my locker.

*

Lupe

I waited for Dana as long as I could, before going inside.  I HAD to get 
to my locker before homeroom, though, to dump my afternoon books: it's 
across the school from my first period class.  And I knew I'd be slowed up 
by requests from girls.

	Man, was I.  It seemed like every pretty chica in school asked to 
fondle me, though it was probably only like a dozen.  At least they mostly 
stuck to my cock and ass.  Mostly.  I staggered into homeroom five minutes 
late with an erection ready to erupt and skin ready to crawl off my flesh 
from all the touching.

	Okay, so the staggering was deliberate.  It worked.  The teacher 
shook her head and let my tardiness go.

	I spent announcements with my eyes closed, trying to center myself 
like before a race.  Which wasn't a bad analogy, once I thought about it 
-- it was going to be a long haul through the day, and there was nothing I 
could do about being touched.  It wasn't like it was an unreasonable 
request.  Didn't listen to the P.A., of course -- it's never important.  
The truly important things, the homeroom teacher tells us.

	When the bell rang, I was ready.  I was out of the room and down 
the hall like I came out of starting blocks: I wanted to get as close to 
class as possible before getting bogged down with requests.  Did pretty 
good, and the first girl to stop me, when she asked to feel my prick, I 
told her, "Only if you want to clean your clothes."  She giggled and let 
me go.

	So I managed to catch up with Dana just down the hall from English 
class without getting stopped.

	She was arguing with some kids, a boy and a girl, about feeling 
her antennae.  "No -- it's too uncomfortable."

	"It's a reasonable request," the boy said.

	"Hey, cabrón," I told him, "it may be a request, but it's not 
reasonable."  Which I thought was safe, given he was anglo -- a rich one, 
judging by his clothes.

	He must have known it was an insult, though, 'cause he got pissed.  
"Fuck you, too."

	"Lupe!" Dana said.  "That wasn't nice -- you apologize."

	Her and her bad language thing.  But, well, she was right -- it'd 
been stupid.  It called attention to me.  And, well, it made Dana mad at 
me.  Gotta watch the anger, man.  I raised my hands to the guy.  "Hey, 
sorry -- the Program's kinda stressful, ya know?"

	The boy made an impatient sound and turned away, shaking his head.  
The girl followed him.  Didn't even accept my apology.  So I gave it to 
Dana.

	"Sorry 'bout that," I told her.  "You okay?"

	"Yeah," she said, "it's just -- "

	The bell rang, and we started walking toward class.

	"Mm?" I said.

	"Why do they keep going for my antennae?  You'd think THESE would 
be more interesting," and she cupped her breasts, such as they were.  Not 
that they're tiny, though she probably wouldn't need much of a sports bra.  
They just LOOK small, compared to how muscled her chest and back are.
And that was just as well, given the bouncing-around flying of moths.

	"Yes, but boys are used to naked tits," I told her.  "THOSE are 
new," and I nodded at her forehead, "to both boys and girls."

	She stuck out her tongue at me, and we arrived at class.

	Dana's friend Tats was there before us, this time in the front row 
next to the two empty seats.  Again, she looked familiar, but I couldn't 
place her.  Whatever.  I took the chair further away from her.

	"Dana, Lupe -- do you need relief?" the teacher asked us.

	"No, Ms Emerson," Dana said.

	I thought a moment, then shook my head -- I could wait till next 
period, if I had to.

	Dana looked a little disappointed.  As if she had cause -- I still 
wanted to give her relief, sometime today.

	And then we started act II of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.  Puck and 
Oberon and Titania, and the four lovers go into the woods.  We started by 
reading aloud the opening of II.i, with me as Puck and Dana as the 
flitter-fairy.  Which got Dana all indignant because it was all WRONG -- 
fairies don't act like that, and they have no king and queen, and Oberon 
and Titania are nothing like real fairy names, or so she said.  If 
D naradriel was typical, she had a point.

	Reading with Dana was, well, fun -- even though I was standing in 
front of the class.  Both Puck teasing his innocent counterpart from 
Titania's court, but also their acting like spies from opposite sides who 
feel more in common with each other than their masters.  By the end of our 
bit, I could barely keep my eyes off her.

*

Dana

This time, when Lupe read, he did it much more expressively.  He tasted 
just as uncomfortable, though -- like maybe he'd played Lysander as a 
stick on purpose.  Which maybe he had a point, but then what did Hermia 
see in him?

	Anyway, our scene was more fun than yesterday's.  He teased me, I 
flustered, and we connected.  By the time Oberon and Titania came on, I 
was regretting not taking relief.  Especially, not taking relief from 
Lupe.  I was starting to ache down there.

	Tatja read Titania (as if Emerson could resist the name thing) and 
Dave, another basketball player, was Oberon.  Tall, imperious jocks as 
royalty, except of course Tats is nothing like that -- she's a great 
friend.  But she could play Ice Princess to the belt.  (I know, it's 
supposed to be "to the hilt," but she wasn't using a sword, and there's 
all that stuff about putting Titania's girdle around the world.)  (Or was 
it Puck's girdle?  Was Robin supposed to be a cross-dresser?  I thought 
about writing my essay on that.)

	What I mean is, we spent a lot of time going through that scene, 
some of which didn't make any sense to me -- which was why my mind 
wandered.  Especially the whole drought-because-king-and-queen-are-arguing 
thing.

	"You don't have anything like that in Fairyland?" Emerson asked 
me.

	"It's ELFLAND," I told her.

	"Sorry.  But, nothing?"

	I sighed.  "If FAIRIES are unhappy, the land's unhappy, sure -- 
but it's no ... no mystical connection, just a matter of not doing our 
jobs right.  And as I said, there's no fairy royalty anyway."

	"Ah."

	"And no fairy princesses, either."

	At the end of class, Lupe looked at Tats, and they nodded to each 
other.  Handing me over to her protection again?  As if I needed it.  
Then he looked at me for a long moment that stretched into two, before 
breaking off to scurry away -- just before I reached for his hand.

	Tatja smiled down at me.  Her expression looked suspiciously like 
my mother's, last night.

	"What?" I asked.

	"Nothing," she said.

	I stamped my foot, harder than I intended -- I bounced off the 
floor.

	Tatja shook her head, and we headed out.  Then she said, "Do you 
think he's cute?"

	Who, Lupe?  "Of COURSE he's cute."

	"Nice legs," she said blandly.

	"There's that, too," I said.  Nicely muscled, that is.  And nice 
buttocks, too.  Plus he's nicely short -- I wasn't always craning my neck 
up to him.  Speaking of which, I looked up at Tats.  "Why?"

	"It's just -- " and she broke off, as a boy asked me to flap.  
And right behind him, was Fritz, come to meet us.  To meet me.

	I did NOT blush.  I was careful about that.  Was Tatja trying to 
find out if I liked Lupe more than Fritz?  How was I supposed to tell her?  
I didn't know myself!

	Though what I did know and see of Lupe, I liked.  Hmm.

