Christy Lake's Sharla Winslowe ~ 03

Crystal's StorySite storysite.org

Sharla Winslowe

by Christy Lake and Misty Dawn

Chapter 3 Strange Events

Part 11 The Halloween Fiasco

Part 12 Christmas Nursing

Part 13 Sweetheart Ball

Part 11 The Halloween Fiasco

"Oh, Come on, Sharla!" Jenny whined, and then stamped her foot petulantly. "You already said you'd go!"

The Halloween Costume Party and Open Costume Contest, hosted by Beacon Basin Mall would begin in less than five hours. Scarcely enough time for these three lovely coeds to bathe and dress!

Naomi nodded briskly and signed empathetically, <You did promise!>

"The redhead glared hotly at her two friends. "Maybe I did agree to go to a party, but I never said I would go NAKED!" She signed as she spoke, the way she had been doing any time Naomi was with her.

<You will not be naked,> the Native American returned in sign. She knew this was not Sharla’s deepest concern; this was not about wearing the almost too revealing costume. But, even to Naomi’s less conservative mind, it did seem as though Jenny had gone to an extreme with the selection. <And you did agree to abide by Jenny's selection.>

"Damn it, Sharla, none of us are gonna be naked. In fact, we will be wearing more than we normally wear to class," growled Jenny, who made no attempt to use ASL. "Most of the time anyway," she amended almost under her breath.

Sharla automatically translated. She did so without really thinking about it.

Grinning broadly, Naomi signed quickly, <She is right, you know.> It was true. Most of the girls on campus, these three included, wore only tank top or tee shirt, panty and jeans or skirt to classes. Though it was turning a bit cool, a few die-hards, such as Jenny, Naomi, and Sharla, continued to wear shorts on the warmer of the cooler autumn days. Gazing at her new friend fondly, she knew what caused her hesitancy. Even though Sharla usually showed no reluctance about showing off those long, gorgeous "runner's" legs, nor did she seem to mind the freedom of going braless, she became absolutely furious, when, near men, it became obvious they lusted for her.

Shaking them gently, making the silken garments rustle, Jenny held three hangers with three different colors of an extremely sheer Roman-style mini-tunic in one hand. These are our Muse costumes for the first three muses Melete, Mneme, and Aoede. In the other, clasped lightly between slim, elegant fingers were three packages containing flesh-colored Danskins. On the bed behind her were three familiar "eggs" containing sheer-to-waist nude-tone pantyhose, and three pair of very fashionable "Scuffs"; a sort of soft slipper akin to a ballet slipper, but with a hard sole. The very pale cream color of the Scuffs would add to the illusion of nudity.

"Yours is the green for Melete or meditation. Naomi gets the red for Mneme or memory. I get the blue for Aoede or song."

"As if . . ." Sharla snipped as she reached forth with obvious reluctance. The color would draw attention to her green eyes and display her red hair dramatically. It occurred to her this was probably just another one of those challenges Jenny seemed wont to throw at her with ever-increasing regularity. But for what possible reason would she, or anyone else, want me to appear nearly naked in public?

When Sharla went to her dresser and took out a pale pink sports bar and matching bikini panty, Jenny said, "No underwear. Panty lines always spoil the effect, Sharla." She didn't mention the fact that in ancient Rome only female slaves wore this style tunic. Nor was she going to tell her that those slaves were not allowed any sort of undergarments.

Spinning to face her friend, glaring hotly, the redhead grated, "Jen, you may do as you damn well please in this, or any other time, but I WILL NOT appear in public wearing that . . . sheer nonsense, and nothing else!"

The sheer force of her words, accompanied by a wave of near-hostile emotion Sharla rarely displayed, caused the other girl to back up several steps. The amply endowed girl's breasts, free of restraint beneath a unicorn tee, actually bobbled as she flinched away from the emotion storm. Though the redhead had not laid a hand on her, it had felt as if she had physically pushed her backwards.

"SHARLA!"

The red haired beauty snapped her head sharply toward Naomi. Though she knew the girl was unable to make even the simplest vocal sound, it had seemed to Sharla the girl had shouted at her.

 she signed slowly and clearly, bravely daring a brief smile of promise.

Incredibly, though the girl signed as always, it seemed an "optical" presence in the forefront of Sharla's mind, as if she was "hearing" the words forming in the other girl's mind as she formed them with her fingers.

Suddenly sagging slightly, as though tired of arguing, Sharla said softly, "This is too much!" then moved, almost staggering, toward the bath. "I need to take a bath and think about this." She was familiar enough with this power that she now thought of as "The Gift," to know from this sudden exhaustion that she had just expended a tremendous amount of energy and that she needed to tap into the crystal power source to "re-charge her batteries."

 Naomi signed, answering, even though both girls realized at that moment that Sharla had not signed her intentions to Naomi, that she had only spoken them to Jenny. She indicated her intentions in ASL, covering for Sharla effortlessly. Somehow she needed to speak with Sharla alone!

Naomi too needed a moment to consider this strange occurrence. How was it possible she knew what Sharla intended without the girl signing? Her words had been just as clear in her mind as if she had read them. Though many weird occurrences had taken place since their first meeting, nothing like this had ever happened. Inexplicable things and it had shocked her at first, but from that first day, their bonding had brought uncanny acceptance.

Jenny misunderstood Sharla's meaning completely, thinking Sharla meant she had to think about the so sexy Roman mini-toga costume, and wearing it to the party. "Perhaps I really shouldn't expect the others to go without underwear just cuz I intend to do so? Darn it though, she has been acting a bit priggish about showing off that fab bod lately! Wonder if she really is going to quit Turnbulls? That costume she wears! Those just too sexy, skin-tight short-shorts and too-snug tee shirts! Those long thick nipples of her sure stand out! Too bad she's so small breasted though."

With a small nod and a tight smile at Naomi, Sharla dragged herself into the bathroom and began running a tub, using a liberal helping of bubble bath and oil beads. Without conscious effort, she lay back in the tub and drew from her green crystal reservoir enough energy to return her to full strength.

"I've a feeling it's gonna be a long night!"

************************

Soft Autumn breeze played about three pairs of long, very shapely, positively female legs shaped by many hours of aerobic exercise, running, walking between classes. Legs enhanced by exquisitely sheer, nude tone sheer-to-waist, sandal foot pantyhose. While the trio of coeds paused at the curb momentarily, after exiting the taxi, Jenny turned slightly toward the cab moving slowly away to join others in a line at the handy "hack stand" a short distance from the main entrance of Beacon Basin Mall. She bent slightly forward; in hopes the cute hunk driving would glance back over his shoulder and see her wave.

