As the school year progressed, Sonia came into her own despite Dave's absence at the school. He had finished his assignment at Fulton at the end of the first semester as planned and returned to the college.
Far from leaving her behind, he and Sonia had moved well beyond the titillating but incomplete relationship they had started with. For Sonia, it was an earth-shattering start, but she found that as he revealed himself to her, she was drawn more and more under his wing. It wasn't just the dominance that she submitted to, but the care and attention he provided her. Dave was very strong with her, but she could feel that there was something much deeper with him.
Mr. Hunter, the teacher, had declared her a good student. It was becoming apparent now just how much she gleaned from him. It was obvious that she had learned to mostly obey his explicit direction, except when she was in need of his correction. What surprised her was the transformation occurring in her as a result of what she observed. She had never been a shrinking violet, but her carefree attitude was now tempered with a strength she hadn't expressed before.
She became quite adept at handling the supplicating boys at the academy. She was never malicious with them; that wasn't her game. However, when one of them attempted to repeat the skirt-lifting scene from the last semester, there was no doubt left in any of the boys that this was not something to ever be repeated.
Carol was impressed as they talked over coffee.
"Say that again?" Carol queried her about a difficult return Sonia made at a department store.
"You heard me. It's really hard to describe but it almost feels like because I have Dave's 'blessing', that I handle myself more confidently."
"The spankings have gone to your head, little slut," Carol teased.
Despite the banter, Carol was a little jealous. She couldn't see herself in Sonia's shoes but couldn't deny that the guys she had dated didn't really offer anything other than a good time.
"You could use one yourself, witch." Sonia continued, "Really, I never realized before how much the simple act of submitting would increase my authority. Mom and dad never did that for me. They gave me some passive guidance, but were maybe a little too loose with me. Daddy was a little surprised with me the other day when he was asking about Dave. Last year, I'd have been apologizing and trying to make the best of things, but I stood up for myself. I didn't get mad, but was very clear about Dave's place in my life. I think it was the lack of beating around the bush that swayed Daddy. Now, go get me another coffee."
"Yes. Right away, Mistress Spankypanties. Your wish is my command. Would you like whipped cream with that?", Carol howled at her spontaneous word play. "Your Jedi mind tricks won't work on me."
"Look into my eyes. You are getting sleepy. When you wake up, you'll get me one cream and one sugar," Sonia shot back.
"Silly girl, everyone knows Jedis take their coffee black."
"Sonia?"
Hearing her name called, Sonia turned from the attendant at the school book store to come face to face with Vanessa.
"Oh my frickin' God!" Sonia exclaimed to herself, not sure what to do.
They had only met once but it was burned into Sonia's mind. Sonia wondered what she might be doing there.
She quickly put on a game face and cheerfully greeted back, "Vivian, right?" very deliberately getting her name wrong.
"Close. Vanessa. We met before Christmas in Dave's office."
Was she here to see Dave? Thank God he's not here anymore.
The two women sized each other up, head to toe.
Sonia could still appreciate Vanessa's attraction. She was slim and not too tall in her ever-present stilettos. Her blonde hair flowed so smoothly past her shoulder blades, and she managed some subtly provocative makeup. Her dress was definitely not discount and fit her slim figure perfectly.
"And always with the stockings, too," Sonia noticed.
Vanessa was similarly impressed with Sonia, even more than on the day of their first meeting. It seemed that somehow Sonia was demonstrating a maturity she hadn't seen before. A lot of that assessment came from how she carried herself even in the flat shoes she faithfully wore at school. Vanessa was brought back briefly, smiling at the thought of Dave exercising his budding dominance over this sweet young thing, wondering what fruit it might be bearing in him.
"What brings you to the academy, Vanessa?" Sonia asked, attempting to inject a little authority, as though Vanessa was intruding.
"I met with a guidance counselor here. My niece is exploring some options and Fulton is on her radar," Vanessa replied. "I was wondering if Dave, errrr Mr. Hunter is around."
She was toying with Sonia, spontaneously attempting an end run to ply the younger woman for information.
"Oh...That's a shame. You missed him. He left 5 months ago after his assignment was finished. I assume you haven't spoken to him?" The dig felt weak but that was what Sonia had at the moment. Plus it didn't give too much away. It really only identified Vanessa as the vanquished, not that Sonia was the victor.
Sonia didn't realize how effective the response was. Vanessa was left with the notion that if Sonia and Dave had connected, she should know if Vanessa had turned up. Vanessa openly replied, "I haven't seen him and thought I'd catch up. Hey. Do you want to get a coffee? Maybe you can dish on Fulton for me."
Sonia's guard was up immediately. She hardly knew Vanessa, but she had no real reason to not trust her. Still, she had her claws in Dave at one point. To be fair, they were nicely manicured claws, and Sonia didn't blame her. As she considered the request, she realized too that Vanessa didn't seem to be playing any games with her.
"I've got a bit of time. Sure. Come with me."
Vanessa could see that Sonia was protecting something. It could simply be lack of familiarity or maybe bigger. Vanessa's interest was picqued.
Sipping coffee, they talked about the academy's rules and how the students behaved. Naturally, the discussion led to the instructors and even more naturally, it led to Dave.
"Have you heard from him?" Vanessa asked Sonia.
"We keep in touch. He's an excellent teacher."
Was that "he is" or "he was"?
"I'm sure he is. That's part of his charm and why I wanted to see how he was doing. Things didn't work but he's got a special place in my heart, and you never know. Maybe?" Vanessa pretended to muse, though she actually found herself a little jealous now at the prospect of Dave with this very sexy, young woman: a sexy young woman who most definitely had come under some guidance in the last short while. Maybe she had sold Dave short.
Sonia felt her confidence waning, attempting to maintain a ruse. Thinking to how she dealt with her father, she opted for the straight up approach.
"Can I be honest with you, Vanessa? Dave and I began seeing each other at the end of last semester." Sonia wanted to gauge her reaction as well as relieve the burden of gamesmanship.
I knew it!
"That's wonderful!" she beamed, but suddenly, it was Vanessa's turn to be surprisingly crest-fallen. She recalled the little game she played in Dave's classroom, ruefully reminded now that she was not immune to the effects of what she learned was called pre-selection.