	Then the bell rang, and we had to run to biology.  When I burst 
through the door, Ms Leyden smiled at me.

	Oh, right.  Time to be a bio specimen.  I thumped onto the stool 
at the front.  But no matter what Tats may say, I did NOT sigh -- I was 
good about that.

	"Do you need relief?" Leyden asked me.

	Well, kinda, especially after reading with Lupe.  But she was sure 
to turn it into part of class.  Sexual responses of an adolescent fairy, 
with particular notes on exhibitionist tendencies.  I shook my head.

	"You sure?  It might help if you do it beforehand."

	Whatever that meant.  I shook my head again.

	What it meant was class observations.  Yesterday, they'd written 
down what Leyden told them about me -- today, they got to investigate me 
themselves.  By touch, if they wanted.  And was there a chance in 
Goblinwood of them not "investigating" my genitals?  I really did sigh.  
Well, Leyden HAD warned me.  I told her I drew a firm line -- my antennae 
were off-limits, and I reserved the right to stop someone from touching my 
wings if they weren't gentle enough.  I could NOT afford to have them 
damaged.  Though she was reluctant, she agreed.

	We talked about this while she first checked my pulse, blood 
pressure, and temperature, and measurements like height and weight.  
Things we hadn't gotten to yesterday because Leyden hadn't been prepared.

	Fortunately, the first person chosen to investigate me was Tats.  
SHE had come prepared -- with a tape measure.  Very clinical, taking 
additional measurements like arm and wing spans, and calling them out to 
Fritz (and whoever else wanted them).

	Other students were less impersonal.  Very personal.  At least, 
unlike Leyden, they were clothed.  One by one, they felt me up -- all over 
my bare skin.  Especially my breasts and my, ah, down there.  My mound, I 
mean, though one boy spent a minute rubbing my feet.

	The whole thing made my skin tingle all over, but also made me 
uncomfortable.  Yes, I know -- I'd complained about kids not taking 
advantage of me being a naked Program student, and here was I was annoyed 
at them for doing just that.  But this was different.  In the halls, it 
was -- or would be, if anyone DID it -- spontaneous.  This was 
teacher-directed -- nowhere near as fun.

	Either way, I was really worked up by the end of class.

	Tatja said bye and ran for gym, while Fritz walked with me to 
math.  Accompanied me, almost more of a bodyguard than Tatja had been -- 
glaring at the two kids who'd asked me to wiggle my antennae.  I had to 
explain I couldn't do that -- that was all reflex motion.

	Babs found us, just before the bell rang.  We started walking 
rapidly.

	"So," Babs asked me, "who do you want to give you relief?"

	I nearly jumped at the spark through my body -- oh boy, did I want 
relief.  But -- I looked at her.  Why not her?

	She chuckled.  "You should let someone else have a chance at 
having their eardrums shattered."

	Did I really scream that loud when I came?

	Fritz made an impatient sound.  "She's teasing you," he told me, 
giving Babs a Look.

	"Oh."

	"Still, the whole point is to explore sexuality," Babs said.  
"You should try someone else."

	I didn't look at Fritz as he held the door open.  After what he 
did yesterday, it didn't feel right to ask him.  I mean, if he had 
feelings for me, it wouldn't be good to encourage him.  Not yet, not until 
I knew more of MY feelings for HIM.  Maybe later in the week.

	So when Mr. Weinberger asked if I wanted relief, I said yes -- and 
picked Ricardo, a sophomore, from the volunteers.

	He grinned as he stood up.  It took a moment to work out how we'd 
do it.  I mean, this whole relief thing was kinda awkward for me.  I 
couldn't like slump in the chair, 'cause of, yanno, wings -- I had to sit 
sideways and hold onto the back, which doesn't balance well.  Standing up 
worked, since Ricky's short for a guy, but it meant getting a hand-job 
again.

	Or so I thought.  Turns out if the other person's short enough 
when they kneel between my legs, standing up for oral sex works out pretty 
well.  At least if the person giving it holds onto my legs tightly, when I 
start beating my wings.  Also, probably better on their ears.  (I tried 
not to scream, I really did.  But it was hard!)

	Ricky wasn't as good as Babs, but that may have been my nearly 
unbalancing until he held me better.  Or the position.  I'd have to 
experiment to see.

	I smiled at that thought.  I wanted to experiment a lot.  No 
longer hiding my species had a lot going for it.

	When I staggered into my seat, Babs looked at me amused and Fritz 
wooden.  Which last puzzled me.  If he was jealous, why hadn't he 
volunteered?  Not that I would have accepted, but still.  What was wrong 
with Ricky, though?  It was only then that I realized -- Ricky's a short, 
wiry Latino, the kid in class closest to Lupe in appearance.  I'd gone for 
him to avoid playing on Fritz's feelings -- and played on them anyway.  
Now I wanted to give my friend the chance to give me relief next 
opportunity, but -- well, but what about my own feelings?  I'd panicked 
when Fritz kissed me, yesterday.  What was I doing?

	I made a face and took out my math folder -- my What Would a 
Unicorn Do? one.

	I stared at the spinner a moment, then flicked it.  The horn 
stopped at "rear and whiny," which just goes to show I'm not a unicorn.  
Just thinking about how I hadn't ridden one in years made me want to 
sniffle.

	I took out my homework to hand in, incomplete.

*

Lupe

After that scene with Dana, I needed relief in calculus.  You know, the 
scene we read.  Ah, never mind.

	Anyway, I took relief solo -- quickly.  It almost helped me 
concentrate on the lecture.  Almost.  We were doing Taylor series and 
limits of approximation -- I wondered whether every time I took relief, I 
got closer to having a brain without actually reaching it.  If I wanked 
off continuously, would I get close enough to follow this stuff?

	Probably not, the way I was feeling.

	At least I remembered not to go into the boys' locker room for 
P.E.  As I finished changing shoes, a girl said, "Lupe."

	I looked up to see Dana's friend Tats.  "Oh.  Hi."  I stood.

	And only then, seeing her in uniform, I finally realized why she 
was familiar.  She was Tatja Almakova, the school basketball and 
volleyball star -- this year she'd made the all-state team in both.  We 
had two classes together, and I hadn't even noticed.  She smiled at my 
expression, and looked like she was about to say something -- then 
frowned.  My standing there, like a stricken rabbit, had given Luisa's 
gang the chance to surround and trap me.  As in, feel me up, bodies 
pressing against mine from all sides.

	While bodies rubbing against mine aren't uncomfortable as wiggly 
fingers, it still set my teeth on edge.  It took a coach's warning that 
class was starting to get me away, and by then Tatja was long gone.

	It had started raining, and while it wasn't coming down hard, the 
wind was chill.  I asked to stay inside, in the weight room.  Coach Suarez 
checked the weather and agreed.  "Unless you'd rather play basketball with 
the girls," he told me.

	I gave him a Look -- he knows I shoot for shit.  Besides, I knew 
that'd only get me felt up all the more, out on the court.  Maybe that 
appeals to some boys.

