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From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Sonuachara 1 (ff rom teen)
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Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://prudence.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Prudence and our other stories.

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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If there was one person in the entire school system Zoe would have
picked as her diametric opposite, it would have been Trina
MacCeallaich. Trina of the blond hair, the blue eyes, the brand new
red Mustang convertible on her sixteenth birthday. Trina the
cheerleader, dating one of the linebackers, on the honor roll. Trina
of the designer clothes, the expensive jewelry, the 'Beautiful People'
clique. 5'10", blonde hair, blue eyes, and stacked like a plate of
hotcakes. She moved in a completely different world than the one Zoe
did; she was in the honor classes that Zoe had missed too much school
to be in, so they didn't even have classes in common. The last time
Zoe was in a class with her was in sophomore PE, where she learned
that Trina was also naturally athletic.

Which is why it was such a shock to see her coming around the corner
of the band building. "Hi! Um, you _are_ Zoe, right?"

Zoe blinked and exhaled lazily, the fragrant smoke drifting slowly
above her head. "Mmm?" she asked cautiously.

"I know we don't really know each other," Trina said, "But...you know
that community service thing they want us to do?"

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Mmm-hmm."

Trina gave her a winning smile. "Well, we've both signed up to
volunteer at the youth home, and I thought we could maybe ride
together? I mean, if you want to?"

Zoe's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

Trina shrugged, though it seemed a little forced. "No real reason. I
just thought it would be more fun if we worked together."

One side of Zoe's mouth quirked slightly in a semi-smile. "You ever
been there?"

Trina shook her head. "No. That's why I picked it."

"You should probably see if you can change," Zoe said. "Maybe you
could 'help' some of the boys paint the benches in the park, or
something."

Trina's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Zoe shrugged one shoulder lazily and took a long drag on her
cigarette. "More your style. You won't like the House. It's not nice,
and it's not 'fun'. Period."

"Ah. I see." Trina's voice was light. "So I should find something else
to do and not worry my little head about it?" Her eyes narrowed
further. "I don't fucking _think_ so. I never thought it was nice. I'm
not some shallow airhead who's never seen something that upsets her,
understand me? If you don't want to, _fine_, but don't blow me off
just because you think I'm an idiot."

"What is it they say? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...."
Zoe snorted. "Sugar, you might impress the idiots around here, but
I've seen hundreds like you. Ten years from now, you'll be squirting
out kids, having your tits lifted, and hanging on the arm of whatever
frat boy actually knocked you up all while talking about how big you
could have been but you gave it all up because you just _loooove_ your
family so much."

"Oh, give me a fucking _break_." Trina rolled her eyes in
disgust. "Like you've got such high prospects ahead of you? You've
'seen hundreds like me' in the...remind me again how much older than
me you are? Oh, that's right, you _aren't_. I swear, for someone who
makes such a fuss about people judging you without actually _knowing_
you, you're one hell of a fucking hypocrite."

Zoe pursed her lips in annoyance. How did Trina know what was in the
paper she'd written last week? Zoe didn't really care what other
people thought, but an assigned paper on 'labels' had proven to be be
the perfect springboard to rant about some of the crap that _really_
pissed her off about school. The notes on the paper had said she'd
have gotten an 'A', but the profanity made it an automatic 'F'.

"You really think age has anything to do with it? Is it even
_possible_ for someone to be that naive? I know my prospects, believe
me. But at least I understand _reality_. The little vision you and
your kind keep in your fluffy little minds about how life'll turn out?
It's total bullshit. That crap doesn't happen. And for the record, I
don't give a damn what you or anyone else thinks about me, and the
only way...other than _truly_ abject stupidity...that I can see that
you'd get the mis-impression that I did was if you were reading things
that were none of your fucking business. You make a habit of reading
other people's papers?"

