He let his eyes wander, and noticed that Robert was rubbing his pants leg. Mark could see that Robert had an erection and in effect was masturbating in class! That was disgusting.

Although Mark was certainly an average 7th grader, he had some strong views.

He liked MTV, skateboarding, baseball, and music videos. But Mark was also different in some ways. For example, and surprisingly given his age, Mark held rather conservative political views. He felt strongly about injustice and hunger and did his best to keep up with world happenings.

Physically, Mark was short for his age, about 4' 3" and slender of build. He had blue eyes and longish blonde hair. He really did enjoy math and hoped to study computer programming in college. His intellectual interests might have pegged him as a bit of a nerd as would his physical appearance. At least he didn't need to wear glasses, and never envied the taller stronger kids around him.

Mark glanced at Robert, the class masturbator, and his face took on a look of disgust again. He didn't really know Robert enough to dislike him, but Robert had been unkindly and distastefully nicknamed "Bobby The Boner" by all of the other kids and Mark suspected that Robert felt himself in his other classes too.

He was glad that he only had one class with him. But even so his disgust turned him to thinking about his own lack of interest in sex, and his straight- laced morals, which he rarely discussed. Although, he was proud of both qualities. Other kids could risk their necks beating their meat in class like Robert, or screw around until they had the nerve to be shocked when V.D. or pregnancy resulted, or suffer the heartaches and hard- ons that Mark was immune to. Not Mark! He knew better.

Mark wasn't religious. His parents were Catholic but Mark had decided a year earlier that he was agnostic. Religious or not, he believed that sex was only for marriage, and intended to remain a virgin until then. Not that he was asexual, or a prude. He could laugh at a dirty joke, or take interest if he caught a glimpse of a Playboy magazine photo.

But he always avoided the lame discussions of penis size or "who's still a virgin" that would happen among his friends in the gym locker room. The subject of his personal values was never broached unless someone offered him a condom and dared him to use it, or asked him why he hasn't been laid yet. Better to be thought of as a nerd than as a total dweeb!

The teacher's lecture went on, Mark found his attention shifting between the masturbator, taking notes, and the clock above the black board which then said 11:45, the remaining 15 minutes went by too slow for Mark. He was anxious, and when the bell rang he quickly stood up, packed his notes and book into his school bag, and walked out.

After he put his bag into his locker, he walked towards the West end of the school where there was a concrete stairway, which led down in a Northerly direction to the nearby senior high where most of his schoolmates would end up after they passed the 9th grade. Everybody else was having lunch, but Mark wasn't hungry.

"Maybe she'll be there," he thought to himself - it was a visit, which he had put off for the first two weeks of school.

The friendship started last month during winter quarter, when Mark decided on a curious impulse to visit the senior high just to check it out. As soon as he stepped onto the lawn, he saw her. She was about 5' 9", had jet- black curly hair, light complexion, green eyes and a nice build. She wore a pink turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and sneakers with white socks. He might have just passed by her.

She had looked at him, crinkled a bright sunny smile, and said "Hi I'm Joanni McClennon!"

"I'm Mark Wilson," he almost stammered, really unsure of how to respond. He had no experience here.

Joanni's eyes darted up to the junior high, then back to Mark. "You came down from there?" she asked, smiling.

"Yes." Mark replied. "I just thought I'd come down and check things out."

Mark and Joanni sat down on the grass and talked until 1:00 in the afternoon, when they both had to get back to their classes. "Damn, look at the time," Joanni said with a start. "Gotta get back, Mark." She reached out with her right hand and gave Mark a tickle on the nose.

Mark smiled as she turned and walked back to school.

His face tingled with the tickle she gave him. He sighed with satisfaction and walked briskly back upstairs to his own school.

That was their first meeting. After that, Mark made a point of going down there at least 3 times a week. Mark didn't exactly consider her a girl friend. He wasn't looking for one. Most of the girls in his school were too immature for his own tastes. And...Mark knew that the age difference between himself and Joanni precluded that kind of relationship.

He was only three days past his 12th birthday when they met, and she had turned 18 a month before in January. Still, she was very attractive and sweet natured. Mark remembered the titillation that he felt from his first nose tickle. He LOVED the way her face dimpled when she flashed one of her sun shiny smiles at him when they met. Sometimes when she was eating a bag of french-fries or potato chips she would share them.

Although Mark was 5 grade levels below her, he was knowledgeable enough about current events, local happenings, and general pop culture to keep his end of their conversations going. She always took interest in what Mark had to say, and they always enjoyed each other's company.