	It was mostly boys working out, and not many, and none of them 
linemen -- small luck.  All of them were determined to ignore my nudity.  
Suited me fine.  I spent most of my time working on my legs, getting up a 
good sweat.  My shoulders could probably use a little work, but I don't 
run with them.  If I kept with running in college, maybe I'd build up my 
upper body, but it's not like I have a long enough stride to make it for 
real.

	When I headed for the girls' locker room, the gym itself was 
almost empty.  When I reached the locker room, I realized what waited for 
me inside: Luisa's posse.  An ambush, I thought.  They wanted to shower 
with me again.

	"Lupe," a girl said beside me, and I nearly jumped.  Tatja.  I 
looked up at her.  She smiled, "Sorry.  You okay?"

	"For the moment," I said, glancing back inside.  They were 
definitely waiting for me.

	"I have a request for you," Tatja said.  "Shower with me."

	I looked up at her again.  A tawny, blue-eyed blonde a foot taller 
than me.  Gorgeously strong body, too -- legs and arms and shoulders 
shaped by both her sports.  Luisa's chicas had some appeal, but they'd be 
overwhelming; Tatja was just one girl.  Besides cleaning up with a friend 
of Dana and Babs was likely to get fun.  I nodded.

	We went to the shower head in the corner, where Tatja screened me 
from the rest of the girls -- she apparently had enough personal authority 
we were left alone.  And there, we cleaned up.

	No, really, that's all we did.  Didn't even talk, aside from 
mechanics of showering.  We soaped each other, scrubbing backs where we 
couldn't reach ourselves, but that's it.  She didn't make a play for my 
penis, and she kept her uncomfortable touching to a minimum.  And, well, 
I'm not stupid -- I wouldn't try anything with a girl who could bend me in 
two without breaking a sweat.  Even if she did have an incredible ass.

	I wondered if she was gay.  But then, why ask to shower with me?  
But in that case, why ask and do nothing?  I was completely confused, man.

	We dried off together, too.  It seemed polite to wait for her to 
dress, after I changed back to regular shoes.

	"You'll eat with us, yes?" she asked as she fastened her bra.  
Just doing it in front of me, as if it were nothing.  I couldn't remember 
if she'd been through the Program yet.

	"Uh, yeah," I said, though I wanted to work on my calculus 
homework.  Besides, it wasn't likely they'd really want me there -- so I 
left.

*

Dana

On my way to lunch, someone asked to touch my breasts and down there, for 
the first time in the hallways.  Finally!  I was thrilled, even if she was 
a girl -- someone taking me as a GIRL in the Program and not a thing with 
wings.  Well, okay, there'd been all that in bio, but you know what I 
mean.  Someone coming to me on my own.

	She didn't do much, just a brief exploration.  "You really do feel 
normal."

	"Well, yah," I said.

	"Aside from the extras, I mean," the girl said, looking a little 
offended.

	"Sorry," I quickly said before Fritz could get huffy.  "It's just, 
I have bio."

	After a moment, her mouth made an O and she quickly pulled her 
hand away.  I wasn't sure whether I was glad or peeved she stopped.

	Either way, I was kinda worked up when I reached the Commons.  At 
least we'd arrived in time -- Tatja still had a place in the cafeteria 
line for us.  "Where's Lupe?" I asked her.

	"Somewhere over there, I think," waving at the far end of the 
Commons, where he'd been yesterday.

	I tried to peer over the crowd but, yanno, shortness.  Plus with 
the rain, it was more crowded -- the air tasted of damp kids and lunch.  
I whirled on Tats.  "You did invite him, yes?"

	She laughed.  "Yes -- I knew you'd want me to."

	I puffed my cheeks and blew out.  Babs snorted, while Fritz looked 
sour.  I shied away from that thought.

	Lupe was, indeed, in the far end -- again at a table alone.  This 
time he was munching a sandwich, a pencil in his other hand as he bent 
over a math book.  I plopped down my tray to his right.  He looked up, 
startled.

	"Hey, partner," I said as I slid into the cold plastic seat.  I 
shuddered.  "Bleagh! -- if they're going to make naked kids sit in here, 
why can't they give us warm chairs?"

	He blinked at me.  "They have a sick sense of humor."

	"You may be onto something," Fritz said, sitting on my other side.

	Lupe shrugged.  "They came up with the Program, didn't they?"

	"Aw, that's not sick," Babs said.  Again, she took the corner to 
Lupe's left, leaving Tats across from me.  "It's fun."

	He frowned at her a moment, then looked around the table, stopping 
with me.  Then he sighed and put away his book, and started wolfing down 
his lunch.

	"I don't know about fun," Tatja said, "but it is good."  She'd
gone through it our second week of freshman year, and had a rocky time.  
She says it gave her more confidence.  At the time, I couldn't see that.

	"Is it?" I asked.

	"You," Babs pointed out, "were always afraid of being found out."

	Well, true.

	"Plus you're still off-balance," Fritz said.  "It's only Tuesday."

	"It's -- "  I stopped to count on my fingers.  "Okay, you're 
right."

	"It always feels like longer," Tats said.

	Lupe snorted silently.  I smiled at him, to encourage him to join 
in.  He gave me a wry smile in return.

	And so we talked.  About the Program, and school, and classes.  
Stuff.  Like friends, yanno.  Well, Lupe, not much.  But he stayed with 
us, listening.

	And the whole time, his feet met mine under the table.  It wasn't 
much, but I was really aware of it.  Neither of us moved away.  I wanted 
to touch his hand, hold it in mine.  I wanted to do what Babs was doing in 
his lap.

*

Lupe

Okay, so there was this hot babe on my left, slowly squeezing and stroking 
my cock, and this cute fairy on my right, who didn't touch me except with 
the toe of her sandals.  So who did I obsess over?  The latter.

	The four of them talked about ... well, this and that.  Dana 
mentioned excitedly that someone had finally asked to feel her pussy -- 
not her word -- in the hallway.  I'd've been pleased it took this long, 
but then, not being treated as a freak does have its points, especially 
when you aren't human.  Not that Dana's a freak, or even freaky.  A bit 
ditzy, sometimes, but that's different.

	Fritz and Babs tried to explain what she hadn't understood in 
algebra class.  I stayed well away from that one, though Fritz kept saying 
sine-two-theta for sine-squared-theta.  When I looked at him funny the 
first time, he gave me one of those alpha male looks, daring me to 
interfere.  I don't bother with that stuff -- I've learned the hard way.  
And Dana'd get the right formula from the textbook.

	Still, it wasn't a bad way to spend a lunch.  The ending, though.

	It was bad enough that Babs didn't get me off, though neither did 
she bring me as close as yesterday.  But still, when the bell rang, I was 
feeling a little annoyed at her prick-teasing.  More than a little.  But 
as we got up, some big guys with letter jackets and a cheerleader stopped 
Dana with a request.  I would have broken away, but I didn't like the look 
of this, and Dana was my partner.  I was right, for once.

