Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:07:14 -0000
From: Ann Douglas <ann_douglas@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Price - 1

	 The Price
	  by Ann Douglas
        (ann_douglas@hotmail.com)

Part One

	"Tami, are you up there?"  Cynthia Craig
called out as she stood on the third step of the
circular spiral staircase.
	The T-shirt clad seventeen-year-old was a
member of the high school's library squad.  The
object of her search, Tamika Ryan, was one of the
squad's Lieutenants.
	"Tami,"  she repeated as she moved up a
few steps.  "there's someone down here to see
you."
	"I'll be down in a minute,"  came a voice
from the second floor storage room.

	The long haired redhead climbed back
down the stairs and turned to face the girl on
whose behalf she had been searching for Tami.
There was an obvious animosity between the two
girls, evident in both the way they looked at each
other as well as the inflection in their voices.
	"Tami will be right down,"  Cynthia said
with disdain.
	"Thank you,"  Laurie Murdock said with
insincerity.
	Ignoring the intended slight, Cynthia
turned and left Laurie standing alone among the
rows of books and periodicals.  It was the first
time the tall brunette had ever been in this part of
the library and simple curiosity led her to check
out some of the titles on the shelves.

	The sound of sneakers on metal steps
caused Laurie to look up and see Tami coming
down the winding staircase.  For the tenth time
that morning, Laurie tried desperately to think of
another way to solve her problem. As she had the
previous nine attempts, the eighteen year old came
up empty.
	Stepping off the bottom rung, Tami turned
and saw Laurie.  If she had to pick the last person
she ever expected to see in the research section of
the library, Laurie Murdock was it.
	"What do you want?"  Tami said in a tone
that clearly showed she shared Cynthia's opinion
of Laurie.
	"I need to talk to you,"  Laurie said,
coming right to the point.  "In private."
	Tami's first thought was to tell Laurie to
go to hell.  Curiosity then got the better of her and
she decided to see what the taller girl had to say.
	"We can use the office in the back,"  Tami
said.  "It's about as private as you can get around
here."

	As the door to the office, which doubled
as a lunch room for the squad, closed behind
them, Tami jumped up into the long desk and
faced Laurie.  It was obvious that the brunette
was a girl with a problem.
	"Okay, you have five minutes,"  Tami said,
glancing down at her watch to emphasize the limit
of her patience.
	Despite the time limit, Laurie seemed in no
hurry to get to the point.  Instead, she took long
moments to just look at Tami, getting the nerve to
ask what she had to ask.
	To an observer, Tami and Laurie were
about as opposite as two girls could get.  Laurie
had long dark brown hair and stood five foot nine.
Tami was four inches shorter with very short
reddish brown hair.  Laurie was also very full
bodied with a bust that drew attention the minute
she walked into view. Tami on the other hand had
a small athletic form with modest, firm breasts.
The final physical difference between the two was
that Laurie had a tanned Mediterranean
complexion while Tami had almost porcelain
white skin, the result of her Amerasian heritage.
	As great as they were, the physical
differences were minor when compared to the
difference in their personalities and lifestyles.
Laurie was one of the most, popular girls in
school.  Possibly the most.  Captain of the
cheerleader squad with a social calendar that read
like a high school who's who, she was the odds on
favorite to be crowned Prom Queen.
	Tami on the other hand, kept to herself
and a small circle of friends.  Academically
successful to the point where valedictorian seemed
almost a given, she had also earned a reputation
for being just a bit strange.
	"I'm in trouble!"  Laurie finally said.
	"The rabbit died?"  Tami asked, wondering
if Laurie would even understand the reference in
an age of instant pregnancy tests.
	"Not that kind of trouble," Laurie quickly
shot back, an unbidden memory of worrying about
just that a few months previously came to mind.
	"Three minutes,"  Tami said, attempting to
bring the conversation to a point.
	"I'm in Mr. McKenzie's American History
class,"  the brunette said.  "and I have a research
paper due tomorrow.  If I don't turn it in, I'm
going to fail the class.  Mr. McKenzie counts the
end term paper as fifty percent of your grade."
	"Laurie,"  Tami said.  "I don't know if
you've ever noticed, but I sit four rows behind you
in American History.  I know that there's a paper
due tomorrow.  I've had mine done for over a
month now, but obviously you haven't finished
yours."
	"Actually I haven't even started it,"  Laurie
admitted.
	"You're right,"  Tami grinned,  "you are in
trouble.  But tragic as that is, what does it have to
do with me?"
	"Originally, Mike Russell was helping me
with the paper,"  Laurie went on.
	"In other words, he was writing it for
you," Tami interjected.
	"Yes," she admitted.
	"So what happened?"  Tami asked, now a
little curious.
	"Mike had a computer crash last week and
lost both of our reports,"  she explained.  "He's
spent the last seven days just rewriting his own."
	"Gee, you'd think someone as bright as
that would've learned to back up his data,"  Tami
mused.  "But you still haven't explained what any
of this has to do with me."
	"Mike said that originally you and I were
both writing reports on the New Deal, but that
you later changed your mind and wrote about the
Japanese Internment instead."
	"Actually, I finished a first draft of the
New Deal paper, then changed my mind," Tami
explained.  "But I still don't know what any of
this..."
	"I want to buy your paper so I can turn it
in as my own,"  Laurie said.
	Tami's response was both instantaneous
and explosive, her laughter filling the small room.
This had to be the funniest thing she'd heard all
year.