It had been a month and a half since Mark had seen Joanni. Now he had a new schedule but by now he felt comfortable with it. He headed on toward past his school toward the High School. When Mark reached the West end of the school, he turned and started to walk down the concrete stairs, which led to the senior high.

He remembered his last visit as being just as pleasant as the others. He had told Joanni that he wanted to major in computer programming when he reached college. She wanted to be a writer. Mark remembered that Joanni said she wanted to have a family someday. He thought that she would probably be a good mother too.

Mark recalled the day when one of the female hall monitors brought her newborn baby to the high school. It was her day off, so she just wanted to show her baby to her co-workers. Joanni was with Mark and he remembered how gently she held the baby when the mother let her do so, and how quietly the baby napped in her arms. He recalled that when she returned the infant girl to her mother, and they walked off, Joanni nodded her head thoughtfully and said "I want a baby so much..." in a quite voice.

There were people walking in both directions of the stairway, and Mark didn't want to run down while he was daydreaming about the recent past, so he walked casually. The last thing he needed was to fall and break his face or cause someone else to do the same.

As he drew closer to the end of the stairway, he felt the unfamiliar dull ache in his crotch, partial due to the snug fit of his jeans, but the feeling that always seem to come with his growing anticipation about seeing Joanni again. He took the last step off of the stairway and walked towards the lawn. In only 10 seconds, he saw her from behind.

"Joanni?" Mark called. She turned around. Mark saw her face, and realized that he'd addressed the right person. "Hi Mark!" she cheerfully responded.

Joanni was wearing a pink silk skirt that came down to just below her knees, and a brown leather pair of casual woman's shoes. The kind that show the instep of the foot down to where the cleavage of the toes begin. She wasn't wearing any socks. They walked towards each other on the lawn, and met halfway. Joanni held out both her hands and Mark took them into his own. "How are you doing? How have you been??" she asked.

"Fine, and you?" he answered.

"Oh, the break was just great. So were my grades. 3 A's and 1 B." she replied.

"That's GREAT!!!" said Mark. "My grades weren't quite that good, but almost."

After a few more words, Joanni retracted her hands and slipped off her shoes. Holding them with the fingers of her left hand, she re-offered Mark her right hand and the friendly exchange continued with talk of each other's classes, schedule, and generally things that happened over the school break.

As they were standing on the grass, Joanni maneuvered over to Mark's left side, her right hand clasped in his left. Mark glanced down at her feet. It always amused him how casual women were with their feet. It seemed that they went barefooted or wore sandals more often than males.

Sometimes Mark would see his mother use her toes to play with the telephone cord while she was on the phone, or see a girl at school wiggle a pencil between her toes while studying between classes. It seemed like a feminine thing to do. Of course, it was a hot day, and Joanni's feet were pretty! Mark always liked seeing them, and hoped he could find some excuse to touch them.

Joanni placed one foot forward, and slowly they both started walking side by side on the grass. They were both happy, enjoying being with each other and chatting about almost anything. Mark who still didn't have any real romantic designs on Joanni had almost forgotten the age difference. She made that easy.

Joanni liked Mark too. He was a smart, likable young man, always courteous, and good-humored. Qualities that she'd like her children to have, when she had them. Although...personality traits aren't genetic (as far as Joanni knew) and intelligence was only partly genetic. So were good looks! Joanni let Mark know on occasion that he had both.

They only saw each other during the 12:00 to 1:00 lunch break, but on some days she'd helped him with his math homework. Mostly, Mark needed the reassurance she gave him, especially before a 1:00 math test. He was also a bit modest about his looks and one day during a conversation he said, "I'm such a nerd... Even some of the girls at my school are taller than me."

She responded by saying "Mark...That doesn't matter! I think you're a very sweet boy. You're smart, nice looking... And someday when someone special enters your life I bet you'll make some nice young lady very happy!"

Her accolades were sincere and not made to dissuade any sexual intentions on his part. She knew that neither wanted the other in that way. Platonic though it was, both found their friendship to be mutually satisfying and very genuine.

But Joanni's resolve was also genuine. She would soon graduate, move into her own place and start college. Long before leaving college, she would enter the real world of having to make decisions. She'd have to be strong for them. Such as the decision she'd pondered over the school break. A decision whereby one person would serve a brief role that meant life long fulfillment for another. And...she was right! Mark WOULD someday make a young lady VERY happy!

She was not sure that Mark was capable of it though. His slender build - the fact that he never seemed to look at her the way some of the senior boys did, that disgusting leer that seemed to undress her with their eyes. She wanted no part of them. What she had in mind would be for HER, not a quick satisfaction for some....

