The Alpha Male Event One Saturday morning, four weeks after Turquoise had joined them. Janet's and Jiro's leisurely breakfast was invaded by two extra parents, Catalina and Charlie. And, of course, by the four teenagers, sitting in a row, as per usual. Janet, having grown accustomed to such crowds intruding upon her domestic privacy, continued to butter her slice of toast with all due composure. She made an announcement. "Say, Jenny and Turquoise, you know how you are both getting better at dealing with crowds and socialising with others outside of our cosy little home?" "Err, yes, mum?" said Jenny. "Well, I and Charlie, as responsible mid level officials in the public bureaucracy of our wonderful country, have received our invitations to this year's alpha male event. And our families are invited also." "Alpha Male event?" said Carmen, "I've never heard of such a thing." "Ah, actually the official title is 'The Commercial and Academic Expo and Presentation Awards Show'. It's basically a political bragging event, where the biggest and brightest of our political rulers get the chance to make public speeches to the masses and have private audiences with the powerful. To make the whole thing more palatable it is wrapped up in various business and industry displays, there are entertainment shows, plus side show alleys, and the like." "Oh, you mean the Expo Show." said Mackay. "That's right. Of course, the public are always invited, en masse, to attend. Back in the days when Jenny was little and I was just a junior police officer, we went a few times ourselves. It's a great family outing. But this time, we're being invited to join the more exclusive inner circle. Not the real inner circle, of course. That's right out of our reach. You could say that we're being invited to the public inner circle. Where we can pretend to be on the same social terms as the premier and party politicians and generals, not to mention the movers and shakers of our economy. Us and a couple of hundred of others. But, nonetheless, it's your chance to mix with those considered to be the alpha males of our society. And to go to the same exclusive shows as they do." "Hey, this sounds interesting!" said Carmen. Turquoise kept her face neutral. Mackay rolled his eyes. "Why should I care about such things?" "Naturally you'll never end up being an alpha male, you boy!" said Carmen. She considered her reply for a few seconds. "Ah, but I'm sure that's Ok. Right? I don't want to be too down on you." Mackay sighed. "Of course." "Alpha males and the like aren't exactly what I have an interest in, either." said Jenny. "That's fine. There is a variety of exclusive shows; apparently, they are top notch, the best that public money can buy. As invitees to the inner circle, we will be able to attend those. What's more, my boss Parker has managed to wrangle an invite for Mackay's parents and their children." "Oh, so Melissa can join us! That's good, I want to get to know her. Count me in! And Mackay too, of course." said Jenny. "Ah, yes." said Mackay. Catalina smiled a big happy smile at Turquoise. "I'm sure you are happy to attend, also?" "Ah, y-yes. Just for all of your company, of course." Turquoise looked to her right, at Carmen. "Since, after all, I'm not exactly one to find alpha males all that enthralling, either." "Brilliant! The Expo is next weekend, and the exclusive event is on that Saturday night. Let's see, I suppose that means that the two girls will have to do a bit of extra charging during the day, so that you can last the night without wilting." said Janet. "Ugh. This charging stuff affects all parts of our lives, doesn't it." said Carmen. "Never mind!" said Catalina, "Just do something like your school study or whatever, to fill in the time while you have to sit together." "We'll manage." said Jenny. She got up and fetched the charging calendar sheet, which had been stuck to the kitchen board. She and Carmen studied this. "Let's see, if we leave the house at 6pm and get home at midnight, that means we need an extra four charging hours beforehand..." said Carmen. Jenny marked up the calendar and put it back on the notice board. "Right, Mackay! You need to be available starting from midday." said Jenny. "Ok" On that Saturday, they did the required extra homework together. Then, that afternoon, with two girls fully charged, Mackay was given some firm instructions by the three girls. "We're using the common bedroom for deciding what we are going to wear. So you are Not Allowed In! Ok?" said Carmen. Mackay decided that the safest thing to do was to lock himself into his own bedroom. He played some computer games, maybe even had some private time with himself. Turquoise laid out on the bed the clothes she was thinking of wearing. "This is actually my only good set of clothes. I had to scrimp and save up my lunch money to buy this, since, my, you know who, never cared much for..." At this point Turquoise stopped and sniffed a few times. Jenny patted her back and Carmen held her hand. "Anyway, I quite like my women's halter neck crisscross jumpsuit with the wide leg long pants. Of course, I've never had the chance to wear it, except in my room. I would sometimes put it on and wistfully dream about going out with friends..." Carmen wrapped her arms around Turquoise. "Turquoise, if you keep going on like