Chapter III: A Kellog Serial
"Hi, guys and gals," Cindy said into the video camera. From the background behind her, it was apparent that she was sitting in a car. "It's me again. Time for our next update. Thanks for checking in.
"For those of you who are bidding, thank you and keep up the good work. But we're not even halfway where we need to be. I figure that if things don't improve by the end of this week, I'll probably have to call it off. No point in keeping this up, if it ain't gonna happen, y'know?
"Anyway, some of you emailed that were still unconvinced that this isn't some sort of sham. Well, the only other thing I could think of doing to convince you, is to bring you along with me to school. So here we are. I'm not going to name the school, 'cuz I got a lot of hate mail, too, and I don't want any stalkers coming after me, but I figure you can meet some of my friends who know what I'm doing, and why I'm doing it. Ready? Let's go!
"Oh, by the way, before we head off, some of you were wondering who was operating the video camera last time. I'm afraid I can't tell you that because I promised I wouldn't. Those of you who know me, can probably guess, though. I can tell you, that it wasn't a boyfriend. Like I may have said, I don't really have one right now, and if I did, I can bet you he wouldn't put up with this!
"Okay, now let's go." Cindy opened the car door, and the video camera image rocked and jostled, capturing the asphalt paved parking lot. Since she was no longer in the frame, it was clear that she was taking the video by herself. As she walked onto campus, she was careful to avoid taking pictures of peoples faces.
"Hiya, Cindy!", "Hey, Cin!", "Hey, Babe!" and "Slut!" were but a few of the voices that could be heard on the video camera as they walked down a corridor, finally slipping into the open door of a classroom. Carefully placed on the ground, in a clear plastic book bag adorned with pink flowers, the camera captured the first few moments of the classroom lecture, before being shut off remotely.
When the camera cut back in, only Cindy and a few of her friends were left in the otherwise empty classroom. "Okay, that was my first class. Science. Yuck. But now, it's lunchtime, and I'm here at school with some friends of mine who agreed to be on tape." The camera panned the group of teenagers. They were all smiling and eager to be on camera. It was a small group of 3 girls and 2 boys, not including Cindy.
"These girls are on the Prom committee, and these two guys are classmates of mine since grade school. They are here to verify that this is completely legit, and that to their knowledge, and by reputation, I have never had sex with a boy."
The gathering of kids all nodded, smiling at the camera. "Yup, it's true," "That's right," "Uh-huh," they all said at once, speaking over each other.
One of the girls spoke up. "I'm the head of the Prom Committee. And it's true. Cindy is doing this so we can all have a nice senior prom. She doesn't sleep around. She promised her dad. I've known her since Freshman year, and she's smart, and funny, and one of the nicest girls on campus, but she hasn't had a steady boyfriend that I know of. I feel kinda strange begging you to bid on my friend, but she says its okay, and that she wants to do it, and I can't think of a braver thing to do. She's my hero."
"She's totally hot, too!" one of the boys yelled out from the back.
"Okay, okay, that's enough." Cindy interrupted. "I better not have found out that you bid!" she joked, pointing a finger at her friend in the back. "And it's not just because I know you're flat broke!" she added.
Just then, the door opened. The group of kids scattered noisily for the exits like cockroaches desperately looking for cover.
"All right, what's going on in here. Cindy?" came a stern female voice.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Cindy, I'd like to have a word with you. The rest of you can get," she said to no one in particular, as everyone else was already cleared out through the door.
Cindy approached the teacher's desk at the front corner of the room. "Is that thing on?" the teacher asked. Cindy looked down at the camera in her hand. She was so taken aback by being caught that she had completely forgotten about it.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Wait. Don't turn it off, yet. I want to tell you and your little audience something." The camera pointed at her stern face. "Cindy, there are rumors going around that you're offering to sell yourself in order for your classmates to have a senior prom. Is that true?"
"Well, I . . ."
"Look. I think it's commendable that you're trying to help. I also think it's admirable that you've decided to honor your promise to your father not to have sex until you're ready. You're 18 and I can't stop you from doing anything you want to do on your own time. I just want you to promise me one thing. That you'll stop this if you decide you don't want to go through with it. We can always find another way to raise the money. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am. I promise."
"And one more thing, I'm going to give you my cell phone number. I will be chaperoning the dance. If you get into trouble, you call me, okay?" she asked sternly.