	"Damn it, I'm serious!"  Laurie yelled.
	"I know,"  Tami said, unable to stop
laughing.  "That's what makes it so funny."
	"If I don't get a report by tomorrow I'm
not going to graduate,"  Laurie yelled.  "And if I
don't graduate I don't get to go to Europe this
summer."
	"And that would be such a shame,"  the
short haired girl continued to giggle.
	I should've have know better to think that
someone like you might help me," Laurie snapped
as she started to storm out.

	"Wait a minute,"  Tami said, finally
bringing her laughter under control. "Maybe we
can talk about this."
	Laurie stopped and turned back around.
	"Then you'll sell me the paper?"  she
asked.
	"Let's just say I'm willing to discuss it,"
Tami replied.
	Laurie thought about it a few seconds then
walked back to the table.  After all, what choice
did she really have.

	Now it was Tami who sat silent as she
composed her thoughts.  Laurie kept staring at the
large white letters on Tami's pink shirt. Large
letters that spelled out BITCH, and smaller ones
that read Babe In Total Control of Herself.
	"So as a starting point,"  Tami said.  "How
much are you offering for the report?  I'll admit it's
just a first draft but I think it's at least a B minus
paper."
	"I was going to pay Mike twenty dollars."
	"Twenty dollars huh,"  the Amerasian girl
said.  "Doesn't seem like much in exchange for
helping you graduate.  Are you sure there wasn't
something else involved?"
	"Like what?"
	"Well, I seem to remember Mike telling
me about this girl he was helping with her grades,"
Tami said,  "and what she had promised him in
exchanged for his help."
	Laurie let out a deep breath.
	"All right, I did promise him something
else,"  she said.
	"And what would that be?" Tami asked.
	"Do I have to say it?"  Laurie asked in
return.
	The expression on Tami's face said that
she did.
	"Okay, I promised him a blowjob,"  she
admitted.  "Are you happy now?  What did that
accomplish?"
	"Well if nothing else, we've helped
establish the value of a term paper in history,"
Tami smiled.  "Or at least a starting value since it
stands to reason that a paper would become more
valuable the day before it was due.  Especially to
someone who didn't have one at all."
	"So how much do you want for the
paper?"  Laurie asked, deciding to cut to the
chase.
	Tami, however, was enjoying the game
and not about to let it end so soon.
	"You're dating Jerry Simon, aren't you?"
Tami abruptly asked, seeming to go off on a
tangent.
	"Yes, I am,"  Laurie said, wondering why
Tami had asked. Jerry Simon was the Captain of
the football team.
	"Knowing your reputation, I assume
you're sleeping with him,"  Tami went on.  "Is he a
good fuck?"
	Laurie suddenly figured out where this
was all going.  With a wide grin, she said.
	"He's a fantastic fuck!"
	"That good huh?"