that we're all going to end up crying." "Ah, right. Of course, now I am going out with my friends, aren't I?" She gathered together her feelings. "Right. Ok. Now, the only remaining problem I have is what should I add to it. A hat perhaps? Or maybe a shawl? Maybe one of you has something suitable?" After an intense half an hour discussion, they decided that one of Jenny's shawls was suitable. Turquoise took the clothes, went to her bedroom and returned soon after. "Beautiful, just beautiful." said Carmen. "Hmm, wait a moment." She rushed to her bedroom, and returned with a broach. "Here, this matches the colour of the shawl. If I pin it here..." She carefully pinned it to the halter, patted down the material, and both she and Jenny stood back to have a look. "Yep, that'll do. You have a very striking figure and this shows it off wonderfully." said Carmen. Jenny laid out her selection on the bed. "As you know, I don't want to draw too much attention to myself. Well, apart from, err, well, never mind. So this long frock, and this long sleeve top, plus a sash, is what I'm thinking of." She went to her bedroom, and returned, wearing them. "Now, I'm thinking of using these earrings, but I'm not sure if they go with my best necklace..." It took only twenty minutes of three-way discussion to resolve that thorny issue. Finally, it was Carmen's turn. She fetched from her room and put down on the bed a number of clothes. "Well, now, if I'm going to attract an alpha male, then obviously I need to dress for the part. So something like this-" She pointed to a few items. "A short, tight skirt, a crop top that shows off my midriff and some cleavage, thigh length felt boots... But, well." She fidgeted her hands and looked away from the others. "You see, I am after all still a teenager, and, my plan is to wait until I have demonstrated my intelligence by getting a university degree, and, and, I feel that, that, it's too soon for all of this, and, well..." her voice trailed off. Unseen by Carmen, Jenny and Turquoise exchanged meaningful glances. Jenny nodded to Turquoise. Speaking as mildly as possible, Turquoise said: "Well, you know, if that is what your feelings are telling you, then, maybe it is best to go with them? After all, there is plenty of time left before you have to think about such things." "Yes, right!" Carmen rapidly picked up the indicated clothes and bundled them onto a chair. "In that case, I'm thinking that something more conservative, but not as conservative as Jenny's selection, would be ideal. Now I've got these dresses and tops and I was thinking..." Considering the complexity of the choices required, the fact that they managed to resolve the issue and agree on Carmen's ensemble in only an hour was quite an accomplishment. Wearing a knee length frock, a fetching top with half length sleeves and showing just a little cleavage (but definitely not too much!), a necklace and earrings, and one of Jenny's fancy hair clips, the three girls decided that all was good. "Right. Let's see what Mackay has got." said Carmen. Mackay: Carmen banged on his door and the three waited for him to emerge. Mackay had already dressed; it took him only five minutes. Most of that time was taken up with trying to remember how to do up necktie. He unlocked the door and took a look out. The first he saw was Turquoise. She smiled tentatively back at him, wondering what the verdict would be. He tilted his head slightly. "Say, that's a very nice outfit! It suits you well." In his mind's eye, he had a brief memory flash: Turquoise standing, staring blank faced at the train going past, as he held her. "I'm so glad you are here today." He held out his hand, palm facing Turquoise. She briefly bumped it with her fist. "Thanks. Thank you." The next he saw was Carmen. She looked him straight in the face. "Well?" He grinned. "Why, this is much more sensible than I thought you might be! But it shows of your very attractive figure very well!" "Just remember, it's not for your benefit, Ok?" "Right." Finally, he turned his head a bit more and took a look at Jenny. She stood there, one hand in the other, looking like a child trying to get her mother's approval. "Ah." He stopped, took a breath. "Ah, that's very nice." She might not have been showing much bare skin, but her dress and top were stylish, their colour suited her complexion, and their form showed off her figure well. Wow! She looks really nice! "Ah, yes, yes, err." he said. The two looked at each other for a few moments, until Carmen, deciding that enough was enough, broke in. "Hey Mackay! Stop ogling Jenny. And let's have a look at your outfit." Half an hour later, and with Mackay wearing a different coloured shirt, the four made their way to the lounge. "I still think that my original shirt was perfectly adequate." "We have to be in your company for the whole night, so your opinion doesn't count!" said Carmen. The Alpha Male Event: The three families arrived at the Expo Show site in their separate family cars. Instead of going to the main entrance, they went through a discreet side entrance which was marked 'Private Function Only'. They each had their own personal pass, as they walked through the entrance turnstile it displayed their names and automatically gave each of them a programme. "Ooh" said Janet, looking around. "This is much