	The biggest boy asked to feel Dana's antennae.  Where by "asked" 
he meant "insisted."

	"No," she said.

	"It's reasonable," he insisted, and his posse nodded.  The pricks.  
I wanted Babs to tease them, and see how they felt about it.  I kept 
myself from growling, barely.

	"It is not," Dana insisted back.

	"It is too."

	"As if."

	"Yes, it is," and he reached for it.

	And I snapped.  I grabbed his arm, yanking it to one side so he'd 
miss her.  I twisted as I pulled, throwing him off balance.  Though not 
much -- he yanked back easily.  I mean, he had almost a foot and a hundred 
pounds on me -- no way I could hold him.

	Several things happened at once.  One of his posse started for me, 
but another caught him.  The guy himself said, "What the fuck?"  And Dana 
said, "Lupe!"

	"She said NO," I snarled at the guy.  I pulled my right hand back 
to swipe him.

	"No fighting!" Dana insisted, grabbing my left arm, the one 
closest to her.

	I looked down at her hand -- and saw what she held.  My forearm 
was furry, my fingernails were claws.  Fuck -- I was losing it.  I was
both furious and aghast, if that makes any sense.  Furious at the prick, 
sure, but more at myself for loosing it.  Losing control.  During the day, 
no less.

	Let me be clear: this wasn't about forgetting and going after this 
guy, as big as he is.  Hell, everyone's bigger than me.  I can take care 
of my own in a fight -- I've had to, till the bully boys learn to leave me 
alone.  In another situation like that, I'd defend Dana again in a 
heartbeat.  It was losing control over ME that freaked me.

	I looked from Dana's hand to her face.  She glared at me sternly.  
Fuck, I thought again.  This time for disappointing her.  Somehow, whether 
it was me or her that gave me strength, I pulled a leash on myself.

	And in that moment of distraction, the guy got me: shoved me I 
think, but it could have been a slap to the shoulder -- I wasn't watching.  
I stumbled away, twisting so I missed falling into either Dana or Tatja.

	A woman called out something.  Didn't catch what, but you don't 
need to, in a situation like that -- she used the voice that means, "Stop 
that!  Break it up!  You're in trouble now!"

	I panicked.  Well, sort of.  I scrambled away, breaking through 
the crowd.  Instinct.  I know better than to get caught in a fight with an 
entitled jock, one higher status than me, even with witnesses.  
Especially with his witnesses.  It wasn't until I was several tables away, 
weaving for the nearest exit, I realized I was abandoning Dana.  My 
partner.

	And that I couldn't go back, not till I got myself under control.  
My fingers still had claws.  I had to hide.

	I ran into the first girl's bathroom I came to, into the furthest, 
darkest stall.  Deep breaths.  Slow breaths.  Human breaths.  Focus on 
that.  Focus on reciting hail Mary full of grace.

	After three Hails, I looked at my hands.  Fully boy.

	I almost pounded the stall wall with my fist, but some girls were 
chattering over by the sinks.  I couldn't stay hidden, either.  I flushed 
the toilet, and came out to wash my hands, as if I'd been using it.  I 
left as quickly as I could, before the girls -- a couple freshmen, I think 
-- could grab me.

	All through physics, the only thing I could think of was whether 
Dana had seen me change.

*

Dana

Assistant Principal Jackson stopped the dust-up before things got too far.  
I hoped Lupe was okay, but I didn't take my eyes off Bradley Denton for a 
moment -- talk about predators.  Stupidhead.  And far worse names I can't 
use.  If he'd taken another step towards me, I'd've flown off, never mind 
the columns and tables and hanging fluorescent lights.

	At least Lupe didn't get in trouble.  By the time Jackson sorted 
us out, he was gone, and it was just Tats and Fritz and Bradley and one of 
his friends -- Mack, I think.  Bradley quickly made his case.

	"It's a reasonable request," Jackson told me.

	Bradley smirked.  I wanted to stuff his shorts with goblins -- 
HUNGRY ones.  See how he liked quarterbacking with those.

	"No it isn't," I told Jackson.  Because I could tell I'd get 
nowhere with her, I added, "I'm appealing it.  My antennae have nothing to 
do with being naked, or with sex."

	"Then why'd you hide them, eh?" Bradley asked.

	"Yeah, why?" Mack-or-whoever said.

	I rolled my eyes at Jackson.  She set her jaw.

	"I'm still appealing," I told her.  I was tired of these dratted 
requests to touch them, and wanted to settle it once and for all.  Which 
is how Bradley and me, alone this time, ended up in the main office, 
talking to Principal Skinner.  Another round of arguments.

	"I can't stand to be touched there," I told him.  "It's too 
uncomfortable -- it's like having my bones scraped with jagged glass."  I 
was pleased with that last phrase -- something Earthly, which they could 
relate to.  Though only Jackson winced -- Skinner just looked at me.

	"I can't give you a pass on requests to touch you just because 
you're another species."

	"Well, YAH," I said.  I never said ALL touches.

	"Then ... "  He looked confused.

	"I just don't want to be touched THERE," and pointed with both 
hands at my forehead, "any more than I want my eyeballs touched.  And only 
gently there," and pointed to my wings.

	"So you don't mind, elsewhere?" he said warily.

	"Mind?  They haven't been touching me ENOUGH elsewhere," I 
grumped.

	Skinner pinched the bridge of his nose.  "If you could have made 
that a little clearer earlier, that would have been a big help."

	"They're what he wanted to touch," I said, pointing at Bradley.  
What wasn't clear about that?

	"Yesss-s-s -- well, be that as it may," Skinner said briskly, "my 
ruling is, Miss Partlow, your non-human anatomy is off limits to requests 
as you see fit.  Now both of you, to class."  He made a motion like 
washing his hands and flicking them dry.

	Which was all I wanted ten minutes ago.  Some humans.

	Fifth period had already started, so I ran through the empty 
halls, trying to use my wings to go faster.  I can never tell if it helps, 
but it doesn't seem to hurt -- and it does help me corner and stop.  I 
arrived more than five minutes late for art.  Ms Andrews looked grumpy.

	"Sorry," I said, panting a little.  "Program business."  Which it 
was, when you look at it right.

	Andrews hmphed.  "Well, your five minutes has passed -- you've 
forfeited your chance for relief."

	As if, after all that, I was in the mood.  "Fine," I said.

	So she immediately set me to posing.  Andrews had been showing the 
class pictures of fairies, mostly Victorian she said.  Some of the wings 
looked a little small for their size and the more flow-y robes would be 
awkward to fly in -- though they certainly were pretty -- but otherwise 
they were like totally perfect fairy portraits.  Well, except for those 
freaky pointed ears.  We picked a classic pose: one foot on tip-toe, the 
other curved up behind, one hand raised with a poised wand as if about to 
zap a flower into bloom or something.

	The pose fitted me perfectly.  I could hold that for a while, at 
least till my calf got tired.