Could he? Was he maybe gay? She knew a junior boy who had features like Mark and he was gay? Did looks have anything to do with it? Or was he developed enough? She had no clue. She'd glanced at him when they held hands and had never noticed a swelling in his crotch.

Joanni had no boyfriend at present. She'd been friends with the junior boy. He was one of the nicest boys at the school, but he was gay and they were just friends. There were other boys at the school. The geeks and nerds, as they were so dubbed by the so-called "cool crowd" (or cruel crowd) because of their lack of interest in drinking and sexing it up. They were ok, but they seemed to show an equal lack of interest in Joanni. The rest of the boys were the cool crowd. That motley crew of juvies, punks and jocks who considered sex to be a conquest; a piece of ass was a merit badge to them.

For all their promiscuity, and the "no means yes" attitude that dominated their thinking, Joanni would NEVER put her body or mind at risk with any of them. Indeed, there was much to be said for virginity. But...it was a mixed blessing that protected one from misfortune, and denied one the rewards that could only come with its termination with the right person, in the right place, and at the right time.

As they walked along the grass, they passed by the concrete path, which divided one part of the lawn from another. They were walking towards the high school gym. They were still reminiscing about the events of last quarter when midway along the second patch of grass.

Joanni stopped. "Mark, let's go in the gym and get out of the hot sun."

"Sure," Mark cheerfully agreed, although a bit puzzled. The gym had two turquoise colored doors. Not the regular kind that you see on a house of course. The kind that you had to open by pushing a metal bar. Two brick and concrete steps led up to them. One of the doors was open. Mark would've thought that those brick and concrete steps would be BAKING HOT from the sun, but Joanni had no trouble walking up them in her bare feet.

The gym's interior seemed dim, probably because their eyes needed to adjust to being out of the sun which at this time was the only light source for its interior, shining through its cloudy windows, and mostly through the open door. There was a huge mat spread out on the floor from a wrestling match that was held the other day. It was probably a welcome change for Joanni's feet.

They were still holding hands and talking about silly things that kids can spend hours yakking about that come from enjoying each other. They stepped on the mat and kept walking towards the back end of the gym.

About three fourths of the way across the mat, Joanni stopped.

"Mark, do you know any Judo?"

"Geez, no? Do you?" His reply was one of awe and respect.

"Well, here we are on this great mat, and no one's around. Let me show you some basic moves."

She dropped her shoes and stood very close to Mark. "First thing you need to do is learn how to fall. Here, let's get your shirt and shoes off," she said.

Joanni reached down and took Mark's shirt from the bottom and began lifting it over him. Automatically he raised his arms just as he used to do when his mother dressed him. Joanni tossed his shirt aside and Mark kicked off his own shoes.

"God, let this work! This has to be done right." she thought nervously.

"I'll throw you first on your back and try to pin you. Don't try to avoid me," she said. Joanni put her left hand on Mark's right shoulder and took his left wrist in her right hand. When she touched him Mark felt a tingle run down his spine and the ache in his crotch increased just a bit.

Suddenly Joanni flipped him on his back! He hit hard and the breath was knocked out of him. He felt momentarily paralyzed. Joanni executed some moves with lightening speed. She pounced on Mark, sitting astride of him and pinned him to the mat with her left hand at his throat. He was helpless to respond.

Mark was stunned! His face was numb, and he was dazed. He fluttered his eyes a couple of times. Had he been a fully conscious observer of this event, he would've thought that the recipient would see stars but each blink of his eyes produced what looked like an after image of Joanni's toes peeking just above his visual horizon. Mark wasn't sure, but he thought that it was because she stood up and nudged his chin with the heel of her right foot. To see if he conscious perhaps?

He wasn't hurt physically by what had occurred since the mat had cushioned the back of his head from any serious injury. Mark was stunned not only with the speed of what happened and the fact that Joanni had such skill, but the impact also carried with it a kind of sexual shock which basically resulted from his unexpected contact with something he found titillating.

There were indeed worse sensations that could accompany being assaulted. If pleasure were the right word for the sensation, then for Mark it was only a small fraction of untried pleasures that he'd never have bargained for.

Joanni stood over him for a second, with her feet on each side of his pelvis. She reached back and took hold firmly of Mark's crotch. Mark knew he could not fight back when he was held that way. She had a firm grip on his testicles and he had enough experience to know how much being hit there would hurt.

Joanni not only held on to Mark's crotch but began to work her hand there. She was exploring Mark's equipment. Her earlier anxieties were partly relieved, for Mark was only 12 but he did have a penis of reasonable size and it was responding to her ministrations.