more elegant than the public venues." "And wow!" said Mackay, "According to the programme, food and non-alcoholic drinks are free!" He eyed the bars and food catering stands lined up on one side of the hall. "Hmm," said Janet, "There's a display showing off the latest in police communications gear." She and Charlie drifted off in that direction. Jiro and Merton noted that there was a top of the line yacht being showcased. "Its price is only forty million, perhaps if we combined our budgets for the next millennium?" said Jiro to Merton as they set off to investigate. "We're going to get coffee, listen to the Jazz band, and peruse the programme for our next step. Look after Melissa for us?" said Mary, as she and Catalina disappeared. Four older teenagers and one younger teenager ambled their way through the crowds, rubber necking the assorted displays. Many of the people present were obviously just like themselves, members of the public who were connected to someone with sufficient importance to get an invitation. But there were others, the real upper class. Men in expensive suits strolling around with the air of owning the place, ladies in very fashionable clothes chatting with each other. And threading their way through the crowd were waiters, eager to tend to their needs; artists and actors, enjoying the scene before entertaining them; security people with dark glasses strolling around, ready to protect them. The teenagers, being typical for their age, never paid much attention to the leading political and economic news, and thus were not able to recognise many. But they did know a few. Political party leader Watson, hopeful future premier, for example. He was present, working the crowd. A genial hello here and there, a few brief words to any of his cronies that he might cross paths with, longer chats with those who were hoping to gain some benefit or other, or were just curious about talking to their social superiors. As well, he was keeping his eyes open for any attractive ladies. After all, you never did know, did you? By now, Melissa hadn't been able to contain herself. She had grabbed Mackay's hand and headed towards one of the food stands. Thus leaving the three girls by themselves. Who unexpectedly found themselves face to face with Watson, a certified alpha male. Carmen: Carmen recognised him straight away. "Oh" she said. He's a genuine alpha male! What do I do now? She saw him look at Turquoise, and instantly dismiss her from his consideration. She saw him look at Jenny for a little longer, before dismissing her. He looked at her. She put on her best smile. "Ah, hello, sir." But Turquoise and Jenny are wonderful people. And he just casts them off without a second glance? He smiled back. "Good evening young lady. Are you enjoying the evening so far?" "Y-yes thanks." He was standing very near to her. She had to tilt her head to look at his face. He had a moustache. None of the fathers in her group had facial hair, and Mackay certainly didn't. The individual hairs stuck out, and some were sticking out of his nostrils. That's... Slightly off putting. He was middle aged, had crinkles and lines on his face. They're not like my mum's and dad's; they have nice smile lines around their mouths and eyes, but him... She could just smell his body odour; not exactly unpleasant, but, strange. She mentally compared it to the other girls and to Mackay's. I hadn't realised that there was such a difference between people. His hair was thinning and his skin had a few colour imperfections. All of the parents look better than him. And he was still standing close to her. She was beginning to realise that he was too close. Much too close. When it came to the ladies, Watson was experienced. And in certain circles, it was acknowledged that he had not the slightest interest in any lady who was unwilling. Being an accomplished politician, he was able to change gears so smoothly that Carmen didn't even notice. "May I order you and your friends some delicious confections to eat or drink? Being a VIP I can command the waiters." He waved to the nearest one. "Madam, if you could tend to these three nice young ladies?" He smiled congenially and drifted off, looking for another mark. Consequently, by the time that Mackay and Melissa were returning with their snacks, the three girls already had their own. Mackay: "Hello, how come you lot managed to get served before us?" said Mackay. He wondered why Carmen was looking down, studying her ice cream and fruit concoction as if it disagreed with her. "Oh, we got the ever so exclusive attention of an alpha male!" said Turquoise, "Well, Carmen did. However..." Carmen sighed, "It wasn't what I expected. I don't think I want to talk about it." "Oh" said Mackay. At this point Melissa skipped over to Jenny. "There's going to be a variety show for all the family starting soon, can we go together?" "Of course!" Melissa hopped around in excitement - and crashed full tilt into a man who was walking past. Her ice cream went all over the bottoms of his trousers and his shoes. The man stopped and reflexively reached out and prevented Melissa from falling. "Err, sorry." he said. He looked down with mild dismay at his trousers and shoes. He was wearing a military uniform and cap. There was a row of coloured ribbons on his chest above his heart. The older