Predictably the errant breeze picked up the top-of-the-thigh hem of her soft silk, near-see-through garment and flipped it up over back, baring her backside to the waist. The thong back of the Danskin drew the pantyhose deep into the cleft between her buns. This added to the illusion of nudity, just as she had known it would. Guys would be drooling all over the three of them all night!

"He was cute! Wonder where he got the nickname Pickle?"

Sharla chuckled and as she read the translation Naomi emitted a series of hiccoughs that served her as laughter.

"Oh, quit your moonin' an' com'on. I need a Dew, bad!" snapped Sharla as she slapped Jenny across one pleasingly plump, perfectly displayed buttock.

"Ouch! That hurt! Why did you hit me?"

"Because you're displaying yourself!" Her hands fluttered as she signed both sides of the brief exchange. There was no reason to tell Jenny she and Naomi no longer needed sign. "Because you're inviting catastrophe!"

"Damn it, what's wrong with me showing off a little? You do it all the time!"

"Jen, there is a big difference showing off and blatantly advertising!"

"Sometimes you can be a real bitch, Sharla," she laughed.

"And sometimes, you let the blonde bimbo out." Sharla did NOT laugh. She moved rapidly toward the revolving door and the interior of the mall. "Come on, the Dew is getting hot!"

The girls went through the registration process. They were complimented by several men occupying the chairs behind the registration table on the "uniqueness" of their costumes. This caused Jenny to beam and Naomi to blush while Sharla fumed. It was impossible to ignore their hot lust, the knowing the sordid acts they imagined with her and the other girls. Sharla was certain that with but a small amount of concentration she would be able to slip into their minds and hear their revolting thoughts.

"See there," crowed Jenny softly as the three Muses, in slave girl costumes, made their way from the area marked "Registration" toward a much larger area cordoned off by the sort of velvet rope barriers found in theater lobbies designated as "The Beacon Basin Halloween Disco", "They thought our costumes were unique."

"It was just their way of saying they could not find the proper words to express just how downright sexually explicit these costumes are," snapped Sharla, now nearly overwhelmed by the surging male need surrounding them as the found a table and sat down near the dance floor.

Naomi sensed Sharla's agony and held her hand firmly under the table, certain the act would go un-noticed. Sharla smiled and returned the pressure, then nodded slowly. Naomi wanted the coed, quietly trembling beside her, to believe she was doing okay, even as she told herself, "I think she's going to explode!"

Once more Sharla was startled to visualize words forming in the front of her mind. It was as certain as the sun's rising; she knew what her dusky friend was thinking. Using the same sort of visuals, the young psionic replied silently, "When I do, will you pick up the pieces?"

To her mild surprise, Naomi touched her cheek with a fingertip, and then her lips as she said in that invisible silent way, "Yes! Love, I will always be here for you."

Turning, Sharla's eyes locked with Naomi's. The redhead visibly began to relax. "And I, my love, will always be here for you!"

The next moment the mood was shattered when Jenny returned with a tray heaped with Dews and dogs. "There are some guys from my Stats class here, and they want to dance!"

Four young men, two younger and two older, were behind and to her right. Sharla recognized the younger two. She was sure she had seen them somewhere on campus. One of the older guys thrust a huge, beefy hand out towards Sharla. The other older guy shoved Sharla aside as he reached down and grabbed Naomi’s hand.

Sharla said, "No thanks! I am in no mood to dance right now." As his hard hand touched hers, a vivid image of her on her hands and knees, her backside filled to the max with his rigid manhood, surged rampant and heated into her mind.

In a separate, but similar set of images, she saw Naomi on her knees before the other boy, her mouth filled with him.

Being jerked to her feet, Sharla left her chair and unbound her fury. She jerked her hand from his and sent it flying, flat-palmed against his startled cheek. At the same time, she imagined him being pushed in the belly, landing on his backside and sliding, ending up sitting on his butt several yards away. As she slapped his cheek, the guy suddenly looked very surprised.

An instant later he was sitting down, legs spread wide and was sliding swiftly across the smooth floor to come to rest as a tangle of arms and leg akimbo, lodged partially under an overturned table amid chairs and spilt drinks and other stuff; half-eaten hotdogs, and potato chips, even a couple of purses. The expression of utter amazement on his face as he gasped for breath was priceless.

While chaos ensued, Naomi somehow managed to keep her cool and began herding the girls out of the disco. Jenny shook her hand off and returned to the table where the remaining three guys still stood, mouths agape. She snatched up their three purses and hurried to catch up with her friends.

"You saw?" Sharla asked Naomi.



Sharla hesitated, looked at Naomi. Her mouth opened, her hands came up to sign position.

<No! Talk later! Taxi now!>

Suddenly, Sharla saw the logic in that and began moving rapidly toward the entrance. An all-too-familiar exhaustion threatened to overcome her even as Naomi stood at the curb, waving over an idle taxi from the nearby stand.

When they had settled into the backseat, Naomi hiccoughed in her manner of a laugh and signed, <Hey, we never did get our Dew!>

***********************

Part 12 Christmas Nursing

Sharla wasn’t really looking forward to the Christmas holidays. Somehow, just before Thanksgiving, Andrew had come down with pneumonia. He had spent a week and a half in the hospital. When released to Home Care, he was in bad shape. Dad had rented an electric powered hospital bed to make things easier. About the only time Andrew slept now was when the drugs overpowered the delirium. Someone had to stay with him all the time. Janine, Mom, and Dad were just about shot.

Kevin was going to Seattle, Washington with his folks to spend the holidays with his dad’s grandparents. Jenny was going to Vermont with her Aunt Sheila. Naomi, though she had been invited to spend the holidays with Sharla, had opted to make the trip home to be with her family who was traveling to Colorado to be with her grandfather White Running-Bear.

Sharla had volunteered to take care of Andrew from six at night until six in the morning. Her dad and Janine had been spending as much time as possible, in addition to full time work, with the patient. Both of them had been asked at their jobs, to put in holiday overtime. Mom had spent a lot of hours, practically around the clock, when Andrew was in the hospital; since then she had been constantly on edge. Dad and Janine had both asked Sharla to give some of her holiday time to help her mother. Sharla had readily agreed.

Her family was extremely thankful. They did not know the real reason for her volunteering. From 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM was the quietest time in the house. With only Andrew around, and most of the time in delirium, she could get in some practice. Last summer, she had, she was sure, rescued her friend by using Tele-Kinetic powers. With the school load, her part time job, Kevin’s continuing interest, and Naomi’s tutoring in ASL, the summer had disappeared before she realized what she had done. When the semester started, she and Jenny had moved into a new dorm. Sharla’s experimentation had been severely limited. She loved Jenny like a sister, but felt that this practice of the power was something that could not be shared unless she was a lot more confident in her abilities.