	There were a couple sighs from the rest of the class, and one girl 
(Jordan?  I couldn't see) told Andrews, "I know we're supposed to draw 
realistically, but she's just begging to be done anime style."

	"Realistic first.  Later, you can try something else."

	And then there was only the rustles of charcoal on newsprint.  I 
used the time to think about Lupe.

	The thing was, while defending me had been sweet, it hadn't been 
necessary -- especially so violently.  That moment he looked at me, he 
looked, well, dark.  Almost as if he was someone else, that moment.  Which 
was silly, I knew -- he was just Lupe, trying to protect me.  What I'd 
seen WAS him, maybe another part of him, one he kept hidden.  A part with 
strength, drawn on when needed.

	My calf gave out, and I struck another pose: kneeling, bending 
over nose up, as if to sniff a flower.

	I wondered if his friends knew that part of him.  Because he of 
course had to have friends -- didn't he?  I hadn't believed him, that he 
was really that alone, but then I couldn't think of seeing him with anyone 
-- ever.  If he really was alone, maybe that's why he'd grown that side of 
him -- he'd needed the strength to get through not having any friends.  
But, no -- I didn't believe that.  Having NO friends just didn't make any 
sense to me.  That's like having no breathing.

	Though I was starting to wonder.  Have doubts.

	I was glad I'd see him again, next period.

	For my last quick pose, Andrews had me pirouette.  If you can call 
moving a pose.  I found a spin that came naturally, twirling to tap a 
flower bud (played by the stool) with the wand.  It was fun to pretend -- 
I'm still young enough, I don't get to open many flowers on my own -- 
though I got kinda dizzy after doing it a dozen times.  I had to stop when 
I started with the queasy.  Bleagh.

	Maybe there's a reason I don't make that move often.

	On the way to history, I kept looking for Lupe, and not seeing 
him.  This even as FINALLY a boy made a Program request to feel my breasts 
and mound (that's a good word for it -- I can use that one).  I would have 
been giddy with joy, if I hadn't been too distracted.

	And then I saw him: Lupe.  He'd been hidden in the crowd until he 
was almost next to me.  I bit my lip, and then smiled.

*

Lupe

The grin Dana greeted me with was dazzling.  Not literally, like needing 
shades -- though with a fairy, I suppose ya never know.  Dazed me, I mean.  
It meant she hadn't seen my partial change.

	I smiled back.  "You need relief, right?" I said, ticking my 
finger at her.  Though it wasn't really a question, given how she was 
squirming on the boy's hand.

	"Yes, but -- "

	"No buts -- I owe ya," I told her.  The bell rang, and we hurried 
to history.

	As we burst into the classroom, the teacher did a double-take.  
"I need relief," Dana told him.  The old guy nodded, then took off his 
glasses to clean them again.  We dropped out bags and went to the relief 
chair.

	Though Dana said softly, "It works best if I'm standing."

	I looked at the chair and nodded -- her wings.  I knelt between 
her legs, resting on my heels, and she shivered.

	"Hold me tight," she whispered, looking down at me.

	It took me a moment to remember how she beat her wings when she 
came.  Heh.  I wrapped my arms around her smooth legs, which let me clutch 
her buttocks -- something I'd never done.  Soft-skinned and round.  Yum.  
"Let me know if we start to take off," I told her, then bent to my task.

	I don't know what I expected a girl to taste like.  Musky, yes, 
like sex -- I knew how my stepsisters' room smelled after one had a 
boyfriend over.  But the sweet was a surprise.  Or was that how fairies 
tasted?  Like a forest at night.  Only not wild -- more tended and 
passionate than pure wilderness.  Clean woodland.  I can't explain that 
well.  But I quickly got used to it -- even liked it.

	I'd once overheard my older brother, Julian, telling some younger 
boys how to give a girl head.  He said if you do that right, you can get 
all the chicks eating out of your hand, even if you fucked for crap.  I 
dunno about that, but I tried to remember his advice.  The key was 
changing rhythms -- like I'd watched Babs doing, I realized.  Also,
getting inside the girl isn't as important as her clit, though you 
shouldn't focus just on that, the way you do with a cock.

	I parted her lower lips with my tongue, sliding between her slick 
folds.  That hard node, that must be her clit.  Dana trembled when I 
licked it, and stiffened when I sucked on it.  Which thrilled me -- I
didn't really know what I was doing.  Giving her pleasure -- well, it felt 
good.

	I licked and sucked her clit, alternating with licks down her 
folds, once even trying to get my tongue inside her -- though it made her 
bend backwards, enough she would have fallen down if I hadn't held her up.  
Her high moans started rising higher -- another thrill for me -- and then 
I could feel the muscles of her back as she flexed her wings.  I took that 
as a sign she was getting close and focused on her clit, trying to keep up 
a steady rapid pulse.  It seemed to work, because she stiffened and 
shrieked and flapped wildly and she came, like a spark jolting through her 
sinews.

	I felt like I'd won a race.  I'd gotten a girl off!  I'd gotten 
DANA off.

	As she relaxed, I slowed my attentions.  Though I was intrigued at 
how she tasted different now -- not sweeter, so much as less like forest 
mast.  Like a night-blooming flower, maybe.

	I pulled back and looked up.  Dana gazed down at me, smiling.  I 
grinned back.  Madre de Dios, she looked so adorable.  I wanted to stand 
up, in such a way as my cock would slip inside her -- to have sex with her 
now.  It wasn't a horny ache in my belly, but somehow a more passionate 
one.  Again, I don't know how to say it.  I'm not a writer, man, not like 
she is.

	Only as she loosed her fingers from my hair, did I realize she'd 
been gripping my head.  I'd been so caught up in what I was doing for her, 
I hadn't noticed.  Ow.  She pulled a couple tissues from the teacher's 
box, and as I stood, wiped off my face.

	Behind me, in the distance, I heard hooting and cheering.  The 
rest of the class, our audience.

	The old teacher's desk had been almost completely cleared, papers 
strewn everywhere.  Almost none of the students' were -- I guess kids were 
quicker.

	Some students helped the teacher gather things as we sat down -- 
or rather, I helped Dana sit down, in the nearest empty chair.  There was 
another one just behind it, a file to the left.  I almost sat there, to be 
near Dana.  But no, I sat in the back for a reason.

	A very good reason.  What was I doing, getting close to her? -- 
close to anyone?

	I took a desk in back.  Good thing, too -- Dana spent the whole 
period sneaking looks at me, smiling when our eyes met.  Which happened 
more often than I wanted.  If I'd been up there with her, we'd've never 
heard a word the teacher said.  Not that I did anyway.

	I was dangerously close to getting goopy over the girl.  I had to 
pull away -- for her sake.

*

Dana

OMG!

	I knew Babs had given me better oral sex than Lupe -- she had way 
more experience -- but it didn't matter -- that orgasm had been so good, I 
was a goopy lump the whole class.  I wanted to cuddle up with Lupe 
somewhere far away from everything.

	Or as I said: OMG!