Joanni suddenly released Mark's throat, raised up on her knees and in a flash slipped off her panties and tossed them onto her shoes. She dropped right back on top of Mark and grabbed him in the crotch again. Then by letting her feet slide in opposite directions away from each side of Mark's pelvis, she lowered herself to sit astride him just below his groin. She then curled her legs and feet back hooking the instep and toes of each foot into the inner thigh of each of Mark's legs and pinned his wrists to his sides with her knees.

Through half lidded eyes Mark could see Joanni straddling his waist. As far as he could tell, her face was expressionless. She wasn't even looking at him. Her attention was focused on her lap. She pulled her skirt away from Mark's crotch. Mark was still gasping for breath and paralyzed. "What's she doing?" he mused, even when he felt her hand at his waist unbuttoning his pants, running down his zipper and sliding into his warm underwear.

Joanni's hand now was inside his briefs and massaging his penis which was semi erect. Her hand explored all the parts, running along his penis and around it - touching the head then underneath it and down to his scrotum.

Joanni used deft and nimble manipulations that alternated between two methods. First by holding his semi-hard penis like a garden hose and rubbing along its length, sometimes rubbing with just her thumb. Then by squeezing and massaging his testicles. During her manual efforts her demeanor remained impassive, as if she were just washing dishes. Mark would've thought that she'd be REAL worried that someone would come in and see them.

Mark tried to speak. "Wa--ya--Doin?" he heard himself say in a slurred whisper. His head was still spinning. No response.

Joanni was still occupied only with her activities, apparently undaunted by the possibility of being caught, or by Mark's attempted speech, and continuing penile flaccidity. It was the latter that she was working against. She wanted... needed for him to have an erection.

Mark's head was clearing. Slowly, like a wisp of smoke rising from a newly extinguished fire his consciousness was clearing -- just enough now for him to start asking himself why she was doing this. His being nonplused was diverted however by his growing awareness of what was happening to him between his legs; his penis was beginning to expand.

"Why is she doing this?" Mark puzzled. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. He'd been deviously led to a secluded spot, assaulted, restrained, partially disrobed, and his privates subjected to the unwanted touch of his partially nude assailant. If Joanni was trying to embarrass him, she'd need an audience, or at least a camera. This wasn't like having his trunks pulled off in the swimming pool or being pushed out of the locker room naked. They were alone with each other and she was more preoccupied with fondling than looking.

"Is she just feeling me out?" He thought. A sudden jolt of understanding came as Mark realized he was becoming erect. "She's trying to make me hard! SHE'S GONNA SCREW ME!!!"

Despite his young age and being a virgin Mark knew what sex was. He knew what rape was too. Mark had never remotely considered rape as an acceptable act under any conditions. He'd always thought it was something which some adult men did to adult women.

From what he recalled from many TV talk shows about rape, the violence/power aspect of their motives, and his mom's occasional warnings about child molesters, he'd always pictured such persons as being grimy looking alley dwellers in trench coats. The thought of being raped at so young an age by an attractive adult female NEVER occurred to him and however chauvinistic it was, he found the concept utterly alien and infuriating!

Mark had to do something. His penis was lengthening and hardening in Joanni's hand. If she was going to do what he had realized she would soon force him insider her, claiming his virginity and whatever else came with it.

"LET ME GO!" Mark hissed, quietly but with a venom that surprised even him. His voice was coming back now. Joanni's eyes were diverted only for an instant. No use! They were away from the open door, and people outside were making too much noise to hear him. Mark tried to move his legs and wrists without any success. Her legs were implacable.

Mark could feel his heart pounding now. He could feel the blood pulsing into his penis as it continued to respond to the erotically ticklish massaging that Joanni employed. He tried to WILL the erection from his organ, but to no avail. Mark was dismayed and further infuriated that his penis would fail to obey. Worst of all, he could feel himself physically enjoying it. That he, or any part of him could derive ANY pleasure from being intruded upon. His member throbbed and pulsed unabated. What had been like a handful of wet noodles now had the texture of a rubber hose, and would soon have the hardness of a broom handle.

Until now, Mark's penis had been Joanni's sole focus. Her attention to it along with its refusal to soften at Mark's desperate will were as if it was a separate entity. Now it was finally bloated, more so than it had ever been. A fat moist sausage engorged with blood and infused with the sweet pleasure that it had received from Joanni's hand. And it was ready to answer her needs. She released his penis and shifted her position by rising on her knees maintaining her tight grip on Mark's waist and thighs. She raised the front of her skirt with her left hand giving Mark a brief but clear view of her sex.

Joanni pressed the thumb of her right hand at the base of Mark's penis on his pubic region to make it stand upright. Then moving her pelvis forward so that her vagina came just above him, she lowered and impaled herself on his member. She then brought her knees forward and re-asserted her grip on his body.