Sharla had discovered that when she went into a very deep concentration, almost a trance, she could do fantastic things, like make the Litter Getters. She had even come up with a self blow dryer, her Water Swatter. After school started, she had started moving things, nothing much; move a paper across the desk, pick up a pen from the floor. Each time she did it, it had taken a lot of concentration and time. Time for such determined concentration was not always available in the Dormitory.

So she had trained herself to always be aware of possible interruptions when she was concentrating. So far she had not been caught in the middle of a concentration session. She had taken care of Andrew two Sundays, and was pretty certain that she could "set mental alarms tuned to Andrew’s needs" and still practice her concentration with no hazard to either herself or Andrew.

She had read in "Enough is Enough" that initial performance of spells required a lot of concentration and should be done in private because an interrupted spell could have some odd consequences.

Sharla wanted to practice some simple things like cleaning the room, picking up things off the floor, putting books on shelves, making the bed, sorting clothes, that sort of thing. Mikey the carpet cleaner, Scruffy Scrubber, and the Water Swatter were handy. Maybe she could come up with some more helpers that would work in the background.

However, she needed some time to practice her concentration and focus. Like Misty told Christine, "Take a simple task and do it over and over and over, paying attention to every detail. Do it until it becomes automatic, and then do it some more until it becomes easy."

Sharla was traveling light. Doing evening nurse duty would not require much in the way of clothing over the holiday season. Dad had shoveled the sidewalk and driveway before leaving for work. She unloaded her suitcase, carryall, and backpack in front and waited while mom put the car away in the detached garage and unlock the front door. Seeing Janine moving around in the downstairs corner room, Andrew’s room, her old room, triggered a lot of memories.

From as early as she could remember, that downstairs bedroom that shared a full bath with the rest of the downstairs had been her bedroom until almost the end of her High School Senior Year. Since he was about six or seven, Andrew had reigned supreme in the oversized storage closet off the rec room in the basement. Last winter mom had taken over the rec room as her studio. Last May, Mom had purchased a lot of materiel for her "Business." The Wreck Room, as it had become known after Andrew moved in, had been converted to her storage area. Sharla had been moved temporarily into the big room upstairs with her sister until summer school started. Andrew had been evicted and moved to Sharla’s old room.

Sharla arrived at the front door about the same time her Mom unlocked it from the inside. The first thing she noticed, as she entered the house, was that the stormy, snowy weather had put a tremendous load on the floors. She needed to get Scruffy and Mikey to work. That would probably do a bunch to relieve her Mom’s worry. Sharla wished she could tell her Mom about Scruffy and Mikey, but she was afraid. She was doing some very abnormal things.

After putting her stuff away in her old dresser, now in Janine’s room, she changed into Pink Scrubs and relieved Janine in Andrew’s room.

She had sat with Andrew the Saturday before last. She had been trained by the nurse in the proper care of the nearly comatose patient. Mom had reported that Andrew had turned the critical point two days ago and was now on a steady recovery course. Sharla was not prepared for the emancipated kid in the bed. Andrew at five feet six inches and possessing a slender build had been a bundle of robust energy. When she had her training, he had been pale and sick. But now, she did not recognize him. He was literally skin and bones.

She took a seat in the padded rocking chair next to his bed. He seemed to be resting OK. The carpet here showed the traffic so her first priority was to try and get Mikey here.

Andrew was stirring again. Sharla was glad. This was the fourth interruption in almost six hours. Other than keep Andrew company and help him with a bedpan or a drink she had accomplished nothing. Her Scrubs were soaking with sweat and her head throbbed. She had not been able to make a connection with Mikey, Scruffy Scrubber, Hazy Piggy, the Water Swatters, or any of the remote Litter Getters.

Although his voice was very weak, Andrew was articulate. She got his midnight medications, a drink, and then at his request oiled his itchy feet. The skin of his toes and the soles of his feet were cracked. "No wonder it itches." She put a liberal dose of oil on her hands and gently rubbed them together to warm the oil. She had propped Andy’s feet up using a pillow under his calves. She spread the now warm oil on both feet and then started to slowly and gently work the oil into the cracks.

It was so soothing, she let her eyes drift shut and concentrated on working the healing oil into the skin, softening up and smoothing the dry rough edges and gently mending the distorted tissue. The oil was warm under her fingers. She felt good as she worked from his heels, across the arch and ball of the feet and then each toe. She rubbed the last of the oil into his big toes and gently eased the sheet over his feet.

"Gods and Goddesses," as Jenny was fond of saying, "I’m beat. Gotta get something to eat, do a quick wash and change and I’m putting a bra on. These wet scrubs are doing a number on my nipples." Sharla logged the medication, drink, and oil massage of Andy’s feet. She reset the med timer. She had been massaging his feet for over half an hour. No wonder she was sore.

Sharla ran up to Janine’s room and grabbed a change of clothes. A quick shower and then a raid on the eggnog and Christmas fruitcake had her feeling back on track. After sponging Andy’s face again, she sat back to contemplate. "Mikey, something about Mikey was the key." Gradually she went over each step of Mikey’s creation. Nothing there except the green crystals. She checked on the crystals and saw them as a light green dimly glowing mass inside a clear blanket. She reached through the blanket and was flooded with energy. "How could I have forgotten?"

"Well really, you half expected it to be all an image of your very active imagination." She answered herself. "Face it, the Green Energy is Power. It is what powers Mikey, Hazy Piggy, the Water Swatters, Scruffy, the Litter Getters, and all the rest. It can even power me, if I let it."

She firmly attached a green line from the Battery Crystals to herself and settled down to some serious study. She had Mikey do her thing. The room floor was almost spotless. Other than a few bursts of energy as dirt was converted, nothing special happened.

Projecting her awareness, she observed that the TV Room and Lounge was empty, even though the TV was running. Without thinking about it, she moved Mikey across the hall and had her start doing the carpet thing along the wall. But now, here, something was very different.

Almost immediately Sharla found it. As Mikey cleaned the carpet, energy was flooding to the crystals as dirt, sugars, water, dead skin, and other debris was converted to energy. Blip, blip, blip, she sensed something happening. Sharla asked Mikey to slow down. Mikey was barely creeping along the rug. Blip, blip, blip, blip, blip. "That’s what I’m looking for Mikey. Go a little bit slower." Blip.

Mikey had found a Dust Mite, cleaned it, dried it, and Blip, translocated it to the jar in her closet back in the dorm! After studying the transport of several more Mites and a batch of Mite Eggs, Sharla realized that Green Translocation was simple and took almost no energy. She had been unconsciously doing it with Mikey, the Litter Getters, and the Water Swatters. She told Mikey to have fun while she considered this revelation.

To test her theory, she translocated Scruffy from her dorm room to the kitchen. "OUCH!" an expression of pain rang in her head. A crash of falling furniture came from the kitchen.