*

Lupe

At the end of class, I would have slipped away, just to give myself 
distance.  But I couldn't abandon Dana a second time.  At least she hadn't 
gotten in big trouble, from lunch.  I walked up to Dana.  "Ready?"

	She grinned.  "Ready," and grabbed my hand.  I didn't let go.  
For moral support, I told myself, as we went to Spanish together.  And, 
well, it felt nice.

	In the hall, we were stopped almost immediately, by a couple.  
They gave us simultaneous requests, she to me and he to Dana, to feel our 
genitals.  We stood still, still holding hands.  Dana gripped tighter as 
the boy rubbed his finger between her lower lips.

	After a moment, he said to the girl, "See?"

	"Fine," she said, as she felt my cock like testing a fruit for 
ripeness.  Then a few moments later, she added, "Well?"

	"I guess."

	The girl glared at him, still softly squeezing my cock.  I hoped 
she didn't take out her annoyance on me.  The boy relented.  "Okay, you're 
right."

	They nodded to themselves and left us -- without even saying 
thanks.  Ooo-kay.

	Dana and I looked at each other.  She shrugged -- dunno.  I 
returned it.

	A few meters on, a boy stopped Dana to feel her breasts and pussy.  
I stayed with her, though we had to stop holding hands.

	Another boy called out as he passed us, "Hey, Stellaluna."

	"Don't CALL me that!" she snapped.

	I tensed -- but at least I didn't shift.  But the effort kept me 
from jumping to her defense.

	"But I -- you -- I mean -- " the passing boy stammered, before 
turning away.  Even the boy touching her breasts cringed and dropped his 
hands, letting us continue.

	Okay, so maybe she didn't need my help.  I looked at her 
carefully.

	She noticed me, and shuddered.  "Ew!  Bats!  Awful creatures."

	I looked at her, then measured the wingspan of a small brown bat 
with my hands, comparing it to her.  My fingers framed her nipples, I 
couldn't help noticing, and my cock twitched.  "You're afraid of a critter 
that much smaller than you?"

	She glared at me, mouth pursed.  "I don't like them, okay?  They 
eat lunas."

	Fair enough, I supposed.  Certainly she seemed to have a lot of 
moth nature -- I could understand that.  I spread my hands, letting it go.

	The bell rang, and we walked faster.  Dana said, almost to 
herself, "Why do they GET that from, anyway?"

	I gestured at her wings.  "Luna moth, no?  Obvious wordplay."

	" ... oh."  Then she shook her head.  "I still wish that book had 
never been written." 

	"What, MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM?" Babs said, bounding up as usual.

	"Bleagh," Dana said.  "That too."

	"Don't worry, we'll protect you," Babs said, with a sly glance at 
me, "from that bully Shakespeare."

	As if we could.  Though what was the glance for?

	"Oh, cut it out," Dana said.  I reached to open the door, but she 
stopped me.  "I want," she said, and swallowed.  More softly, "I want to 
give you relief in return."

	I looked into her pale green eyes.  I thought I could feel her 
body heat, from a foot away.  I thought last period had made us even, but 
-- how to put this?  Oh, right: FUCK yeah.  My cock was pointing at her 
like a magnet to the pole.  All those worries about getting too close to 
her, last period, they were gone in a haze of lust.  I licked my lips and 
nodded.  I opened the door for her, and we went into class, followed by 
Babs.

	"Necesito aliviarme," I told the teacher, nodding to Dana as the 
one who'd give it to me.

	"Necesito que ella me alivia," she corrected me.

	Whatever -- I'd been clear enough.  "Sí, Señora."

	I sat in the relief chair, and saw Babs in her seat smirking at 
me.  Or at us, hard to tell.  I ignored her.  Which wasn't hard, not with 
a naked fairy kneeling between my thighs.

	"This time," Dana whispered, "I want to -- "  She swallowed, then 
barely breathed, "take you in my mouth."

	I nodded.  I tried to remember what that girl had done -- what was 
her name again? -- the one who'd given me a blowjob under the stands 
between heats at the state finals last year.  I never did figure out 
whether it'd been to encourage or distract me.  Either way, I'd come in 
second in the 1500m.

	"Careful of the teeth," I whispered.  Her eye widened.  "Like, 
cover them with your lips."

	She nodded, and took me into her mouth.  Well, the head of my 
cock.  I drew in my breath.  It wasn't as sweet as being in Babs's pussy, 
yesterday, but oh yes, I could see why guys liked it.

	"Then up and down," I whispered, "like, ya know."  She started 
doing it.  "Careful of gagging," I added, as if she wouldn't of thought of 
that.  "And you can use your hand, too."

	It was hard to concentrate on it, though.  Now don't get me wrong, 
it felt good (if not quite like that girl last year), but there was a 
problem.  A big one.  Every time her head bobbed, her antennae brushed my 
belly -- and they TICKLED.  I don't know how it is for you, man, but 
tickling is not erotic -- it's distracting.

	I worked my hands into her hair, keeping clear of her antennae, 
both to caress her and to slow her head down.  She responded by using her 
hand more, which helped actually.  Then she started sucking, and I could 
feel my balls tighten as I started getting closer.  And closer.  The world 
contracted to just me and her and what her mouth did to me.

	And then she did something, I don't know what, and I about leapt 
out of my skin.  I came, without giving her warning -- straight into her 
mouth.  She didn't stop whatever she was doing -- it felt like her mouth 
was buzzing like a vibrator, only not steady -- until I stopped squirting.

	She swallowed and looked up at me with a grin.

	The teacher looked at us primly, like she'd bitten a saladito.  
(She was, by the way, this odd little oriental woman with a strong 
Peruvian accent.  Don't know what's up with her.)  It wasn't until she 
pointed at the clock, I saw why: we'd gone a couple minutes over our five.  
Gosh darn, so sorry.

	We scuttled to our seats -- Babs had saved us two in the front.  
This time, I didn't mind sitting up there, next to Dana.  Especially since 
it gave me the chance to lean over and whisper,

	"What did you do, at the end?"

	Dana smirked at me.  "I hummed a fairy song."

	A hum-job.  That what that phrase must mean -- I'd heard it, but 
never asked.  Oh my.  But then the teacher noticed me in the front and 
called on me.  And called on me again, for nearly every question for the 
rest of class.

	Figures.

*

Dana

It was just as well Sra. Matasuki never called on me -- I would have been 
hard-pressed to be coherent in Fairy, let alone English or Spanish.  And 
it wasn't just having Lupe by my side, reminding me of what we'd just done 
-- Babs looked as smug as a bug in a rug.  If that's how you say that.

	Semen tastes odd, though.  Nothing at all like egg whites, as you 
might think -- nor like the deep forest, as he did.

	At the end of class, Lupe packed quickly, like the day before, but 
then waited for us.  We left the room together, then stopped outside the 
door -- and I realized I didn't know where he went next.

	"So," Babs asked him, "how was your second day in the Program?"

