Chapter 36 - A summer of Public Penance
Jason and Cecilia spent their first summer in Upper Danubia with their days divided between learning the Danubian language, their household duties, and relaxing. The first priority, of course, was learning how to communicate in a city where very few people spoke English. The daily routine included six hours of intensive language instruction that started at 9:00 and ended at 4:00 with an hour for lunch. As the summer progressed, the couple realized that Prime Minister Dukov had enlisted the best language instructors in the country to pursue a single goal: to try to have them ready to attend university classes in the fall. They wrote endless exercises, memorized lists of words, were put through conversation drills, and studied grammar. They read everything ranging from children's stories to simple newspaper articles, in addition to their preparing exercises and doing endless speech drills.
By the end of August they had a working knowledge of Danubian, although they knew that taking regular classes at the university level still would be a struggle. Cecilia actually found herself at a slight advantage over Jason because she was bilingual. Her mind, already accustomed to the differences between Spanish and English, was able to grasp some of the grammatical concepts of Danubian faster than Jason. As for reading and writing, they seemed to progress about the same, but by the middle of the summer, Cecilia was slightly better at conversing in Danubian than was Jason.
During that first summer there was much more to their lives than language classes during the day and the Socrates Club during the evenings. Their activities included traveling and getting into better physical shape.
Sightseeing in the provinces surrounding Danube City became an important part of the adjustment to life in Upper Danubia and vital for relieving the intense stress from the couple's other responsibilities. They began traveling around Upper Danubia on the weekends with Cynthia Lee and her boyfriend. They made it as far east as Rika Chorna and spent two very pleasant weekends at the famous reservoir. They even went hiking in the mountains overlooking the lake, exploring the thick forests that had been the object of so many corporate ambitions over the past several years.
All of their explorations over that summer were in the nude. While traveling they obtained a permit from the Temple to wear orange courier shoes at railroad stations and wear hiking boots when in the forests. However, shoes, shampoo, toothbrushes, small towels, and cameras were the only items they took with them on their trips. As long as they wore collars, Jason and Cecilia had to comply with their vow not to cover their bodies, so they traveled completely naked. Very quickly their inhibitions vanished, and to them it felt like the most natural thing in the world to jump on a train wearing nothing but a pair of shoes and jump off an hour or so later to explore a new town.
Exercising became a regular part of their routine, because they were officially enrolled as students in the university and subject to participating in the institution's fitness program. Each morning before seeing their language instructors they had to perform rigorous calisthenics and run 5 kilometers in groups that were segregated by sex.
The exercise program was the one time each day that Jason and Cecilia's nudity did not set them apart from anyone else, because at the university, gymnastics classes meant just that, exercising in the nude. Along with swimsuits, most athletic clothing was prohibited, the only exception being clothing specifically designed to prevent injury. The only items the students wore during their fitness sessions were track shoes during the runs. A few of the larger-breasted women were permitted to wear sports bras while running, but to do so they had to obtain a doctor's waiver. As soon as the daily run ended the bras had to be taken off immediately.
Rigorous exercising was nothing new to Jason, who was used to keeping fit. He loved the runs, because running nude on a regular basis had been a lifelong dream for him and finally he was living that dream. His ability caught the attention of his fitness instructor, and soon he found himself committed to joining the North Danube City track team and practicing to run for inter-provincial marathons to be held in the fall. Towards the end of the summer he began practicing with the track team instead of the regular fitness group, which opened up new friendships with Danubians who were athletes instead of people who either were criminals or associated with the Lee sisters. The old self-confidence Jason enjoyed when competing in high school came back to him after a two-year absence. As he prepared to compete in long distance running, his thoughts began to move past the trial, his parents' deaths, and the tumultuous events that brought him to the country.
In contrast, for Cecilia running five kilometers was a struggle. For several weeks she always trailed the other naked, sweaty, college-age women of her group. When she started out she despaired over ever improving, but slowly she did get better over time. She was fortunate that Tiffany and Cynthia were part of her group and gave her encouragement. Cynthia began the summer somewhat overweight, so in the beginning she ran at the rear of the group with Cecilia. However, within a couple of weeks constant physical activity put Kim's sister in much better shape, which in turn allowed her to improve on the runs.
Once Cynthia improved with her running and could stay with the main group, Tiffany's encouragement became even more important to Cecilia. If Tiffany noticed Cecilia falling behind the others, she dropped back to run alongside her fellow American. Once that happened, Cecilia knew she had to catch up to the others very quickly. If she didn't, Tiffany started landing hard slaps on her bare bottom to make her pick up her pace. As strange as it seemed, Tiffany was actually doing Cecilia a favor by spanking her if she ran too slowly. It was customary at the university that during a group run, the slowest member of the class was subject to discipline from the instructor. By running with her, Tiffany spared Cecilia the indignity of having her bottom smacked by the fitness teacher. However, by the end of August Cecilia was running as well as the other women in the group and no longer faced the threat of in-class discipline.
Another improvement in Cecilia's life was that, at age 20, she finally began to enjoy swimming. It was in the pool at the National University where Cecilia finally learned how to swim properly. With Jason still watching over her, Cecilia began swimming more and more on her own and learning various strokes. By the end of August she no longer needed Jason's help and could even go under water for short distances. Cecilia's ability to swim meant she and her partner could go to the river with their friends and swim at the beach just like anyone else.
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There was a big surprise waiting for Cynthia Lee at the end of August. Just two days before classes were due to start, Cynthia and Kim went to the Temple with Tiffany and several members of Kim's band. Upon seeing her, the Priest who had collared Cindy immediately approached her and took her outside. He prayed and then talked to her at length about her Path in Life. When the interview ended he told her that she needed to conclude her public penance. He unlocked her collar and handed her a prayer robe. Her face still reflecting surprise and bewilderment, she quietly got dressed and returned to the main chamber of the Temple as a normal citizen.
When she returned to her sister's house that evening, she found out why her penance had ended. There was a letter from the National University offering Cynthia a position of Academic Apprentice, which was the Danubian equivalent of a non-tenured instructor. She had not finished her doctorate, but her knowledge of the United States and its political system far surpassed that of anyone else in Danube City. While she finished researching the relationship between the Danubian government and Mega-Town Associates for her dissertation, the university wanted her to teach undergraduates about U.S. political history and social development. It was an opportunity for Danubian students to find out about the United States from an American who had proven herself intellectually and was well-respected by everyone in the capitol. She knew more about the U.S. than anyone else in Danube City, so it made sense for the university to put her knowledge to good use in the classroom.
It had been the rector of the university who contacted Cynthia's Priest and asked him to end her penance so she could accept her new position. The job offer was the sign from the Ancients that both she and the Priest had been waiting for. The path of her life had been determined by the Ancients and they had spoken to her. She was destined to be an instructor at the National University in Danube City and was on her way to becoming a Professor in full standing.
The following week Cynthia Lee's life changed dramatically. Like her sister, she started braiding her hair to better fit in, one detail out of several that reflected the change in her appearance and her outlook on life. She assumed the formal title of "Apprentice" when sworn in at the university. To her students she had become a Danubian Public Official. They had to address her as Apprentice Lee in class, and any collared criminals among them had to kneel when speaking to her.
Like her younger sister, Cynthia Lee's Path in Life was to become a full member of Danubian society. That path was confirmed by another event towards the end of September. Her boyfriend concluded his public penance the day after the Day of the Dead Ceremonies and left the Temple wearing a prayer robe. The following evening he proposed to her. From that point forward Cynthia Lee wore her engagement jewelry whenever she appeared in public.
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