She discovered the stack of stackable chairs Dad had rented for Christmas Eve Dinner dumped across the room. Making her way to the corner, she saw the scuffed orange shape of Scruffy with a dark circle right in the center of its top. She picked up Scruffy and gently brushed the circle away while checking for any other damage.

She had translocated Scruffy to the floor of the kitchen ok, but above the floor was the stack of chairs. She had not "looked." After reassuring herself that Scruffy was OK, she let her start doing her floor thing in the house, with the caution to just do it "once over lightly," one room at a time until people were back home and asleep.

As Sharla restacked the chairs, Scruffy was already gliding across the floor. The last chair was in place when the rest of the family came trooping in. Janine hurried to the front door to let Dad in. He was carrying a large box and did not want to maneuver the obstacle course that was the kitchen.

Mom and Sharla checked on Andrew and then after a goodnight hug and kiss each, the rest of the family hurried upstairs for some much needed rest.

The rest of the morning, until the real morning when a droopy Janine arrived to relieve Sharla at 6:00 A.M., was spent doing translocations and far seeing. She discovered that almost anyplace she had been, she could see. Once she was looking at a location she could see her way around, just as if she was there.

Sharla decided that the Wax Bucket containing the second half of Scruffy was not safe in the dormitory laundry room. Keeping in mind the recent almost disaster, she checked that the laundry room was empty and then found an empty space inside a fireplace foundation that was big enough. She translocated the second half of Scruffy to this secure place.

The only exception was Jenny’s house. She could see the house from across the street, but detailed views from closer were impossible. Translocation was almost as easy, as long as she remembered to "Look" at what she was moving and "Look" at where she was moving it to.

She was really into it. She sorted a load of clothes for the washer, put in the detergent, and then managed to twist the settings knob and then push it to start. Something was not right and it took her a while to figure out that a new lever valve now shut off the washer’s water supply. She pulled that and the washer was busily working just as it always had. "Huummmpph! Daddy and his new gadgets!" Then she chuckled, recalling her own array of gadgetry, "At least I come by it honestly!"

After making sure Andy had his 4:00 A.M. meds, she brought Mikey from the newly refurbished lounge rug to the sick room. As her final practice for the morning, she remote set the breakfast table. While she was doing that, she cut and got some more fruitcake for herself.

When Janine dragged in, Sharla was bouncing with energy. She gave Janine a big hug and wished she could give some energy to her. Almost as if her wish was coming true, she felt Janine wake up.

Releasing her big Sister, Sharla headed for the cot that dad had moved back into Janine’s room. By noon, awake, all cleaned up and dressed in red, white, and green, Sharla headed the kitchen to help prepare the big Christmas Eve Feast.

Sharla ate early and relieved her dad on the sick watch. While helping prepare the feast, Mom and Janine had told Sharla that Janine would be moving out of the house at the end of May or the first part of June. Sharla would be able to have her own room in the house starting with the new summer term.

Andrew was restless, so Sharla talked to him. She told him about her classmates, especially Jenny and Naomi. She told him about the Halloween Fiasco and how she had felt being on display like that, admitting, "really, Andy, I don’t mind showing off a little, it is just that I hate seeing what guys want to do with me when they look at me." After his 8:00 P.M. meds, she described her dream room in great detail. She had plenty of time to think, because all the family came in one at a time to wish her and Andrew Happy Holidays.

By midnight, Andrew was totally frazzled. Mom put a stop to any more visits. After getting him cleaned, doped up, and in a clean bed, Sharla closed the door, and started talking. The most peaceful topic she could think of was her dream room so she started describing her dream room in great detail. The sound of her voice seemed to calm and comfort Andy so she kept talking. She discussed every detail and the reasons for each feature. By 4:00 A.M., when she gave him his meds, he seemed calm and quickly slipped into sleep.

She spent the remaining two hours practicing fine control by straightening the covers on the bed, arranging the timers and other items on the upper surfaces around the room. She was feeling pretty good when Dad relieved her Christmas morning. He asked if she could stay up for the gift sharing, and was happy that she could.

Sharla hit the jackpot. The whole family had pooled together to get her a Personal Computer with a printer and a bunch of software.

Andy was very uncomfortable Christmas night, when Sharla took over the nursing duties. He’d had a very bad afternoon. Sharla had helped Mom change his diaper. Andrew’s arms and legs were dry, almost to the point of cracking, and extremely itchy. She checked his feet that had been in such bad shape two nights ago. They were completely healed. Even the scar across the underside of his right arch from a bicycle accident when he was six, was gone. Sharla warmed some lotion and liberally coated his arms and legs.

She took a seat on a stool and adjusted the bed down to a comfortable height. Starting with his left foot, she started massaging the oil in and visualizing the restoration of the skin to a healthy state. When she paused to get some more oil, she noticed that Andy’s left foot had healthy skin. She continued her massage, and noticed that the skin was changing under her hands, exactly the way she visualized it. Under her rapidly moving hands, his leg visibly changed.

Andrew seemed to be resting easier. She moved her stool to comfortably work on his arm. His entire arm including his pits, shoulders, and upper chest were dry and flaking. Sharla liberally coated the entire area, including his neck and under his chin with lotion. Making sure she was solidly connected to the Crystals, she visualized the oil soaking in and leaving a smooth, healthy hairless skin. It worked. She went around the bed and oiled the right arm and chest and neck. A moment’s concentration and the skin was repaired. For the Right Leg, she imagined a thong on Andrew and then visualized the area from the tips of his toes to "his thong."

It was a bit more complex, but almost instantly, the skin was smooth and healthy.

It was almost a shame to wake Andrew for his 8 P.M. meds; he was resting so comfortably. But, Andrew took his meds and quickly drifted back to sleep.

Sharla was excited about healing Andrew’s skin. She wondered if it would be possible to help more. She knew the antibiotics were to give the white blood cells a chance. She visualized the marrow in Andrew’s legs producing supercharged blood cells. These super white cells were circulating and gobbling the pneumonia bacteria. The supercharged red cells were transporting the necessary ingredients to repair damaged tissue. Since a healthy body was self-regulating, she knew that when the need decreased, the production of the super white cells would decrease. To make sure that this process would not further deplete her brother, she connected his skeleton to the Green Crystals.

Sharla and Janine hit several Boxing Day Sales, as soon as the stores opened. As a result, Sharla was asleep when the Doctor came to check on Andrew. Other than being emancipated and weak, the Doctor could not find anything wrong.

The Doctor had brought a "Recovery Diet" and "Rebuilding Physical Therapy Exercise Schedule," more to give the family hope, than for any other reason. He recommended immediate implementation of both and said that probably by Wednesday the bedside monitoring could be eliminated.