	He pursed his lips, as if thinking how to answer that.  "There's 
been," and his eyes flickered to me, just for a split-second, "some very 
good parts."

	I managed not to squeal.  I don't think I showed anything of how 
giddy that made me feel, knowing he'd liked my first oral sex.

	Babs looked at me, one eyebrow raised.  "And you?"

	"Pret-ty good," I said, trying to play it cool.

	Babs raised her other eyebrow, but said nothing.

	Lupe gave her a harder look.  "Why -- how's the week look from 
your side?"

	She thought a moment.  "Let's just say I expect to be surprised a 
few more times before it's over."

	Which unnerved Lupe as much as it puzzled me -- how can you expect 
a surprise?  After another pause, he said, "I, uh, gotta go."  He pointed 
behind him with his thumb.

	I nodded.  "Work."  I remembered that.

	"Practice, actually."

	I wrinkled my nose.  Practice for what?

	"Track," Babs told me.  "He's our best distance runner."

	He nodded to her, sort of a half-bow.  I thought for a moment -- 
sports isn't my beat, in part because I just can't bring myself to care -- 
but as reporter of the social scene, I of course knew most of the names, 
at least for the major sports.  Something tickled my memory, about the 
track team -- they'd gone to the state finals last year, and looked to do 
so again, and one star was ...  "Oh!  You're Lupe de Vega!"

	Babs laughed, and Lupe did a facepalm.

	"What?" I asked them.

	In a strained voice, Lupe said, "If you're not sure, I could show 
you my ID, but I left it in my other pants."

	What other pants?  He wasn't wearing any.  Then I got the joke and 
giggled.

	Babs got it too, but she didn't find it funny.  "Don't you," she 
said to him, "have practice?"

	"Oh.  Yeah.  Um."  He took a step backwards.  "See ya tomorrow?"

	"Yup!" I told him.

	"Good."  He turned around, almost stumbling as he did, and started 
walking away.

	After a couple steps, Babs called out, "Hey Lupe -- the gym's 
thataway," pointing the other way.  She seemed amused, as if catching him 
out at something.

	He spun around as he kept walking.  "Locker's this way."

	Babs choked on a snort, then shook her head.  "Okay, he does have 
his head on right."

	"His neck looks fine," I protested.

	Babs raised her finger, then paused.  "It's an idiom.  It means 
he's thinking clearly."

	"Oh.  Gotcha."  I learned English when I moved here from Elfland, 
but sometimes I still trip over a phrase or two.

	We turned the other way -- to our lockers, then upstairs to the 
student newspaper office, looking out over the Commons.

	Fritz, Chris, and Jimbo were already there.  Fritz showed us his 
best photo from yesterday, of me making an almost graceful one-foot 
landing on the basketball court.  Almost -- plus I'm facing a little to 
one side of the camera -- but it was still too wet to take more. 

	"Yeah," Babs said severely, "it's too cold out to go naked."

	"That too," I admitted, though I'm used to a lot colder, flying at 
night.  "More, I don't fly well in the rain.  Much like moths."

	"That's okay," Jimbo said, "this will do great on the front page."

	I looked at him.  "Front page?"

	"Are you kidding?" Chris said.  "You're the lead -- the big story 
on campus."

	I managed not to sigh.  I sorta had known Jimbo would run it 
there, but the habits of hiding still ran deep.

	"What I want to know," Chris went on, "is what the Gay-Straight 
Alliance chapter thinks."

	I rolled my eyes.  "I'm not that kind of fairy."

	Fritz nearly choked.

	"No," Chris said hurriedly, "I mean about your coming out like 
that.  It's a great parallel."

	Oh -- like announcing you're gay.  Huh.  I thought about that 
while Jimbo told Chris, "In that case, why don't you see if you can scare 
up a couple quotes."

	"Sure thing, boss!"

	Jimbo sighed as Chris left.  "Sometimes, over-enthusiasm can be 
tiring."

	"Aw, come on," Babs said, "Chris just misses the newsrooms of 
1930's screwball comedies."

	I made a mental note to ask Babs later what that meant.

	Suze called Jimbo over to ask about a story, and Babs said softly, 
"So what happened in the principal's office?"

	Oh, right -- they hadn't been there.  "Skinner agreed with me," I 
said smugly.  "I can turn down requests involving my, ah, 'non-human 
anatomy' as he put it."

	She nodded firmly.  "Suits."

	"Just remember," Fritz said, "we stuck with you."

	I squinted one eye at him.  "Um.  Sure."

	"We didn't run away," he explained -- which explained nothing.

	I tried squinting with my other eye instead.  He wasn't any 
clearer that way.  Was he talking about yesterday, when I was revealed?

	"I think," Babs said, "he's talking about Lupe."

	"Well of course he got away," I said.  "He'd've gotten in trouble
for fighting."

	"A real friend," Fritz said, "sticks with you no matter what 
trouble."

	Still with the not making sense thing.  "But I didn't need him to 
stick with me -- he'd already done all he could to help his Program 
partner."

	Fritz closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  But before he could 
say more, Jimbo came back to ask me some followup questions.  With no 
excuse to keep him there, Fritz left.  Babs sat down at the layout 
station, and started putting tomorrow's edition together -- or at least, 
what we had of it, with some parts still outstanding.  

	Jimbo and I talked a little more about "the fairy life," as he put 
it, but not much -- he had to both finish writing my profile and edit 
Chris's student council report before five.  I did, however, ask him to 
put in something about my wings and antennae being off-limits to Program 
requests.

	I got ready to leave.  "Aren't you forgetting something?" Jimbo 
asked me.

	"?"

	"You haven't turned in Yours Truly."

	Oh -- right.  My column for tomorrow's paper.  Sometimes, I can be 
such the flake.

	I sat down at the other computer.  Only I didn't have much to say 
-- I'd been too wrapped up in the Program to keep up on the social scene.  
What could I write about?  Not the Program -- old hat.  YEARS of old hat.  
And my time in the Program would be just too the ego-snob.  But --

	Ha! -- there was always writing about me.  My being a fairy.  
After all, if my profile's the lead article, I was big news -- in high 
school terms, anyway.  Except, I needed a different slant.  More breezy, 
not that I'd write a Yours Truly column any other way.  More like the 
confessions of a teenage fairy.  In a chick-lit style, only without the 
shoe-shopping.  It took me a little picking around and false starts before 
I found my lede:

	"I know what you've all been waiting for, and let's start with 
that.  Yes, Yours Truly is a fairy, wings and all.  No wand, though -- you 
don't get one till you're an adult."

	And as usual, once I had the right beginning, it just rolled out 
of me.  The ups and downs and sideways of attending a human school, 
building to the most important topic:

	"But worst of all, it's hard to get a date when you're a teen 
fairy.  Every fairy who's single in this town is my mother's age -- or 
older.  If you think Yours Truly would go out with someone who five years 
ago used to pinch my cheeks and exclaim how much I've grown, you're SO 
gravely mistaken.  True, there's a brownie who's only twenty, but a) she's 
a little small for me and, in any case, 2) hello -- not gay.  Yours Truly 
is the kind of fairy with wings, not light loafers.