	Laurie felt on solid ground for the first
time since she walked into the library.  Tami had
something she wanted, and now the brunette
knew she had something the Amerasian wanted as
well.  Tami wasn't an unattractive girl. In fact,
Laurie had heard guys refer to her as being very
cute.  However, those same guys had also made
mention of her perceived strangeness as a reason
why they wouldn't ask her out.
	It was entirely possible that Tami was still
a virgin.  Who better to lose her cherry to than the
Captain of the football team. Laurie could see
herself on the plane to Paris now.
	"Why don't we just lay our cards on the
table,"  Laurie said, feeling very good at having
the situation turn into a tradeoff.  That was
something she could deal with a lot easier than
going to someone she normally wouldn't even be
seen talking to and asking them for help.
	"Cards on the table huh,"  Tami smiled.
"Okay, since you seem to have this all worked
out, why don't you go first."
	Laurie was more than willing.

	"It's pretty obvious that you want
something more than money for that term paper,"
she began.  "That something being Jerry on the
other side of your bed.  I can arrange that.  You
get laid, and I get my paper."
	Tami had to suppress a smile.  This was
going along much easier than she could have
imagined.
	"Let me see if I understand this correctly,"
she replied.  "In exchange for my unused term
paper, you send your boyfriend to my bed and I
get to sleep with him.  This is what you're
saying?"
	"Exactly,"  Laurie confirmed with a smile.
"And believe me, it's an experience that you
wouldn't regret.  Like I said, he's a fantastic fuck."
	"And you're okay with that?"  Tami asked.
"Having your boyfriend fuck another girl?  Just
like that?"
	Laurie shrugged her shoulders in response.
	"He was never that much of a boyfriend
anyway,"  she admitted.  "Just a great fuck.  It just
looked good to be dating the Captain of the
football team.  I was going to dump him after
graduation anyway."
	"And he'd do this for you?"  Tami
inquired.
	"Of course,"  Laurie said.  "The thick
headed jock would do anything I asked him to.
And I'm telling you, the head that goes under his
helmet isn't the only one that's thick,"  she added
as an incentive.  "Do we have a deal?"
	Tami dropped off the table and walked
over to the small window, looking down into the
courtyard.  Laurie thought she was considering
the proposition, but then the shorter girl seemed
to go off on a tangent again.

	"Do you remember at the start of the
school year when some of your friends were
spreading little rumors about me?"  Tami asked.
	"God, the guys were right,"  Laurie
thought.  "She is strange.  All of a sudden she's
talking about ancient history."
	"Oh I'm sure you weren't one of those
spreading those nasty little stories,"  Tami said as
she turned around, a strange expression now on
her face.  "But I'm sure you heard them."
	"I'm afraid I don't remember,"  Laurie lied,
hoping Tami would get back to their deal.
	"Yes you do," Tami insisted as she took a
few steps closer to Laurie.  "Think about it a little.
How they began to tell some of the other students
that I took a little too long in the showers after
gym class and how they thought I was taking an
unnatural interest  in the bodies of the other girls.
I'm sure you remember now."
	Laurie did more than remember.  She had
been one of the girls who had made up the stories.
At the time, she had thought it was a pretty funny
idea.  Laurie swallowed hard as she hoped that
little joke didn't backfire on her now.
	"They went so far as to suggest,"  Tami
said when she was just a foot away from Laurie.
"That I might have ...."
	She paused for a breath, then added in a
stage whisper.
	"Lesbian tendencies."

	"Oh God,"  Laurie thought as she
imagined the deal she thought worked out minutes
before now falling apart over some forgotten
prank.  "She would have to remember that."
	"But you know something,"  Tami
concluded,  "I really wasn't that angry with those
friends of yours, because for once they got it
exactly right."
	"I don't understand,"  a confused Laurie
said.
	"You don't?"  Tami smiled.  "Well it's
actually very simple.  If you really want my paper
to turn into Mr. McKenzie, you're not going to be
able to buy it with Jerry's cock.  You're going to
have to pay that bill with your own assets."
	As if to illustrate her words, Tami reached
up and caressed Laurie's nipples through the
material of her blouse.