teenagers recognised him. General McIver. Another certified alpha male. Oh, crap. The three girls stood there, not daring to move or speak. Melissa, looking up and realising that he must be a Very Important Person, went red in the face. "Oh, s-sorry, I, I didn't mean to..." she started to say. McIver casually waved a hand to call a waiter over. "My dear girl, I wouldn't worry too much, it's only ice cream." "But - but -” "See these pretty coloured ribbons?" he said, pointing to his chest. "They mean I've been in active service, fighting to protect our country. I've had, err" He briefly glanced at Melissa again, and at the four teenagers who appeared to be with the young one in front of him, and seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say. "Let's say I've had worse things happen to my uniform. So I would be a pretty poor soldier if I got upset at something like this, wouldn't I?" "Ah, yes?" By now, the waiter had arrived. The general, with casual authority, requested the cloth that the waiter had over his arm. He used it to clean up his trousers, and handed it back. "And if you could get this lady another one of those ice creams?" The waiter went to dispose of the dirty cloth and to get another ice cream. The general kept walking. Mackay and all the girls relaxed. And right at this point in time Catalina and Mary came up to them, holding their programmes and talking about what to do next. Carmen: "Hello you lot, anything exciting happened yet?" said Catalina. She got a brief summary from Mackay. "Well, that general was certainly very nice. Much better than the politician." said Carmen when Mackay finished his explanation, "Maybe I should try talking to someone like him?" Both Catalina and Mary started giggling. "Sorry my dear, but, you see, General McIver, and for that matter the other general, both barrack for the other side." said Catalina. "Err, what does that mean?" said Carmen. "It means they like men, not women." said Mary. "Oh." said Carmen. I'm not having much luck with alpha males this evening, am I? She looked away from her mother, and by chance saw Watson. He was now chatting and smiling with another older teenage girl. Presumably, she was a member of one of the entertainment shows, since she was wearing bunny ears, white boots, a bunny tail - and a bikini. She appeared to be laughing at one of Watson's jokes. Oh. Yuck. I think I'm out classed. Or something. Carmen held on to Turquoise's arm in an effort to counteract the feeling of distaste and uneasiness. "Anyway, what do you all intend doing now?" said Mary. "Because there are several shows about to start soon. And we are off to the fashion parade. See ya!" Mackay: Mackay looked at his programme, and then looked in the appropriate direction. There was the entrance to one of the theatres; a sign above it said 'Cabaret' in big letters. And in smaller letters was 'Striptease'. This last was holding his attention. "Ooh, look, there's even one of the dancers standing out front, waving to the crowd." He consulted his programme again. "Apparently her name is Molly. She's really attractive..." "What are you talking about?" said Carmen. Turquoise was a bit more aware of where Mackay was coming from. "He's referring to Molly the dancer, one of the attractions of the cabaret. And I agree with him, she does have a nice body." Mackay looked around to check on where his sister was. She was currently negotiating the eating of her ice cream without spilling anything more, and was not paying much attention to the others. "Well now, I've never actually seen a striptease before." Actually, he had never seen a naked lady before. But he was thinking that there was no need to tell them everything, was there? He was sure they could work it out all by themselves. "Perhaps I could go to the cabaret and you lot can take Melissa to the variety show?" he said. Hopefully. Jenny looked indignant. Carmen and Turquoise exchanged glances. Carmen grabbed his collar and yanked him in her direction. Turquoise stood in front of him, arms akimbo, and said: "Surely you're not going to leave me and Jenny all by ourselves in this big crowd?" "Ah, you have Carmen. And Melissa... Hmm, well..." He knew where his responsibility lay. "Ok, Ok, let's all go to the variety show." Before turning in the direction of the variety show, he gave one last look of regret at Molly. And so did Turquoise. Hand in hand, Carmen and Turquoise led the way. Followed by Melissa, and then, walking separately, Jenny and Mackay. Mackay wondered if something might work. "You know, Jenny, while we're like this you might as well hold my hand and walk right next to me. That way you get some extra charging. You never know when it might prove convenient, do you?" "Sounds like a good idea." She took his hand. Well, well, it worked! They sat, in a row, in their usual order, with Melissa to the right of Jenny. They didn't have to sit like this, Carmen and Turquoise could have chosen to sit separately. But sheer force of habit governed their actions. Mackay sat between two girls, holding the hand of one of them. All in all, this isn't half so bad after all. Afterwards: "I'm getting hungry." said Mackay. Melissa, who had, after all, been taking notice of all of the handholding, decided to do her bit to encourage things along. "I can see mum over there, I'm going