Awkward
Wrenly
Jennings stood in front of the class not saying a word. Finally, after about five minutes he spoke. “Today was supposed to be the sensitivity training, but that’s been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. In its place, we will cover GPS and Satellite images.”
Maybe that announcement wouldn’t have been so awkward if there weren’t twelve prospects huddled together in the corner, four executive operatives sitting as far away from each other as possible, and only Stone and I sitting in our normal spaces.
Instead of continuing with any kind of training, Jennings took a seat at a desk and was quiet for a minute. He finally cleared his throat. “Creed already met with the prospects, and we do hope you’ll stay, but he will be meeting with each of our executive operatives individually, except I believe he already met with Carlson.” He cleared his throat and I knew he was having one hell of a struggle to not laugh. “I know quite a few of you have gotten to know Magnus well, and you may have been concerned, but I’m happy to report he was released from the hospital last night. He will make a full recovery with just twelve stitches and an inflamed prostate. He will be staying with Granger and Stephanie for a bit, just until he recovers. That will be when they know for sure he can use the bathroom without tearing and possibly bleeding out.”
It got quiet again, but when Jennings did speak he was staring at the wall, and it sounded rehearsed. “So yeah, there were minimal injuries or lasting side effects. Those of us who made it home before the drug kicked in, are doing okay as well. It’s predicted the wives will get over it sooner than later, we hope. We suggest any of you who are married and drank the wine just apologize, maybe buy some flowers, or schedule a session with Bolton, umm…there is a jewelry store in Clarity. And umm…I assure you this has never happened at Creed’s Lake before… we are not a homosexual community, although we do encourage everyone to live their best lives.” He whimpered. “We hope the time off yesterday helped and we can soon get back to normal as soon as possible.” He gulped. “Some of you were sober and ran scared, I don’t blame you, but I’d like to remind you of the non-disclosures you signed. I’d also like to ask that you do not make fun of the men that ate the brownies. Their situation was scary to them, and no, they do not have erectile dysfunction. That was caused by the ecstasy, and they won’t have lasting side effects. I would also like to assure any of you that are struggling with the memory of all the erections, that it was caused by the wine, there was Viagra in it so it couldn’t be helped.”
Stone spoke up. “I told you fuckers I wasn’t chasing you with a fucking hard on! I would never do something like that, and I was probably just as scared as your assholes, trying to escape.”
Jennings cleared his throat. “He was found at the front doors with the word help written on the glass of the door. Also, Creed has confirmed through video surveillance that he was indeed running with you, clearly he wasn’t chasing you. I do think is perfectly safe to sit near him again. There is no need to huddle in the corner any longer.”
I tried so hard not to laugh as the prospects moved their desks in a way that they were close to me, but none would sit by the four executive operatives. I was surrounded by seventeen big tough military trained operatives, and they were all traumatized by the effects of drugs.
“I think it’s best if we start class, but if there’s anyone that’s too upset to move forward with training today, you’re excused to go speak with Creed. He does have most of the answers you’ve been searching for, and we’d rather you not ask the prospects what they know. We will be offering pregnancy tests free of charge and Patrick Rossi will have DNA tests available at a discounted price. If you drank the wine I would suggest adding your DNA to the community site so your future children can find you.”
Jennings stood and walked to the front of the class. “Okay, everyone that’s left in this room are clear of any sexual misconduct. Just please forgive our community members that were victims of Sunday’s festivities, they were not themselves and they were drugged. We will now refer to Sunday night as, ‘Operation Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ but if you feel you need help with any lingering trauma, sign up for a session with Bolton. Let’s move on with training.”
Stone glanced at me a few times as I moved in my seat every now and again. I was sore from all the sex with Travis, which I liked because I could still feel him. Yesterday did happen and I didn’t regret it, just the lack of birth control part. I found it hard to concentrate during training. My mind kept flashing back to eleven years ago when I had to take the pregnancy test. I prayed to God over and over again not to let me be pregnant. I was selfish when I said those prayers, because I was pregnant and that led to the most profound kind of grief when I lost my son. I wasn’t going to do that again. I had to shove all those negative thoughts away, and instead of praying not to be pregnant, I prayed for God’s will and accepted whatever fate he gave me. I was scared, probably the most scared I had been since that cart hit me and I realized something was wrong with the baby. Nothing I ever experienced was as scary as that day. Not even when I found my mom dead or when I was on a mission.
When training let out, I met Travis at my place again. He was in his truck but stepped out as soon as he saw me. I could see it in his eyes, there was concern and that about broke me. As usual he opened the passenger side door for me, then waited patiently for me to walk into his arms. My emotions had been everywhere all day. I could easily have broken down and cried, but then he surrounded me in his warmth. Instead of my emotions breaking loose, a warm and safe, but also familiar and deeply missed sensation came over me. One that I have needed since I was almost fifteen years old. There was something magical about Travis, like a superpower that nobody on earth had but him. His arms and his touch made me feel peace, comfort, love, and appreciated.