Cross Contamination part 10: Laid Bare
On the morning after her humiliation at the hands of her teammates, Cassie considered not going to school at all. She dreaded what her reception might be. The cheerleaders were the most popular girls in school, and she was positive that they had spent all night texting their friends about the stupid lezzy slut that they had tricked into thinking she was joining the team.
But if there was one thing that Renee had taught Cassie, it was to face her problems head-on. Staying at home wouldn't make her problems go away. She gritted her teeth and went to school, prepared to face the ridicule and horny stares she had been facing since her clothing incident, but intensified.
She was shocked at her reception. All of the other cheer girls greeted her warmly when they saw her in the halls, and although she still got stares and catcalls, they didn't seem to have gotten any worse than they had been yesterday.
Even Melissa tried to act like they were besties, and asked if she had any plans that weekend. Cassie gave her the cold shoulder. She couldn't just get over the fact that Melissa had sat on her face in front of the whole team. Even after both of their "apologies", Cassie couldn't just forgive and forget.
"I'm a little surprised..." she admitted, speaking to Renee at lunch, "I thought things might be sort of awkward."
"What? Why?" said Renee, looking incredulous, "If anything the girls feel closer to you after yesterday! It was just a little team bonding exercise. God, if you think that this was over the top, you should see what girls do in college." She grinned and gave Cassie a little wink. "As for Mel, you have to remember, I know her a lot better than you. I know that the situation I put you in yesterday might have been a little..." She swiped her fingers across her lips in a gesture that was obscene when you knew the context, "...sticky. But look at her now! She's totally ready to be friends again. Give her another chance. I would never steer you wrong."
Cassie grimaced, but Melissa was already brining her tray over, a friendly smile on her face. Cassie glared back at her.
"Speaking of steering you," Renee smoothly changed the subject as Melissa sat down, "How is the college search going."
"Nothing to report," said Cassie gloomily, "I got another rejection letter. Not as bad of news this time, because I wasn't sure I wanted to go there anyway. But still doesn't feel great." She picked through her food, suddenly not hungry.
Renee perfectly concealed her glee. Wouldn't little miss smarty pants be thrilled to learn that her yet another college had actually sent her an acceptance letter before Renee had intercepted it.
"That's too bad, babe," said Renee. "Good thing we are working on a plan "B" for you, right? Do you have your streaming setup ready?"
At Renee's urging, Cassie had indeed set up her headset and webcam to try out streaming. She wasn't especially enthusiastic about it. She knew that very few streamers actually became successful.
"I did set things up Renee, and I'm sure it will be fun," said Cassie delicately, hoping not to offend her friend who had gifted her the expensive setup, "But I don't think that I have that much to worry about in the end. I did end up applying to a bunch of safety schools, so I don't need to count on streaming."
Renee gave her a knowing look, and put a reassuring hand on Cassie's, "I'm sure you're right, Kissy dear. It's just..." She shared a look with Melissa that confused Cassie, "...I don't want you to be too disappointed if you can't get in anywhere."
Cassie's brow furrowed. What was that supposed to mean?
"Just remember Kissy," said Melissa cheerfully, "There are loads and loads of jobs that women can do without going to college."
"Yeah!" said Renee, clapping her hands together, "with a body like yours, you could get money from boys in all sorts of ways. Like marrying a millionaire, or even just doing por..."
"I'm sure I'll be getting some acceptance letters soon," said Cassie with finality, cutting Renee off before her best friend said anything that would make her angry. Renee had been getting more and more pushy with her. Cassie wasn't sure that she liked it. While she was certainly grateful for all of Renee's help, Renee didn't run her life. But she didn't have to be a bitch about it. Better to just cut off the conversation before they argued. After the confusing, humiliating experience with Melissa, she didn't want to get into any more fights with her friends for now.
Renee looked doubtful, but nodded.
"Well, why not try streaming just for fun? Be sure to log in with that Argus account I made you tonight, Kissy, I'll watch your first stream to cheer you on! Oh! And I forgot to send over that supplement I promised, didn't I?"
Cassie frowned. She had been glad that Renee seemed to have forgotten the "relaxation supplement" she had promised to send. "Yeah, well... Maybe you can just not bother, Renee, I..."
Renee cut her off. "You promised me you would try it though, Kissy!"
Cassie huffed. "I promised I would accept them and decide later," she insisted stubbornly.
"Whatever, Kissy," said Renee, a slight wrinkle appearing in her brows. "I'll send them over tonight."
...
Daren called in sick to work. It was now almost 48 hours since Gina had gone alone to Victor's house to end things with him permanently. Was it possible that Victor had hurt her? Was it possible she was... with him? He wasn't sure which would be worse in his mind right now. He spent the day worrying and trying to sleep without success.
Around two, his phone buzzed. It was Renee.
[Heyyyy Cuckie! Your ditzy little D-cup daughter will be home soon, and it's going to be showtime for her streaming channel. I have an important job for you to make sure this goes the way we want. I will talk you through it.]
Daren still felt the stinging guilt of agreeing to ruin his daughter's life, but he needed a distraction. And although he hated to admit it, helping to drag his daughter down had also begun to turn him on.