to join her and eat with them. See you all!" Only the VIPs had the right to enter the restaurant areas, sit at tables, and be waited upon. The others had to contend with helping themselves to the smorgasbords and finding their own seating. Four teenagers, paper plates full of food, wandered around and ended up in an area with seats and some privacy supplied by lots of pot plants. "Me and Turquoise are going to sit separately for once, just over there." said Carmen. So Jenny and Mackay sat, by themselves, with a moderate amount of privacy. Still hand in hand, balancing their plates on their knees, Mackay eating his meal with his left hand, Jenny with her right. Jenny: All around them was the noise of people talking and moving around, but here between the pot plants, there was silence between the two. Jenny looked at her food, speared several chips with her fork, and ate them. She was acutely aware that she was sitting next to a male. Holding his hand. I'm so sorry I freaked out so much when we first started all of this. I hope he can see past all of that. She looked at his hand in hers. Then looked at his face. He was currently eating a mouthful and watching glimpses of the crowd going by, through the potted scenery. He really does have a kind face. There was an uneven shadow of stubble on his chin. Mackay had started shaving on a regular basis recently, but he was still getting the hang of it. Perhaps I could give him some feedback about that? His hair stuck up in all directions. He's really is hopeless at hair, isn't he? His skin was several shades darker than hers. Makes him look interesting. Perhaps like one of those heroes in the romance adventure books? He had a few freckles. Kinda cute. At this point, he suddenly turned at looked at her. Both of their faces went red and they both looked down and studied their plates. His hand tightened around hers. She was breathing heavily, as if she had just run up a flight of stairs. He knows! Right. Ok. She looked back at him. "Ah. Hmm. Mackay?" He looked back. Eye to eye. "Yes." he said. A group of kids went past, excitedly chatting with each other. Two adults walked by, arguing with each other. A woman went past, calling out a request to a waiter. The sounds of many voices echoed around, the smell of food wafted by them. "Ok. But, but, you must realise that, I'm still recovering from..." said Jenny. "That's Ok." "I really really wish I could get over it, but it looks like it's going to take some time." "I'm not going anywhere. As you perfectly well know." "Ah, so, I really can't, ah, kiss you or anything. Not yet." "We live together. That will do for now. We're still teenagers; we're not running out of time, yet." Hand in hand, leaning against each other, they finished their meals. Carmen: Carmen and Turquoise sat together. Holding hands as usual. "These shrimps are yummy!" said Carmen. "Oh, I didn't get any..." "Here, have a few of mine." Turquoise helped herself to Carmen's plate. After a few minutes, she leant back, patted her tummy and said: "I'm so full." Carmen agreed. "Let's just sit here for a while. Walking around and around is so tiring, especially with a full stomach." She was obsessively running over and over in her head the scenes from her meetings with the alpha males. Oh jeez, this is too hard. She looked down at her hand, holding Turquoise's hand. A hand that was stronger than hers, with a skin shade not quite as dark as Mackay's. She noticed that Turquoise kept her fingernails short and unadorned, unlike her longer, lightly lacquered ones. She was wearing a bracelet, but Turquoise never did. She looked at Turquoise's face. Framed by a long dark brown pony tail, currently cascading over one shoulder and down her arm. Turquoise noticed that she was being watched and looked back, raising her eyebrows. "I've been kidding myself." said Carmen, softly. Turquoise had to lean closer to hear clearly. "Huh?" "All of that alpha male stuff." "Oh. Yes. You have." Turquoise settled in to Carmen's side, putting her head against hers. "Can you wait?" said Turquoise. "Wait?" "Yeah, Wait for me to get better. Wait until I can overcome at least some of my damage." "Of course I can. After all, I'm not ready myself. I'll need some time to get used to what I am. And, of course, there is the fact that I'm stuck with Mackay. Who else would accept me?" Leaning against each other, they enjoyed their mutual silence, and their shared warmth, for a while. Four teenagers: Later that evening, before going to bed. "Ah, girls, I would just like to say that Jenny and I have decided that we are an item. But, rest assured, we're not going to be doing, like, anything, anytime in the foreseeable future..." said Mackay. "You had better not make her cry!" said Carmen. "And, well, I might as well say that Turquoise and I have also decided that we are an item. And, we won't be doing anything, soon, either." she continued. "You certainly took your time to realise." said Mackay. "What do you mean, to realise?" "Well, it’s been obvious almost from the start, you know." said Jenny. "Yeah, I suppose I was the last to know, wasn't I?" said Carmen. Within a day or two, they had informed all of their parents. Who didn't seem to be all that surprised. Relieved, but not surprised. "Well," said Mackay, "I suppose we can now move on to the next thing."