	"And before you ask, no, there are no other non-human creatures in 
our school -- no ogres, no vampires, no werewolves, no capabaras.  And you 
know why?  It just so happens, Yours Truly has the inside scoop on that.  
Here it is:

	"They don't exist.

	"And that's all Yours Truly has this time.  TTFN!"

	I had it typed up in fifteen minutes.  I read it through, saw 
nothing to correct except one of those pesky dangling participles (English 
is tricksy that way), and sent it to Jimbo.  Then after a quick email 
check, I got up to go.

	Jimbo raised his hand to stop me, still reading from his screen.  
"Dana, just one thing -- capabaras aren't supernatural beasts."

	"No no, they're real.  I mean, they AREN'T real, but they're a 
real legend -- giant, goat-eating bloodsuckers."

	"You mean chupacabras.  Capabaras are giant rodents from South 
America."

	"Oh," I said.  "Oopsie.  Could you correct that?"

	He typed a moment.  "Already done."

	"Thaaanks.  You're a dear, Jimbo.  And I gotta go."  I twiddled my 
fingers at him, blew a kiss to Babs, and left for home.

	Well, first I went to the main office to pick up my clothes -- and 
chat with Mrs. Romanov about her grandsons.  THEN I walked home.  It was 
still damp and gray, but the rain seemed to have passed on.  The air 
tasted of hints of clearing and a cold evening.  I kicked every puddle I 
passed, for luck.

*

Lupe

The rain had pretty much stopped by the time I got to practice, but it was 
still wet and gray and cold outside.  Coach insisted I go out on the track 
anyway, though it nearly turned my balls blue.  Again, he complained about 
my shoes, but I didn't rise to that bait.  I'd had my lesson today about 
losing my temper.

	I didn't run well, either.

	Afterwards, I warmed my bones with a long hot shower.  By myself, 
this time.  Made me a few minutes late for work again, but worth it, 
despite Caesaria's complaints.

	To distract her, and to possibly learn something useful, I asked 
her what she knew about fairies.  My boss is not a bruja, but if you ask 
her the right way, she'll sell you remedies a doctor would shudder at, 
kept under the counter -- and not all of them are for medical complaints.  
She has a lot of stories.

	Not about Dana's kind of fairy, though -- all sorts of fey, 
enchanting women, including a couple tales of La Llorona I hadn't heard 
before.  The last was so long, I stayed a half hour late.  On this day of 
all days.

	I cussed myself out as I hurried home through the gathering dusk.  
And because my mother and her current husband were fighting, no one had 
started dinner -- that'd be late, too.

	Wouldn't it just figure.  I grabbed a burrito and nuked it till it 
was only half-frozen, and munched it in my room while I changed into 
sweats.  The ice pricked my tongue and palate, and dulled the taste, but I 
had to hurry.  The moon would rise soon, behind the breaking clouds.

	I snuck downstairs to the back door.  No one seemed to notice when 
I stayed out late, but with the mood my stepfather was in, I wasn't about 
to risk being seen.  If I had to, I could escape by the bedroom, but my 
brother Paco would see the open window.  But I didn't -- I made it out the 
door with no one seeing me.

	Paco was in the back yard.  I don't know if he was waiting for me 
or the fight to die down or what, but he'd caught me.

	"What are you doing, man?" he asked.

	"Getting out," I told him, pointing over my shoulder with a thumb.  
Through the window, we heard our mother chewing out a stepsister.

	He made a disgusted noise.  "Like you ever cared about them."

	Whatever.  I started towards the alley.

	"Hey, where you going?"

	"Out," I snarled.

	"Don't give me that," he said, catching my arm.  I whirled around, 
shaking free, and looked up at him.

	Thing is, about being the runt of the family -- my little brother?  
Not so little.  He's about six inches taller than me and forty pounds 
heavier.  I haven't been able to beat up on Paco for years.  But he jumped 
back, startled -- I could smell his fear.  I almost changed in front of 
him, knowing that he was afraid -- wanting to frighten him more.  But I 
didn't.  The moon was not yet out, and I could resist.  Could keep 
control.

	I snarled again, and ran out the back gate, heading for the safety 
of Bridger Park.

*

Dana

Mom came home tired.  She'd flown through the rain, of course -- 
dragonflies are all about the wet, after all, which made it a long day for 
her.  She listened to my abbreviated story of school -- I wasn't about to 
tell my mother about all the, ah, sexy things I'd experienced.  But in the 
end, she said, "You'll have to introduce me to this partner of yours."

	I blushed.  Okay, maybe I'd told her more than I'd thought.

	Fortunately, the mud-pie competition at Brian's daycare took up 
most of the dinner conversation.

	After dinner, I poked at homework a little more -- and once again 
got annoyed at A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.  I almost threw it against a 
pillow.  By full dark, the storm had broken up -- damp, but still good 
enough to go flying.

	I met Kaidlêarnien at the back door, and we flew off.  Clouds 
scudded over the eastern sky, silver-edged where they covered the rising 
moon.  We followed streetlights to the park, only to lose each other in 
the dark.  It didn't matter -- the moon would come out soon, and we'd 
follow that together.

	As I flitted from pine to elm to mountain ash, tasting the night 
scents, I saw figure hurry into the grove below me.  I fluttered down to 
look -- Lupe.

	I smiled as I landed before him, light as a petal.  "Hey," I said, 
smiling.

	He stared at me, wild eyes wide.  Then he began breathing again.  
"Hey.  Dana."

	Coming home from work, I thought.  But I asked anyway, "Whatcha 
doing?"

	"Going home.  Listen," he said, looking around.  "I gotta run.  
Catch y-- SEE you later, eh?"

	Why was he so nervous?  It was almost as if he'd just lied.  
Which made me think -- didn't he live the other way, the way he'd just 
come from?  What was going on?  "Lupe, what's wrong?  Is there anything I 
can do?"

	He looked at me -- eyes wide, the whites bright.  Like a stricken 
hunter, half predator/half prey.  Then he turned away.  "Nothing!" he 
said, voice muffled.  Then he bolted into the trees.  He was fast -- he 
ran track for a reason.  If I'd stayed on the ground, he'd've lost me.

	From the air, I saw him rip off his sweatshirt.  What the -- ?

	The moon appeared from around the clouds.  He skidded to a stop in 
a small clearing, bent over.  And there, Lupe *shifted*.

	I landed on a sturdy branch, staring at him.  A wolf.  A boy who 
turned wolf under the full moon.  Since when were werewolves real?  The 
beast wriggled out of his sweatpants and sneakers, looked up at me, then 
howled -- a lonesome howl of the wild, of blood, of hunting, of a haunted 
city.  The howl of a beast alone.  Then Lupe turned and loped away.

	I stared after him, then took off to follow my partner into the 
night.


[continued in part 3, Wednesday]

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