Trina put her hands on her hips, glaring. "As a matter of fact, I _do_
make a habit of reading other people's papers. I help Mrs. Arenson
with her grading. I don't _need_ to cheat. And for the fucking record,
I know a hell of a lot more than _you_ do about life not turning out
the way you expect. But fine. You want to be a bitch, that's no skin
off my nose. I just thought -- mistakenly, I can clearly see now --
that it would be nice to have someone I at least vaguely knew when I
went down there next week. Excuse _me_ for interrupting your obviously
vital afternoon activities."

Zoe set the book down on her chest and shook her head. "You won't last
a whole day. You'll be running off crying within an hour."

"And _you'll_ be driving up to school in a chauffeured limo. Not. I'll
expect an apology when you realize you're wrong."

Zoe raised a sardonic eyebrow. "I take it back. I could be
wrong. Maybe you're cold enough that it won't bother you, and you can
satisfy your oh-so-vital graduation credit and your egotistical need
for people to think you're ever so sweet and caring all at once. But
the kids there...they'll see through you. Don't expect them to fall
for the same act everyone else does. Keep that in mind, and don't
expect slavering gratitude for your royal presence, and you might make
it through after all."

Trina's eyes narrowed. "Get up."

Zoe tapped her cigarette out on the bottom of her boot, sliding the
stub into a pocket of her backpack, and folded her arms behind her
head. "Can't see any reason I should."

"We're going to go on a little ride," Trina said. "And when we're
done, you're going to apologize to me."

Zoe shook her head. "I know it may come as rather a shock to you, but
there really are people in this world who don't care what you want,
and don't just automatically start kissing ass when you walk by."

"Get. Up." Trina said. "You need to learn that the assumptions you
make about other people are about as true as the ones that people make
about you. It isn't far, and it won't take long. I'll drop you off
wherever you want when we're done."

Zoe looked at the watch on her left arm. "_You_ need to learn that
once you're out of this little playground of yours that people don't
give a damn what you want, and they won't do what you say. But if you
can get me across town by 4:45, I can give you part of the time in
between to make whatever 'point' you think you have. No bus runs
that'd get me there by then, or I'd be on it, so it's a worthwhile
trade to me."

Trina nodded. "Deal. Come on."

Zoe hopped up, a bored look on her face, and swung her bag over her
shoulder as she reached into her jacket for another cigarette.

"You need to finish that before we get in the car."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Worried about your health, or getting caught
if it's smelled in the car?"

Trina raised a matching eyebrow. "Do _you_ want to try to smoke in a
convertible with the top down?"

"You'll muss your hair, you know."

Trina laughed. "It's a convertible. If it's not raining, what's the
_point_ of driving with the top up?"

"Hey, you wanna wallow in UV rays and have skin cancer by 35..." Zoe
pinched the end of the cigarette, extinguishing it and tucking it
behind her ear. "Your business."

"That's what sunblock is for. Come on."

Trina drove...well...like a maniac. She was always in control of the
car, but she clearly considered speed limits more of a guideline than
a rule, and she found holes in traffic that Zoe would have sworn
weren't there an instant before. Luckily -- or perhaps unluckily, Zoe
couldn't make up her mind -- she had a very good radar detector. It
was less than ten minutes before she pulled into the parking lot at
the hospital, parking in a 'Reserved' spot with a complete lack of
concern.

She led Zoe into the hospital, up three floors, and down the hall,
waving at the nurses at the station, Zoe following with her hands in
her pockets. "Hi! How are the kids?"

"Hey, Trina," one of the nurses replied. "Most of them are doing
pretty good. Dylan had his chemo today, though. He'd probably love to
see his 'Rina."

Trina nodded. "This is Zoe." She headed down the hall. "Come on, Zoe."

She stopped at one of the doors, peeking in. "Hey, Dylan. How ya
doin'?"

A child's voice answered. "Rina!" He sounded tired, even through the
obvious excitement. "Not so good. I had my chemathrepy this morning. I
feel _awful_."

"Awww. Well, I brought someone to meet you. You want to see her?"
Trina asked.

"'Kay."

Trina motioned Zoe forward, saying quietly, "We can't actually go in
unless we wear masks and scrub down, so stay out in the hall."