Even the preceding events hadn't prepared Mark for the enormity of the experience. Mark had never before seen an the sexual apparatus of an adult woman up close. His younger sister Maria didn't count. She was only 9, and the last time he'd seen her private area was years ago while his mom was dressing her. He'd once seen his mother frontally nude from her open bedroom door, and that was a brief view from a distance. What he'd seen now was pretty much what he'd expect from that experience and a few things he'd seen in a Penthouse magazine.

A jet-black triangular patch of pubic hair that was creased by the slit which formed her labia. Moist, pink, and hungry looking. What was really surprising was Marks own organ which was red and looked swollen to 3 times its normal length. When she engulfed him her labia instantly clenched tight at the base which Mark thought sealed his chances of losing his erection.

Mark felt a queasy tickle in his penis and scrotum as if the former wanted to escape. A giddy warmth in his loins spread through him in a tingling and numbing radiance. Nevertheless, if Joanni's manual foreplay had been only a prelude, this was only the first step towards her goal.

Now at last, she brought her weight to bear. She had fully mounted him to complete what she'd started. Mark felt the intense tickling of her pubic hair as she moved the end of his hard penis to the opening of her vagina. She rubbed the end of his penis in those hairs and ever so slowly slid along his penis until he was completely inside her.

She began to undulate her hips in a gentle rocking motion with the deft and sensuous rippling of a trained belly dancer. Even now, her face and manner remained dispassionate and differed only in that now she was looking at Mark's face.

"Joanni, please stop!" he muttered quietly. There was no pause or response.

Their eyes met. For a moment, Mark let himself be lost, staring into the pupils of her lovely green almond eyes which showed neither malice nor guilt. He found the blank detachment in them to be unbearable and averted his gaze to her abdomen which fed his mind with equally disturbing images. He could now see how much control she exerted over him.

The placement of Joanni's feet, and legs, with how she'd centered her weight on him were such that she didn't even need her hands to restrain him. She simply kept them at her sides, while she dominated him with her hips. For an instant, Mark admired her mastery and the deft and expert way she moved.

The voluptuous rippling and smooth rhythmic swirls of her belly and pelvis were done while her upper body remained stationary, as if her thorax and abdomen were detached with the former merely hovering over the latter. Abruptly, Mark's anger re-asserted itself with the sudden shock of a slap across the face. He scorned himself for feeling that small glimmer of adulation.

As the act progressed, Joanni's vigor increased. The gentle rocking of her hips became a staccato succession of jerking movements which replaced the former stillness of her upper body and shoulders with subtle shaking and swaying which in turn echoed in the subtle jiggling of her breasts beneath the pink silk fabric of her blouse. Her vagina which already held a firm hold on him constricted to a vice-like grip that gave Mark a contrasting and sickly sweet mixture of pain and pleasure.

As Mark's arousal filled and invaded every part of him, he felt his skin perspire, and his heart pound harder! The latter sensation echoed in his throbbing penis the tip of which at times he thought lightly grazed the tip of her cervix when she jerked her pelvis. He even wondered if the genital pulsations he felt were his own pulse, or hers. If it were hers, it invited the question of what she was feeling right now. A question that until now had been dismissed by her methodical coldness.

But now, for the first time Mark could see the first crack in Joanni's stoic veneer. At times her lips seemed to twitch and part ever so slightly. With equal frequency and subtlety, he thought that he could hear a very faint high-pitched whine.

What Mark heard was no mistake. Joanni's fervor betrayed that fact by ascending to an even higher level. The jerking movements that she employed became forceful thrusts that shook and throttled Mark's small body and made her head and upper body pitch in concert with the wild flapping of her breasts. Her facial muscles tightened, splaying her mouth into a downward turning grimace that revealed her clenching teeth. Her sounds now audible, were deep moans and grunts of passion that seemed animalistic and incongruous to the image of charm and refinement that Mark had always ascribed to her.

"Ugh... Ughh... Aghhh... Ooh... OOOooohhh..." She rode him fast and furious, panting and huffing with the hurried fervor of a hunter lost in the pursuit rather than the capture!

Mark's own drives were overtaking his reason in like manner to the way they tortured and pleasured his loins. He still felt his resentment at being used, and forced into a sexual encounter while so young and un-married. But deeper within his mind, his drives were erupting and threatening to blot out his sense of outrage at being raped and robbed of something irretrievable. It was as though he was possessed by a primordial animal that wanted to be raped or didn't care, and commandeered his body to gratify itself.

