Every second was an aeon.
There was also, of course, a tremendous amount of shame for what I'd done to Jo. She was right -- she hadn't deserved that. Cherry didn't deserve what was inching ever closer. And I deserved everything that I'd gotten, and more, because I was still here with quiet, yearning excitement and uncomfortably damp underwear.
After a time, there came a knock at my door and, without waiting to be bid entry, it swung open and Ellsworth marched in. My heart sank at the mere sight of her.
"Good afternoon, Kelly," she said, business-like.
"Um, good afternoon, professor," I replied, softly, unable to dispel our last encounter from my mind.
"I noticed that you had to deal with another student, earlier. How did you find it?"
"Oh, it went fine," I said, trying to grasp at the language I hoped she'd want to hear from me, "I did as you said and made sure she was, like..." I paused.
"Naked?"
"Exposed."
"Well, exposed is acceptable," she said, her tone equivalent to a shrug. "I'm glad to see you're making progress. But this next girl, Miss Cardington, I'll expect you to use all the lessons I taught you earlier. That's quite clear, isn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am." Was it pronounced like 'ham' or 'harm'? I couldn't remember -- but I was sure I'd chosen the wrong one and further outed myself as Not Quite Belonging. Ellsworth leaned over me, smelling of chamomile and biscuits, to the computer screen, her necklace dangling off her and brushing my shoulder.
"I see this is her first red notice, too," she observed, clicking her way through Cherry's records. "So this should be quite the introduction."
"Yeah," I mumbled, staring at Cherry's smiley ID photo and wondering if I ought to divulge our friendship to Ellsworth. It wouldn't be worth it, of course -- in fact, she might revel in that fact. There was one additional fact to add to all the plentiful dread -- now Ellsworth was here, my window for warning Cherry away was tightly shut. The event horizon had been crossed and I was drifting, irreversibly, to the black hole.
It was barely a few minutes after Ellsworth's appearance that my phone pinged. Looking at it, I saw Cherry had texted me.
"Outside!" it read. I wanted to cry -- but there was excitement there, too.
"What is it?" asked Ellsworth, who was now sat at the sofa and must have seen my face change.
"I think Cherry's outside," I mumbled.
"Well, go and get her, then." I rose and went to the door, opened it, and peered around to find Cherry's beaming face. She was dressed in baggy jeans and white jumper.
"Nice digs you got here," she laughed. I smiled, weakly, and she regarded me with uncertainty. "You okay?"
"You should come in," I said, quietly, retreating back inside, and Cherry followed.
"What's up?" she asked, as she came in. "This your office, then? Impressive. In an unimpressive sort of way. But you're coming up in the world, ey?" Still, I wasn't responding as she thought I might, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What?" She looked around -- and, at the sight of Ellsworth, froze.
"Hello, Miss Cardington. I understand you've received a red notice."
"W... what is this?" Cherry looked from Ellsworth to me and then back again. "I thought..."
"What?" asked Ellsworth. "What did you think? That you'd be getting an easy time of it?" Cherry now stared at me.
"You tricked me."
"I didn't," I said, quickly. "I wanted to tell you. I did. But-"
"Oh, you two know each other," purred Ellsworth. "How delightful." She rose from the sofa -- both Cherry and I took a step back.
"Do you wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" Cherry demanded. "Why're you here?"
"Because young Kelly here has been having difficulties," Ellsworth replied. "She didn't quite understand her remit. So I thought I'd help her with the next lady to come through that door. I suppose that lady will have to be you."
"Right," Cherry sighed. "Great. And there was me thinking I'd just be hanging out with my mate for ten minutes. Serves me right, ey? And all for, what, badmouthing someone in a seminar?" At that, she turned, put her hands on the desk, and bent over, pushing out her shapely bottom, protected by thick jeans. "Come on, then. Get it over with." She looked at me. "You and I are having a talk after this." She winked and I felt better, if only for the tiniest fraction of a moment, as I looked away.
"Do you want to tell her?" asked Ellsworth, face full of a dark pleasure I'd never seen when she dealt with me. "Or should I?"
"Huh?" Cherry straightened a little. "Tell me what? Kelly?"
"You have to be naked," I said, my whole body feeling hot.
"Naked?" Her face, which I didn't think could fill with more outrage, filled with more. "Are you joking?"
"Does she look like she's joking?" growled Ellsworth. Cherry stared at me, wide-eyed, perhaps for help -- I didn't say anything. I couldn't even keep eye contact -- but, still, the excitement bubbled away.
"How could you not warn me?" she asked, her eyes full of hurt. Already, her hands were at her jumper's hem.
"It'd just make it worse for you."
"That's not why you didn't tell me." Her eyes flashed, now, with anger. "You know that's not why."
Quickly, Cherry pulled up her jumper, the stripy shirt underneath coming up over her soft looking tummy with shiny pierced belly button, and threw it on the desk. The shirt came next -- I couldn't help but stare at Cherry's body as she peeled it off. Though I'd essentially seen her breasts before, given how freely she displayed them, still I watched while she tossed her shirt onto the desk and stood there in a lacy black bra, her tits struggling to be set free, her lightly brown skin rich and warm, a tattoo of hummingbird in flight on her shoulder. She looked at both of us.
"Stop staring at me," she mumbled at Ellsworth, who just crossed her arms, but not to me. Her hands went to her jeans, which she unbuttoned, pulled down, and awkwardly stepped out of, having to kick off her trainers to do so. "Yeah, don't help or anything."