Just before Sharla started her shift, the doctor called and told them to discontinue the antibiotics. The blood work showed no sign of infection. While Andrew slept, Sharla made herself comfortable in the rocking chair and tried to contact Naomi, using the mind-to-mind linkage that had been developing since Halloween. She could sense Naomi but it seemed like a red glass dome was keeping them apart. She tried for the first time, to contact Jenny. Sharla could sense the blond, but it seemed like a blue glass dome isolated her.

Frustrated, she relaxed and held Andy’s hand. "Wonder what Andy thinks of me?" Pictures of herself flooded her mind, impossibly glamorous mixed in with pictures of her in a shapeless black cloak, chasing him away from something with a long whip. She dropped his hand and the images stopped.

Andrew woke at 8:00 P.M. with a raging thirst. He drank a half-quart of juice. Sharla knew he was recovering because he was very embarrassed when she helped him with the bedpan, something he had not noticed before. She worked his arms and legs through the recommended exercises, cautiously transferring the green energy from his skeleton to the depleted muscles. After feeding him, giving him a sponge bath, she watched amazed as he downed another half-quart of juice and then suddenly went to sleep. At midnight and again at 4:00 A.M. it was the same thing.

Sharla was still stunned by the powerful visual images from her brother’s mind. To divert herself, she studied the red and blue barriers around her two friends. By the time Andy woke at midnight, she had worked out that the barriers were very similar to the blanket she had wrapped around her Green Crystal Batteries, but instead of coming from the green, they came from red or blue energy.

By the time Andy’s four o’clock wake up arrived, Sharla was ready to admit temporary defeat. She could sense the barriers around her friends; but not where it came from.

By the time the doctor made his return visit on Wednesday, Andrew was walking with help. Wednesday night, Sharla had her cot moved into Andrew’s room.

Over the next several days, Sharla got lots of practice with her powers. New Year’s eve was fun concentrating the alcohol in drinks and setting it on fire.

On New Year’s Day, Sharla was able to contact Naomi. She was on a bus coming back to school. It seems that an Uncle, one of the few remaining shamans, had visited them for Christmas and become alarmed. He had sensed a linkage between Naomi and some powerful spiritual force. He had been so insistent that he had chartered a plane to transport him and Naomi to his home. For an entire week, Naomi had to live in the medicine lodge.

After all sorts of ceremonies and rituals, her uncle had declared that the link existed but the female controlling the force was benevolent. Naomi thought it was a blast, that she could be linked to some spiritual powerhouse.

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Part 13 Sweetheart Ball

The cafeteria was not too crowded, but enough so that the three coeds, Jenny, Sharla, and Naomi, were sitting alone at "their" table on the dais in the corner. They could hear that most of the conversations held at the tables surrounding them concerned the upcoming Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Ball. Two of them, Jenny and Sharla had definite dates, while Naomi’s prospects were still a bit "iffy." A young man had been seeing her, but in a rather casual manner. He had not yet asked her to go to "The Ball" with him. While the fourteenth fell on Monday, the actual Gala Ball was being held on Saturday, the twelfth. A week and a day remained for the three to prepare.

"Are you sure, Sharla?" asked Jenny, slightly incredulous. She could not understand why anyone would actually "make" their own ball gown. "A ball gown really is special, and it’s pretty important they’re fitted properly." Though she had, of sheer necessity, learned enough ASL to be conversant, she was still somehow ashamed to use her ability to sign in a place as public as the cafeteria. When she did use it in public, as she was now, she signed rapidly and with as little flash as possible. Both her mother and her aunt, Sheila, continually admonished her, "young women of quality simply do not wave their hands about while speaking."

"Yes, Jenny, I am sure. I am making my own gown for this silly shindig." Since mid-January, her "collectors" had been busy searching thither and yon for spider silk. Her "spinner" had been busy night and day. She had increased her loom to produce a sixty-inch wide sheet of material. At present she had nearly twenty yards of a shimmering, translucent material so light and airy it felt weightless even in the two bolts she had stored.

"Silly shindig!" gasped Jenny. Even Naomi looked surprised by Sharla’s almost too downgrading term for this affair. "Sharla! You can’t be serious! The Sweetheart Ball is, after all, the signal event opening the spring party season here on campus."

Jenny shook her head and continued, "Simply put, anyone who wants to be someone on campus purely has to attend."

Naomi hiccoughed a short laugh. Sharla grinned, then said in firm tones as she slowly signed, "Jenny, there are only two things I have to do in this life; the first stinks and the second terminates my existence."

There were chuckles heard from some of the closer tables. By this time, most of the students knew Naomi; had accepted her with few reservations; and most had learned enough ASL to chat with her casually. Those closest to the girls’ tables had "overheard" Sharla’s translation and could not contain their mirth.

The stately blonde drew a breath to say more, but Naomi cut her off. <Drop it, Jen. Your Preppy blonde guise doesn’t work here, you know.> she signed carefully, keeping her swiftly flowing sign low and unobserved by the surrounding tables sitting on the main floor below the dais. <Besides, it is just a glorified shindig. This is a Great Plains State University, not one of your New England Charm schools.>

"Oooooh! I don’t care, Shindig sounds so . . . so . . ."

"So Americana?" Offered Sharla." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, fudge. Kevin’s gonna be picking me up in a couple of hours. And Jenny, I know Kurt is coming over. And Charles is sneaking Naomi out again." She turned and smiled at the dusky girl. "I think Charles is getting serious about you, sis." Sharla signed as she spoke.

Naomi blushed furiously, ducked her head. She had it bad for Charles. Jenny and Sharla just giggled, then dug into their salads.

Later, in their room, Sharla looked up from her reading and asked suddenly, "Jen? When’s your fitting?"

Jenny looked across the room to the clock. "Damn! I gotta hurry!"

The blonde scrambled and began dressing quickly for her appointment with the fitters. First was a pale green satin thirty-six "C" cup bra. Jenny twisted her arms up behind her and fastened the hooks and eyes of the bra. The matching thong panties had a lacey touch. A matching lacey garter belt seemed to confuse her for a bit. "Under or over the panties?"

Sharla heard the question in her mind as if the blond had spoken aloud, started to answer, then just as suddenly realized it wasn’t only men’s thoughts she could hear at times. "Under would make it easier for those calls to nature," Sharla replied in the same manner, with curiosity.

"Thanks," the blond replied absently fastening the support about her waist and adjusting the straps to slip under the brief thong. She didn’t hesitate, seemed not to realize Sharla had answered her unspoken question silently.

"Ah ha, chalk one up for me!" The redhead chuckled silently. "I can do it!"