Mark's sensual bliss suddenly spiked to its highest peak and their physical union was consummated. Mark felt an incredible stirring in his crotch and then in the pit of his stomach. A wave of pleasure was building up within him as he'd never felt before. He thought he would burst and in spite of himself he thrust his hips up in the air lifting Joanni with him as he ejaculated. His semen shot upward in a stinging gush of utter pleasure.

Joanni felt it too. Not that she could have done otherwise. She felt it as Mark did. Their joining, though one of bodies rather than minds or hearts had climaxed into an exquisite rapture whose source Joanni took within her body. Her very soul!

Her intimacy with Mark's body, if not with Mark himself had brought her to completion and orgasm. And Mark knew that! It was evident in the convulsive change he felt in the grip of her labia, manifested in the spasmodic rippling of her belly and arching back, and gloriously displayed by the straining and distention of her neck muscles as she clenched shut her eyes and teeth into a grimace and threw back her head.

Joanni sighed silently. Then without a word, their union ended as abruptly as it had begun. Joanni knelt over Mark, took his penis and pulled his pants up. Then, in a mechanical detached manner that showed no concern for what Mark was feeling, she stood up and pulled up Mark's zipper over his penis without tucking it back. She walked over to her discarded panties and shoes, stepped into them and walked away without looking back.

Mark was fully conscious now, but very weak from the shock and exertions of his experience. He lay there for another minute, languid and spent with exhaustion.

Finally, he interrupted his lethargy by reaching his right hand to his zipper. He opened his fly, tucked his penis back in place and closed it again. Slowly he got to his feet, put on his shoes and shirt, and when he reached the open door of the gym he marched back to the stairway without trying to see where Joanni went.

*

It was 12:50 when Mark reached the top of the stairs. He was glad that he didn't have a math test that day, and that he was familiar with the material that his teacher would probably cover at 1:00. He was in no shape for it. His face was flushed and he felt weak. He wondered if it would show.

He also felt hurt. He couldn't believe the way his body and instincts had betrayed him. His own genitals had received pleasure from Joanni and repaid their debt in the likeness of a transaction that he had no say in. He knew that he wouldn't see her again. He chose NOT to make the attempt. The hard part was having to think of Joanni now as a propho popping, condom carrying slut!

Of course, she never produced a condom during the act. That wasn't the point. She simply raped him, and when she was done she walked away. There was nothing he could do. It wouldn't help him to cut class so that he could languish in dreary mooning over an event that he could never explain. Mark went to his locker and retrieved his school bag for his next class.

Summer had come and gone. It was hot, dull, and mostly un-eventful, but it was still a welcomed relief from the arduous remaining months of school that Mark spent in anguish. In spite of this, his spring grades had been excellent much to his pleasant amazement.

Mark spent much of the summer in silent brooding over his last encounter with Joanni. He never returned to the senior high, or told anyone what happened. Not his friends or peers who at best would've congratulated him for getting lucky, and at worst would've laughed at him for being taken by a chick! Or the authorities, who for lack of evidence and for all he knew would've only given her a slap on the wrist if ANYTHING!

And, not his parents. They would've believed him and shared what they could comprehend of his anger. But despite their faith and empathy, the lack of proof, infection, or serious injury might've prompted them to suggest that they all just go on with their lives, grateful that he wasn't injured or killed. Mark's life would go on whether he accepted the event or not. He simply didn't need to hear things like "Well you didn't do anything wrong, you weren't hurt, and it's not like she made you pregnant."

He often thought of Joanni. Most of his thoughts were wistful memories of their past friendship, the rest were devoted to working out his anger and putting his emotions into perspective. Like a jigsaw puzzle! That metaphor somewhat described the incremental way his purity was lost. It had begun as a bland perfunctory exercise, and ended in an unbridled rapture of passion. He'd been restrained under her naked private region, his genitals exposed and fondled, and then given an unsolicited glimpse of her vagina. Finally, the process of thrusting, and the finale of ejaculation and orgasm.

There was another aspect to Marks feelings too. Something which kept gnawing at him and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. As if his mind had drawn a veil between his memory of what happened, and what it meant or what its outcome would be. There were a few times during the summer when that veil was subtly disturbed by random events, but never drawn aside.

One such time was a hot day in July when Mark was walking down the sidewalk along the local park. He stopped when he saw a woman. Her belly was swollen with what looked like 9 months of pregnancy, and would probably give birth that week. She didn't see Mark who simply turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

Another such time was when Mark was sitting in his room watching a talk show segment about abortion rights. One of the female guests was arguing with a male member of the audience.