	"What the fuck do you think you're
doing?"  Laurie cried out as she felt Tami's hand
on her breasts and jumped back.
	"Just checking the merchandise," Tami
smirked.  "I once heard a nasty rumor that a
certain head cheerleader filled her bra with more
than nature gave her.  It's nice to see that rumor at
least was wrong."
	"You're out of your fucking mind if you
think I'm going to let your dyke hands touch me,"
Laurie went on in the same angry voice.
	"Well that's always a possibility,"  Tami
said, the tone of her voice as calm as Laurie's was
excited.  "But then again, between the two of us, I
have nothing to lose."
	"What if I told people about you,"  Laurie
shot back.  "Told everyone that you were a dyke
and that you tried to make a grab for me."
	"Go right ahead,"  Tami smiled as she
leaned back on the desk. "Who's going to believe
you.  They'll think it's just another lie you're
spreading about someone that everyone knows
you don't particularly like."
	Laurie didn't know what to say. Tami was
totally right about that.  No one in this entire
school was going to believe anything she said
about Tami Ryan.  Not with her track record and
the bad blood everyone knew was between them.
	"Look, I'll make it a hundred dollars for
the report,"  the dark haired girl finally said.
"That's five times what I originally offered."
	"I aced all the math courses too,"  Tami
replied.  "I could've figured that out for myself.
But you could make it a thousand and it wouldn't
make a bit of difference.  I told you the cost of my
help, and it's non-negotiable."
	Laurie's face dropped.  There were few
times in her life when she had to face the fact that
money couldn't cure any problem.
	"Of course you could always buy a report
off the Internet,"  Tami suggested.  "Then again,  I
seem to remember two students trying that last
year in Mr. McKenzie's class and getting caught.
They not only failed his class, they were expelled.
Oh they eventually got a diploma from another
school, but it's not exactly the type of thing a
good college wants to see on your record."
	Laurie knew that story about the bought
papers was true.  One of the students involved
lived two doors away from her.  He was planning
to go to Northern Tech and wound up at City U
instead because of the incident.
	"I have to think about this,"  she finally
said.
	Tami had to try hard not to smile as she
saw the first chink in Laurie's armor appear.  It
was a chink that she was sure would spread
quickly as the deadline grew closer.
	"Think about it all you want,"  Tami said
sympathetically.  "I realize it's a big decision."
	"What exactly would I have to do?"
Laurie asked, a note of defeat in her tone.
	"Don't worry, I wouldn't make you go out
with me in public or anything like that,"  Tami
said.  "That would be too cruel."
	The Amerasian girl could see the wave of
relief sweep over Laurie's face.  One more chink
in the armor fell away.
	"Basically, you'd spend the night with me
in private,"  Tami went on.  "Being my lover in
every way.  Doing everything you could to make
me a happy woman.  You can't just lay there and
let me play with your boobs and such, you have to
be an active, enthusiastic participant.  Think of it
as an acting performance.  You've been in the
school plays, I've seen how much you like to act."
	"Wouldn't it be better if we went away for
a weekend, maybe after the school year was
over?"  Laurie suggested.  "Wouldn't that be a lot
more fun than just one night?"
	"Well if we had a weekend, I might say
yes,"  Tami countered.  "But since we don't, I'd
have to settle for a night.  Tonight in fact since
you need the report for tomorrow."
	"You could give me the report now and
we could go away later,"  Laurie said.
	"Like I'm really going to believe that,"
Tami laughed softly.  "Take it or leave it, tonight's
the night.  My parents are away on business so I
have the house all to myself.  You have until eight
o'clock to make up your mind.  At five after, I'm
going to throw that extra report into the paper
shredder."

	With that, Tami turned and began to walk
out of the room.  She got to the door and turned
back to Laurie.
	"Remember," she said, "that's eight
o'clock, not eight ten.  And if you do decide to
come, wear something hot.  I'm sure you have
plenty of choices in your closet."

	By the time Laurie followed her out the
door, Tami was already back up on the second
floor.  A now bewildered Laurie quickly flew out
of the library, passing Cynthia without a word.