Zoe nodded and stepped forward, peeking in to see a young boy, maybe
six or seven years old, in the hospital bed. His face was pale and his
head bald, and his hands shook slightly as he smiled at her shyly.

"Hi," he said.

Zoe smiled softly. "Hey, kiddo," she said, voice uncharacteristically
gentle. "Nice to meetcha."

"My name's Dylan. What's yours?" he asked.

"I'm Zoe." Her eyes roamed the room briefly. "These folks taking good
care of you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But I want to go home." He sighed.

"Can't blame you there," Zoe said. "Hospitals aren't fun. You gotta
get better first, though."

"Yeah." He sighed again. "They're _totally_ not fun. I wanna go home
and see Daisy. She's my dog. She's a beagle." He smiled. "She likes to
chase things."

Zoe smiled. "Yeah, they do that. Chew on stuff, too. I bet she misses
you, too, though, so you've gotta be careful and do what the doctors
say, so you'll get well to play with her."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I know."

"We've got to get going, Dylan, " Trina said. "I just wanted to stop
by and see how my little fighter was doing. I'll come by this weekend
like usual, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Bye!"

"Bye!" Trina waved, then lead Zoe back down the hall past the nurses
station. "Dylan's not going home." She leaned against the wall,
closing her eyes. "He's got leukemia, and this is the third time he's
been here. He..." She swallowed. "He won't be leaving. We haven't told
him, of course, but sometimes I think he knows. The chemo helps, but
he just keeps getting weaker. He's not the only one. Probably half the
kids in this wing will never leave."

Zoe frowned. "Any chance of a bone marrow transplant?"

Trina shook her head, opening her eyes and looking at Zoe. "The only
match they've found is his dad, and he can't donate for other
reasons. He would in a heartbeat if they'd let him, but..." She
sighed. "They won't."

Zoe sighed in return. "At least he would if he could. That counts for
something. You know, if you come here anyway, you could probably get
them to credit you with this for your CS req."

Trina snorted. "It's not on the list. And if it's not on the list, it
doesn't count." Her tone made it quite obvious that this was a
discussion she'd had at length with the school.

Zoe shook her head, and her eye was caught by a plaque next to
Trina. 'Dedicated in memory of Alecia Marie MacCeallich,
1995-2002'. She sighed again. "Don't get me wrong...I like kids, and
things like that break my heart, same as anyone. But...he's loved. If
nothing else, he has a dad who'd risk his life for him if he
could. He's got happy memories. The kids at the House...you ask 'em if
they'd trade places, even if they knew they were gonna die, and most
of them wouldn't even hesitate. Hell, most of them _want_ to die. The
suicide rate among those kids is three times what it is for everyone
else, because there are a lot worse things than dying."

"Maybe so," Trina said. "But as long as there's life, there's
hope. Things can always get better. My dad grew up in a house with no
running water and no indoor plumbing."

"Least it had a roof and walls," Zoe said. "I stayed for a month once
in a 'house' which was just a convenient balcony overhead so you
didn't get _too_ wet when it rained. Even before my mom died, I don't
think we ever stayed anyplace which didn't have more holes than
roof. After she died, and they picked me up, for about a week I
thought I'd died and gone to heaven, but it didn't take long to find
out that being warm and eating regular wasn't worth what they wanted
for it." She looked away abruptly, flushing, not having meant to say
that much, and looked at her watch. "Anyway. You said you could get me
cross-town in time, so we need to hurry. You know how to get to the
House, or have you not got directions yet?"

Trina shook her head. "They haven't bothered with the paperwork yet. I
think they think I'm going to change my mind."

"'K. Take Broadway out past the loop. I'll tell you where to turn."
Zoe gave directions as Trina drove, getting there in plenty of
time. "On time, cool." She hesitated. "See you tomorrow, then," she
said awkwardly.

Trina raised an eyebrow. "You want to?"

"Unless you were planning on skipping school, it seems likely I'll see
you there, doesn't it?" Zoe said.

Trina grinned. "Point." She waved, and pulled out of the driveway as
Zoe headed for the House.

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If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

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Take a look!

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