"You're not the one who has to carry the baby for 9 months!!! It's the woman's body that's involved, NOT yours...and once she's pregnant, it's HER decision. The man has no say in it." said the female speaker. Mark frowned, shut off his television and dug out one of his comic books.

In any case, it was September now. The first Friday of fall quarter. For some reason, Mark found himself in another 11:00 A.M. science class. Last spring it was General Science, now it was Earth Science. His return to school had come with some nervous anxiety whose cause wasn't fear of another event. It was the distasteful memories.

Once again as he was taking notes and listening to the lecture, he eyed the clock as lunch break drew near. He had another personal errand that would also pre-empt his meal. He had no wish to see Joanni. He couldn't anyway. She'd graduated last June and moved on. It was just as likely that she'd have nothing to say to him even if they ran into each other.

At last the bell rang and as before, Mark repeated the process of collecting his materials into his bag, and walking to his locker. His pace was slower than last time. His enthusiasm was less. He'd decided that the best way to deal with his neurosis and anxiety was to face them. He decided to pay another visit to the high school. If he could be at or near the place where it all started maybe he could shake off some of the weird feelings that he was having.

Mark started down the stairs which were not crowded by much people traffic. Nevertheless he maintained his slow pace. He was deep in thought and as he walked, he felt a nervous tickling uneasiness in his scrotum which he likened to having butterflies in the stomach. It was obvious why this sensation had localized there.

Ever since Joanni had ravished him, he'd experienced what he jokingly thought of as the opposite of impotence. His penis had remained rock hard for at least an hour after she walked away, and resumed that state every time he thought about it. Many times, it would do so unexpectedly even when his thoughts were elsewhere.

And then there were the "wet dreams," those nocturnal emissions that seemed to come ever more often. He and Joanni were in all sorts of sexual positions with her as aggressor. The dreams always ended with him ejaculating all over himself and his pajamas and the sheets. It even happened once when he had a friend over staying with him. He awoke in the middle of the night from a dream and got up to clean himself off. His friend, Dick, was so astounded with what had happened to Mark he couldn't talk. As much as Mark felt taken advantage of by Joanni he felt she was continuing to control him in some way by these erections and wet dreams.

His erections, particularly at school, always came without his emotional participation and needless to say it was happening now. With it came a strained feeling of fatigue, as if his organ was tired from being erect so often. Mark tugged at the crotch of his pants and adjusted them. He almost felt like his penis was going to punch its way out and spurt all over the ground. When he reached the end of the stairway, he stopped and faced the South end of the high school for a moment. He then proceeded left and took the sidewalk across the front of the building.

Mark felt more the stranger there now. Joanni had been his only real acquaintance at the senior high. Now, she was gone along with all of the other 12th graders from June. There were a few familiar faces from last spring. One of them waved at him and he returned the salutation but never spoke to anyone.

A familiar question started to gnaw at him again. "Where would that sleaze-oid get birth control pills?" From her parents, or on her own? And...did she use pills? Did she use a sponge, i.u.d., or diaphragm? Joanni certainly didn't put a condom on Mark. A female condom perhaps??

Mark started across the grass towards the gym. He stopped within 10 feet of it and stared. The doors were closed. It was just as well. If coming here were the best way to face his feelings, the gym would have been the best place to go, but it would've been the hardest too. It would wait for another day. The concrete path which bisected one part of the lawn from the other led from the high school to an opening in the hedge which bordered the lawn.

He walked through this entrance and took a stairway which descended down the slope on which the school was built. He reached the end which terminated onto the asphalt plain of the huge student parking area. Today wasn't as hot as it was on his last visit. There was even a gentle breeze that felt pleasant against Mark's scalp since he'd recently wet and combed his hair.

Mark hadn't anticipated the need to hide but fortunately there was a nearby car behind which he secluded himself when he suddenly noticed something. About 10 yards ahead, he saw Joanni standing on the asphalt!

She was standing next to a white Toyota that must have been hers. She didn't see Mark, her left side was facing his direction and Mark cautiously peered over the hood of the car that he hid behind.

He wasn't afraid; he wanted to listen. Mark guessed that she was just visiting some friends who were still at the school. Joanni was busy chatting with two other girls, one of them, a redhead of Joanni's height, the other a shorter blonde. Mark judged them to be good friends of Joanni's from their laughter, smiles and friendly manner. Mark could barely but sufficiently hear their conversation which turned from reminiscences of school, summer, and graduation to updates on each other's activities and the typical girlish gossip about some of the locals and their acquaintances. He took notice of Joanni's appearance.

She was wearing a light blue dress which came down just below her knees, and white leather sandals on her otherwise bare feet. A gold necklace and brown leather purse hung around her neck and left shoulder respectively. Although Mark couldn't really see it from his proximity, she had adorned her lips and the nails of her fingers and toes with red lipstick and red nail polish. What he could discern was the round bulge of Joanni's belly.