	"So what did Miss Cunt want from you?"
Cynthia asked as she stepped off the circular
staircase into the second floor storeroom.
	"Nothing important,"  Tami smiled, still
stacking books on the shelves.  "She wanted my
help with the history report that's due tomorrow."
	"Talk about your nerve,"  Cynthia said as
she handed a few of the books on the pushcart to
Tami. "After the way she and her friends have
treated you.  One of these days I'd love to see her
treated the way she treats other people.  See how
she likes it."
	"You never know,"  Tami answered as she
stacked the last book.  "Maybe someday you'll get
your wish."
	"Don't I wish,"  Cynthia said as Tami
walked around the pushcart.
	"Oh, by the way,"  Tami said as she stood
next to her.  "Something's come up so we're going
to have to cancel our study plans for tonight."
	"No problem,"  Cynthia replied.  "In fact,
that works out great because Doris Warner asked
me if I could help her study for the Chemistry
Finals.  Tonight would be a perfect time for us to
get together."
	"I don't think the chemistry you have in
mind for Doris Warner is the kind that comes out
of a book,"  Tami noted.  "I've told you before, I
don't think she plays that way."
	"I can always dream can't I?"  Cynthia
laughed, picturing the well proportioned, dark
skinned girl.
	Tami smiled.  Back in Junior year, the two
of them had dated for a while.  At first it had gone
along pretty well.  Then after a few weeks it
became obvious that Tami still had a roving eye
and found her excitement in a constant variety.
Cynthia, on the other hand was forever looking
for Ms. Right and the perfect relationship.
	"Hey, if it turns out that I'm wrong, no one
is going to be happier for you than me,"  Tami
said as she leaned over and gave Cynthia a soft
kiss on her lips.
	"It's too bad we never worked out,"
Cynthia said as they broke the brief kiss.  "But if I
can't have you as a lover, I'm glad I still have you
as my friend."
	"Me too, babe,"  Tami said.  "Me too."


	Stepping off the bus in front of the
townhouse complex where Tami lived, Laurie
looked at her watch. The time read seven
forty-five.  It had taken longer to get over here
than she had figured.
	Public Transportation definitely wasn't her
thing, but there was no way she could ask anyone
to give her a lift without explaining where she was
going.  Laurie silently cursed the fact that in a fit
of anger over a letter from the school about her
declining grades in Math and English, her father
had taken away the car she had gotten for her
sixteenth birthday.  His thinking was that such a
loss would motivate her to bring those grades
back up.  It had worked, but he hadn't reinstated
car privileges yet.
	All afternoon, she had continued to try to
come up with an alternative. At one point, she had
considered offering Mr. McKenzie money or
something more substantial to try to pass his class.
	 As disheartening as the idea of offering to
suck off the fifty-four year old teacher was, even
more so was the certain belief that he would turn
her down.  Ian McKenzie had been a bachelor all
his life and Laurie had once heard some of the
female teachers talking about him, making the
comment that the man had absolutely no interest
in sex.  Laurie couldn't conceive of a life without
sex, but if anyone could live without it, it would
most likely be someone like old man McKenzie.
	Money was a consideration as well, but
she doubted there was enough money in her
savings account to buy him off.  Besides, if she
used all her money, what would she have left for
Europe.
	The hand on her watch now read seven
fifty, it was now or never.  Taking a deep breath,
the tall girl walked away from the bus stop and
started down the walkway.

	"At least it's a nice house," she thought to
herself.
	Nice was an understatement.  Tami's
parents were both well paid professionals and
lived in a luxury complex.  There was even a
checkpoint at the gates where a security guard
checked to see if you belonged in the complex or
were expected as a visitor.
	Thankfully, they were predicting rain
tonight so no one would question why Laurie was
wearing a long raincoat.  She'd just die if she had
to go up to the guard with only the outfit she had
on under her coat.
	It had taken Laurie over an hour that
afternoon to decide just what outfit Tami would
consider hot enough.  Not that she wanted to
admit to herself that she was actually going to go
through with this.  She'd finally decided on a pair
of cut off shorts and a much too tight blouse that
knotted around her stomach, showing off her bare
skin.  Keeping in mind the image she wanted to
project, she had left her bra and panties behind.