A lacy V-neck matching pale green satin camisole was slipped on over her head next. For some reason, Sharla was suddenly aware the blond truly enjoyed the feel of silks and satins against her smooth skin. They seemed to arouse something in the deep center of pleasure within her. When Jenny glanced to check her nails--the coral polish looked to be in good shape.

The young sensitive was suddenly just as aware as the blond that there did not appear to be any rough spots on those long, shapely nails to snag the nylon stockings Jenny intended putting on.

With a delicate shiver, the blonde carefully rolled up the suntan stocking and thrust her toes in. They were seamed stockings! And Jenny well knew that they would make her legs look almost too sexy! Working the hose up her long legs was another pleasing sensation, and this sharing of the pleasure nearly overwhelmed the redheaded sensitive.

A lacy-hemmed half-slip, a pale green almost see-through, V-neck, silk blouse, and a short, pleated, plaid skirt quickly followed. She was almost ready.

Last, came the shoes. Sharla wondered how Jenny maintained her sanity with so many choices: Skuffs, Spectators, Pumps, Espadrilles, Sandals, Penny Loafers, a closet full of shoes. Sharla wore Sandals, Pumps, Loafers, or Sneaks. Deciding what to wear with what was a major decision that the blond seemed to ponder too long all too often as far as Sharla was concerned.

Pale green pumps with a three-inch heel.

"I thought you were going to have your formal fitted?"

"I am!"

"Aren’t we just a bit over-dressed for a simple dress fitting?"

"Hey, I gotta make an impression or wind up wearing seconds. When I am there, I want them to know I am the one in charge and can well afford their best, materials, and efforts. And it is a GOWN, not a dress I’m buying. Nor is it by any means SIMPLE!"

"Jenny!" Sharla wondered again what was coming over her friend. She actually believed she was better than others these days.

The blonde glanced again at the clock and quipped, "Well, gotta run!" Then she air-kissed in the redhead’s general direction, grabbed up her purse and was out the door in a flurry of continuous motion. The redhead stared after the blonde for a long moment. She’s really losing it! If that is what it means to have money, I will stay poor.

With a helpless shrug, she lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, sent her "collectors" on a search for a selection of willow wands which would be perfect for the hoop frame that would form the "inverted bowl" shape of her formal’s billowing skirt. Within a short time the stack of peeled wands was sufficient and Sharla began weaving them into the proper shape. When necessary, she had the strong spider silk thread bind the joint securely.

Soon the three-foot-wide bell-shaped frame and belt snugging it firmly about her tiny waist was finished, and she began the task of teaching the willow flexibility so it would flow through doors, assume the proper folds when sitting, standing, or dancing cheek-to-cheek with Kevin. Lifting it off over her head, Sharla set the fragile frame aside and told it to remain unseen by all except her. It wouldn’t do to have the frame seen through the translucent material that would become the gown skirt.

While she had been working to form the frame, she had skinned to bra and panty and was still in the scanties when she turned from the now invisible garment, thinking to begin forming the bustier she would wear to give her an ample bust and a cleavage that would be sure to captivate Kevin’s interest for the entire evening.

"Oh! Naomi!" she gasped when she saw the slightly plump form of her Native American cohort standing there silently, with a look of utter fascination on her beautiful features. "You startled me!" A sudden realization dawned. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know you have The Gift, luv." With a nonchalant wave of her hand that drew apart the lapels of the worn man-cut chambray shirt, worn over a snug "Save the Bison" tee, she set Sharla’s mind at ease. The clinging tee almost displayed the very slight, but embarrassing plumpness of her waist. And the waistband of her jeans defined a soft roll of "Baby fat". A gentle plumpness that remained no matter the hours of PE, the running, the aerobics, the walking she shared with Jenny and Sharla!

"The Gift?" Then her mouth dropped open. Naomi was not signing and neither was she! Her knees would no longer support her and she sagged down to sit on the edge of the bed in a sort of "sidesaddle" posture. "This is so weird, Naomi. I mean . . . I’m hearing your words, but I am not hearing them in my ears." It was then she noticed her friend was wearing a pair of tall spike-heeled pumps covered with shimmering red satin. "That is so strange, because they are new, and satin, and Naomi never wears heels with jeans, no matter how popular it was with the other coeds."

"Yeah, it is sorta strange, but, ya know, I kinda like it." Naomi answered, and then moved over to sit on the bed in about the same pose, only with her left hip perched on the edge in a reverse "sidesaddle." Their knees touched. "And Charlie likes girls to wear heels." She blushed furiously as the errant thought escaped her. She had not meant for Sharla to know that it thrilled her to do things for her prospective beau’s pleasure.

"So, how long have you known you had The Gift?" Sharla asked.

"A couple of years I think, though I only really became aware of my being able to control it this past summer." Naomi answered. Sharla began to fidget a little now that the shock of being caught in the act of using her unique ability was wearing off.

"You don’t think I’m a freak. Do you?"

"No way! It is just another ability you have, like your ability to sign, or that ability you have to sing so sweetly."

"But you can’t hear me sing. . ."

"No, but I can see and almost feel the pleasure it brings you to sing. You seem to exude joy from every pore."

"You seem to accept . . . Ahh . . ."

Naomi hiccoughed in her manner of a laugh and grinned at her friend. "My grandfather is a tribal Shaman. I have learned and have seen some pretty strange things. Your ability to manipulate things is pretty tame compared to some of the things I have been privileged to see him do."

The posture Naomi had assumed had caused the small roll of the "baby-fat," that she was so self-conscious of, to be quite noticeable above the waistband of her jeans. Sharla, who was staring at, but not seeing, the slight bulge, suddenly felt her friend’s dismay and realizing the source was her eyes on her, suddenly looked away to her glimmering satin shod feet. "Nice shoes."

"Oh! Yes, they are, aren’t they," Naomi quickly replied, then, accepting the diversion of her friend’s attention to her shoes, lifted her right foot. "I‘m only wearing them to break them in a little so I won‘t break my neck this weekend," she went on. Then stretching it straight out in front of her, twisted her small foot to display the shoe fully for Sharla‘s inspection. "They will match the gown I hope to wear to the ball . . . If Charlie ever gets around to asking me."

"He will! In fact, I bet he asks you tonight." Her eyes left the gorgeous shoe and swept to the clock.

"And speaking of tonight . . ."

Naomi’s eyes went to the clock and registered a bit of surprise herself. "Omigawd! Charlie will be here in a couple of hours and I still have to wash my hair!"

The mind of the psionic sparked. "Come on, in my bath. I’ll help with that mop. I’ve just the thing." It was the drying of the woman’s hair that made it such a chore, and Sharla had the answer. "Huummm! She knows, so why not show off just a little," she asked herself and sent an alert out to her "Water Swatters." "Come on, girls, let’s have some fun!"