Mark's eyes bulged! He was no doctor but he knew how fat people looked. Joanni didn't have a double chin. Her arms and what he could see of her legs didn't have the pudginess that should accompany the obesity that was suggested by her swollen tummy. Was she pregnant?? Mark continued to listen in stunned silence.

His heart was pounding. He tried to swallow but his throat was dry and tight. Whatever happened, he couldn't just walk away without knowing! Another taller girl joined the trio and gave Joanni a hug. The reunion seemed jubilant now. All four of them seemed to be close chums. The three other girls envied Joanni in a fond sort of way. They were happy for her since she'd graduated and moved on to bigger and better things. Now, their focus of attention and conversation drew towards Joanni who seemed to have the most and best news to share. Mark's own attention heightened when Joanni placed her right hand on her protruding abdomen.

"JOANNI! I haven't seen you in so long, how have you been?" said the taller girl.

"Just great!! Lynn, I haven't seen you around either. Where've ya been?"

"Oh, I've been working up North as a counselor at Camp Harmon. You're looking great Joanni!"

"Thanks, I feel great. I'm so happy. Did you hear about my scholarship?"

"No."

"Well, after graduation, I applied for a scholarship and admission to Berkeley, and BOTH CAME THROUGH!!!"

"Outta sight!" said the shorter blonde. "But when do you go? Their fall quarter must be started already."

"Yes, it is. I'm going to start in January. Now wouldn't be a good time."

The shorter blonde bounced on her heels in anxious anticipation of what would be said next. Then, the taller girl spoke again.

"Oh yeah...Jamie wrote me a letter while I was up North. She told me that you were expecting."

"Yes!! It's due in late December."

Mark felt as if a worm had darted up his urethra and curled up in his bladder...or scrotum. He wasn't sure which. The blonde became effervescent. Her knees twitched slightly with excitement.

"Only six months along? You look bigger." said the blonde.

"Yeah, I know but it's only been that long."

Joanni's friends giggled and the redhead spoke next.

"How do your parents feel? I mean are they dealing with it?"

"Yeah--well, they were upset at first. My mom cried, I cried, my dad was upset, my two younger brothers didn't know what to think, but they're ok about it now."

"So...how exactly did you handle it? I mean giving them the news. Jamie's letter to Lynn said that you weren't telling anyone who the father is."

"Well, I admit not very well. I just waited until the obvious signs came, and told them that I was pregnant. I guess it could have been worse. Mom and dad asked me a lot of questions like 'Who's the father? Why didn't you use protection? What about V.D.?' But, it's settled down now."

"So, are they being supportive?" The tall girl asked.

"Yes. I made it clear that I didn't intend to saddle them with my baby, I'd raise it. And they respect my decision to keep it instead of putting it up for adoption or having an abortion. Abortion's not an option now anyway since I'm in my second trimester. They also respect my decision not to say who the baby's father is. I just told them that it was someone who wasn't going to be in my life, that I knew he was clean, and that I only had sex that ONE time in my life...which is true. I didn't lie to them about anything, I just don't have anything more to say about the father."

"And, your parents...they're fine with that?"

"Yeah, my parents insisted that I get a check-up for any s.t.d.'s but of course the tests came out negative my last examination with the obstetrician came out great too! So...everything is working out. I chose Berkeley because my family is moving there too, by the end of the year. They said that they'd be willing to watch over my baby at their house when I'm at school until I make arrangements with the college day care center."

Joanni was VERY happy! Mark could see that. It showed in her eyes, her smile, even in the subtle movement of the hand that rested on her belly. To Mark, the finality of her words were the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. To Joanni, they spoke of an important new thread in the tapestry of her life. The endearing tableau of old reunited friends seethed in Mark's mind, as did the one that would follow...One of mother and child, to which He'd been an unwilling contributor. This time it was Mark who walked away.

Mark spent the months that followed in anguish and brooding. It did NOT dominate the rest of his life, though a trace of his resentment always remained. Even after a curious thing that happened one December night when he was still age 12.

He woke up from what was almost a dream. No images, just a single sound. It was the sound of a crying infant. Mark believed in psychic phenomena in the same way he believed in UFO's. They exist, but he'd probably never see proof. The dreams only significance to him was that it was December, and Joanni's baby was due then.

And Mark was almost right about the dream. Three days later, Joanni delivered a beautiful black haired, green eyed, baby boy with Mark's complexion and weighing 8-1/2 pounds as Mark did at birth.

The End