"Girls? What girls?" quizzed Naomi as Sharla grabbed her hand and drew her toward the attached bath she and Jenny shared with their next-door neighbors in the dorm. Four girls, one bath, and can you imagine?

Some twenty minutes later Naomi stood naked to the waist before the mirror in the bath, still marveling at the rapidity her long, heavy tresses had been dried to its lustrous metallic sheen. With the slightest movement of her head, shades of rust, blue and green flowed amongst the silken tendrils. "Sharla, you’re a magician! Or a witch! It’s fantastic. I can’t even imagine it ever being any shinier!"

The teen giggled. It had been so simple. With each tiny water spout working on each individual strand of hair, it had been only a matter of directing each spout to snag the nearest dust mote out of the air and to use it to scour a shallow spiraling groove around each strand, from root to tip, to form millions of light refracting surfaces to create the rainbow of colors Naomi was viewing.

"Now, if you could only do something to rid me of all this fat!"

"That will be my next project! Right after that hoe-down this weekend is over."

Sans bra and tee, Naomi slipped into the chambray work shirt and ran back to her own room to begin dressing for her date with Charlie. Sharla took a few minutes to finish the bustier, and then dressed for her own date with Kevin. Jenny returned to the dorm late. She had time only to redo her makeup before Kurt arrived for her.

Without planning it so, all three couples wound up at a popular just-off-campus bistro know for not being too fussy about ID. As the evening spun to a close following a couple of dances and a single beer apiece, Charlie surprised everyone and without his normal shy stuttering and stammering, boldly asked Naomi to be his date to the Sweetheart Ball on Saturday and did so in ASL. It was a first for him. He had been studying for a week for this moment.

Naomi accepted graciously and shocked the group by planting a wicked kiss on his surprised kisser. Thirty minutes later the group broke up and by midnight-thirty, all girls were in their own bed alone. The boys took a bit longer to reach their beds, but they were as alone. The only downside was that throughout the evening, Sharla was continually aware of Kevin’s lusty animal desire and later, the other boy’s lusts for their respective dates.

Just before dawn, drifting into awareness from an extremely sensual, highly erotic, dream that had Kevin in the stellar role, Sharla discovered her own finger, drenched and slippery, poised at the peak of her pert cleft. "By the Gods and Goddesses, this is happening all too frequently!" she muttered, using the phrase she heard Jenny use so often of late, crawled out of bed and went to clean up. Moments later she was deep into a sound, restful sleep.

Saturday, in a fit of shopping frenzy, the three girls descended en masse upon Beacon Basin mall, and after shattering the calm demeanor of nearly every dress boutique in the sprawl of the mall, found the "perfect gown" and coordinated lingerie for Naomi. She had to buy new shoes to match, as the ones she had been so pleased with the day before simply would not work with this gown.

This required a second storming of the sedate stores, but this time, shoe stores were the targets of the three shop-till-you-drop crazed coeds. A "simply scrumptious" strappy, stiletto heeled sandal was selected. The trio of talented try-it-on troopers took lunch at Carson’s On The Concourse, whose tables and chairs had served to create The Beacon Basin’s Halloween Disco. A third search-and-purchase mission netted matching accessories; anklet, bracelet, earrings, necklace; and a "simply divine" dyed-to-match clutch purse.

Sunday morning, Kurt, "I was in the neighborhood and . . ." dropped by to take Jenny to breakfast. Though they invited her, Sharla begged off, claimed studies, but really wanted to work a bit more on her own costume for the approaching gala. After the couple had left, Naomi sort of sensuously slithered into the room and sat silently watching Sharla work.

The bustier, similar to a corset, only different, was fashioned from cross-thatched layers of the spider silk and used the smaller willow wands as stays. She also, shamelessly copying from a very popular bra, of which she owned several, made the bustier cups padded and "pushemup" to display a deep cleavage. Using the same technique to color fiber, she told the bustier to assume the same color and flexibility as her skin.

Wearing the clinging support garment under a tee-shirt, and the "pantaloons" she’d made, giggling while Naomi hiccoughed her mirth during their creation, under a knee-length, full-circle, pale blue denim wraparound skirt, Sharla invited the Native American beauty to the "Sunday Brunch" with her the university served in the cafeteria.

The midnight blue pinafore worn over a rose cap-sleeve tee shirt disguised Naomi’s slightly pudgy waist and the flared skirt gave her faintly flat bottom a bit more definition and shape. Both girls were in a gay mood and simply sauntered across the now always "spanking clean" campus to the cafeteria. After their meal, when they made the required trip to the loo, Sharla had to wonder how women of yore maintained their dignity; she had to remove the skirt to untie the drawstring holding the pantaloons snuggled to her narrow waist.

They took in the matinee feature at the Beacon Basin quad theater, and then returned to their respective dorm rooms to finish their study assignments. Tuesday evening a message from the very expensive seamstress informing the blond she could pick up her finished gown at any time made its way into Jenny’s possession. Wednesday afternoon while Jenny and Naomi had classes, Sharla put the finishing touches on her own formal.

Sharla was looking at her finished creation when she had a panic attack. No! It’s not finished! Jewelry. It would never be completed until accessorized with appropriate jewelry. Woebegone eyes drifted over her meager collection as she stood and moved to the desk that served as a vanity here in the dorm. Nothing she had here or at home would be even close. She had seen most of Jenny's vast selection. Nothing was really suitable. The gorgeous bit of spider silk before her was in dire need of emeralds and gold, if it was to be displayed properly.

Stripping quickly, she sank into a lotus position to concentrate. She wanted a matching set, a pendant, earrings, at least one finger ring and one bracelet. Possibly a fancy tiara like the one Cindy wore. And she needed jewelry that had not been used in a long time so no one could claim they needed it. This jewelry had to be available, not locked up in a museum or bank safety deposit box somewhere. It had to belong to no one. It was a tall order, but those were the provisos she decided on.

Itemizing her needs, she relaxed and allowed herself sink deep into concentration. This was so strange, it seemed like she was literally dissolving into a mist, and then the silvery mist began spreading out, like a fog bank shimmering in the sunlight. She felt a number of twitches, or gentle breezes, that immediately released against her, as if guiding her. One pushed, and then pulled a bit more urgently, as if thrilled, and then she felt her whole dispersed self being drawn excitedly to one location.

Soon she felt herself re-assembling, giggled as the image of a "Roberta Robot" clicking together piece-by-piece flashed through her vivid imagination. Amazons, track stars, playboy bunnies, slave girls, and now a female robot. "Sharla, m’girl, what will you think of next?" Finally feeling collected enough; she looked around and recognized herself to be in the bottom of a deep gully that ran near one of her jogging paths.

Just around the curve of the gully, she saw where last week's rain had caused part of the bank to collapse. Then something caused her to look up, at a point about three feet from the soil's surface, barely caught in a few remaining roots was an antique jewelry box about a half foot tall, maybe a bit less, by maybe a foot wide by almost two feet long. Somehow she knew without looking the carving adorning the exquisite jewelry box would be an undecipherable rune.

It could not have been very heavy because the root tendrils that were holding it were very small. After tapping into the Green Crystals for an energy boost, Sharla gently lifted the box free. Once certain that it was no longer tangled with the roots or anything else, she translocated the fabulous feminine find to the center of her room.

Resuming the form of the silver fog, Sharla followed, but this time knew she was in control, traveling as she willed and at her own pace. "This is a great way to travel. I’ll have to do it more often. No flight attendants, either, Ghad, I hate their bu-byes!"

She hoped no one noticed that the other clouds seemed to be drifting in another direction. Within moments she was whole again, standing in her room and was gazing at her fortuitous find and she somehow knew the treasure box before her was hers.

Even without opening the lid, she knew every piece of jewelry she envisioned wearing with her ensemble would be there, and as she moved the delicately carved box to set it atop the surface of a five-drawer dresser, she knew no one would notice it. Then it occurred to the young psionic that she knew, in the very depths of her heart of hearts, many things about the ancient hand-wrought case.

The teen knew the case would, could never be stolen from her, as any would-be thief would overlook it as worthless junk. No one would ever question the ownership of any item of the rune chest’s contents she ever elected to wear. Items from the chest could be given, but the gifting had to come from the heart without contemplation of possible remuneration. None of the jewelry could be worn with malicious intent, to purposely put down another. None but those of the "gentle sex" could wear any of the jewelry without dire consequence.

Sharla chuckled and wondered where that antediluvian, archaic term had popped into her mind from. Then remembered that in her writings, Misty had occasionally referred to women as the "gentle sex." The redhead had to wonder if it were somehow possible the erstwhile "Misty" had been so formidable in her mastery of the "craft" that she was able to reach beyond the ages to become her mysterious benefactor, and to ask herself, "To what ends?" It was then that, with a sharp gasp, she realized she had been naked the entire time she had been in the small ravine.

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Saturday came all too soon and proved to be the day of frenzy all three girls expected. They spent the entire morning in the salon, lunch on the concourse, and then the whole afternoon preparing and dressing and complimenting one another on their dress and hair and makeup. Though it was a close call, all were ready when their escorts arrived. A calm descended and the evening progressed without a single serious mishap or embarrassing occurrence.

Jenny’s dressmaker had truly outdone herself and brought together sparkle, color and an exciting combination of material to create an awesome gown of multicolor foil dot, lace, tissue lame and tulle. The strapless bodice, providing Kurt an eye-filling display of her spectacular cleavage, was of sparkling foil dot in shades of pink, lilac, kiwi and blue, which lit up a pretty black lace overlay. The billowing skirt was of lilac, blue and kiwi tissue lame beneath layers and layers of delicate tulle and crinkly crinoline.

Under it all was a matched set of panty, garter belt, and top-of-the-knee-length bouffant slip. The beautiful blonde’s long, graceful legs were encased in sheer-to-the-top, thigh-high stockings. On her feet were matching black satin pumps with excruciating four-inch heels. A beaded, draped onyx choker emphasized her slender neck. Matching Daisy Dangle earrings graced the lobes of her delicate ears while below-the-elbow satin gloves gripped a satin handle bag.

Where Jenny had chosen to wear black, Naomi wore cherry to display the pure glory of her ebony tresses and dusky skin tone for Charlie’s pleasure. Her dazzling ball gown of satin, taffeta and tulle held his attention throughout the evening. To force attention away from any hint of thickness about her waist, the bodice had an alluring sweetheart neckline and center front draping to display ample expanse of cleavage. An extra full skirt of layers of tulle and crinoline gave her the appearance of having the full, round buns she felt she lacked.

She also wore gloves, but in soft, shiny satin that came to a point above the elbow and a beaded handle bag contained her few personal items. Beneath the bouffant slip that fluffed her skirts all she wore was sheer-to-the-waist pantyhose and cherry-dyed-satin strappy sandals with three-inch heels. The set of anklet, bracelet, ring, choker, and earring matched perfectly and was somehow enhanced by the tulle shawl included in the ensemble.

Though all three girls could have been, possibly were, "Belles of the Ball" it was Sharla in her spider silk "Cinderella" gown that drew the spotlight’s attention on more than her fair share of occasions. It was a gorgeous creation, a true cotillion gown in deepest Kelly green satin back taffeta and tulle created exclusively of the soft spider silk. Sparkling rhinestones twinkled from the folds of the side-draped, dropped waist bodice. The extra full skirt was formed of layers and layers of tulle and crinoline draped over the willow wand frame. Tulle in the form of a triangular shawl draped her smooth shoulders and above the elbow satin gloves graced her slender hands to send shivers of delight racing up Kevin’s spine whenever the back of a hand brushed his cheek.

The Tiara, earrings, pendant, bracelet, and ring she had known would be in the chest were perfect, as if designed exclusively for her and enhanced the effect of the ball gown with faultless perfection. The tiara, made entirely of antique gold filigree was set with a line of perfect, multi-faceted stones that Sharla knew were diamonds, centered above them was a perfect emerald the size of a Robin’s egg. The earring were of matching gold filigree and set with tiny diamonds surrounding yet another perfect emerald. The pendant depending from a chain of the same antique gold filigree was yet another perfectly faceted emerald set in gold surrounded by more diamonds. Seven smaller circular plates of the antique gold formed and linked together to fit her slender wrist exactly. Each circular link repeated the large emerald encircled by diamonds design of the other pieces

The ring continued the theme though in a much more sturdy, elemental style. It was a ring she knew was meant to be worn, not kept hidden in a jewelry case. She also knew the gem in the ring was a green energy crystal rather than an emerald and that the clear stones were yet another form of an energy crystal. She also knew that by wearing the ring she would not have to return to her storage every time she used The Force. Mikey or one of the other units would continually recharge the ring.

Other than the breast- enhancing bustier the only "undergarments" she wore were the saucy lace knee-length pantaloons she had envisioned and fashioned in spidery lace and above-the-knee stockings she had crafted from leftover spider silk thread. Since the hoop and billowing skirts were difficult to maneuver at best, she wore a low-heeled, dyed satin pump and was quite able to "dance the night away" without aching feet. And dance she did, as she discovered by keeping Kevin close, she was not so overwhelmed by the blatant sexuality of other men. The end result being that she actually enjoyed herself, for once.

The entire night went by without a hitch, the boys were perfect gentlemen at all times and all three girls were returned to their dorm without incident by three o’clock.

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� 2002 by Christy Lake. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.