Mackay: Has a discussion with three girls to further clarify certain things One morning soon after Seff's three dates, Mackay woke up. He was slightly ahead of the others, and sat in his bed, blanket over his lap. Jenny and Carmen stirred in their sleep, then subconsciously realising that things around them had changed, they woke up also. Jenny sat up and, still half asleep, arched her body, stretched her arms up, and gave out a great big yawn. Unfortunately, Mackay was in a somewhat embarrassing condition and would have preferred to make a dash for the privacy of his bedroom. But only if he couldn't be seen. Going slightly red in the face, he stayed where he was. Seeing Jenny's silhouette like that, she really has got a very attractive body. Very attractive... Say, has she stopped wearing a bra under her pyjama tops? Oh, shit, this is getting just a little awkward. By now, Jenny was becoming fully awake. "Oh," Yawn, "Good morning Mackay." She leant over towards Mackay and looked at his face from close range. "Err, umm, why are you blushing?" Mackay was finding Jenny's presence to be overpowering. Her hair was in disarray, falling down her back, with some strands going across his arm. His imagination, working overtime, conjured up the image of her body, warm and soft, pressing against his own... Oh shit. I'm in deep trouble. I should have woken up earlier and made my escape. To try to reduce the stimulus, he turned his head to the other side. Only to see Carmen sitting up, although she was looking towards Turquoise. At least she was still wearing a bra, he couldn't help noticing the strap, under Carmen's pyjama top. Actually, I didn't really need that extra bit of information right now... Turquoise was bold enough to give Carmen a hug. And Mackay couldn't help noticing that the top two buttons of Turquoise's pyjama top had come undone. Half obscured by Carmen's body, he could see a certain amount of cleavage. This is getting really really bad. He hastily averted his eyes, and looked straight ahead. He also crouched up. I hope nobody notices. Oh-oh... Fat chance, Mackay. Jenny gave a good long look at Mackay's face, and then glanced down briefly at the blankets scrunched up on his lap. "Oh, I see. You're embarrassing yourself again, aren't you?" Gulp. "Hmm, what, err," Carmen shook her head to clear away the last remnants of sleep. "What's that, oh, right, Jenny, I see what you mean. This is a bit awkward, since I still have half an hour left before I'm fully recharged." So Carmen, for the time being, kept on sitting right where she was. By now, Turquoise, still hugging Carmen, was fully awake and also aware of the situation. "So, this is one of those times where we are supposed to pretend nothing is happening and that he is just going to his room to go to the toilet?" "That's right," said Carmen, "But, this isn't the middle of the night. And, well..." "Normally, by about this stage, you would have said something about him being a disgusting boy and made a facial expression of utter contempt. And probably dashed off to your room." said Jenny. Sigh. "I know, but I have improved." said Carmen, "And I still need my charging." The three girls looked at Mackay and marvelled at how red his face could go. Even taking into account his darker complexion, it was still extremely red. Mackay stared ahead and wished he could escape. But Jenny must have been feeling slightly evil this morning, since she reached across and grabbed his right hand. Silence for a few moments. "Actually, I have been thinking about this. Considering that we have officially coalesced into two couples, who will presumably one day, you know, enter into some sort of physical relationship, it may be time to start working out a more, shall I say, sophisticated arrangement between ourselves?" said Turquoise. "Yeah, we are stuck to Mackay, Jenny and I. So us two couples are going to be a lot more involved in each other's private lives than is normal. We just won't be able to avoid knowing a lot about each other. We're going to be sharing a lot." said Carmen. "But definitely not sharing the actual physical part!" said Jenny. "Oh, definitely." "For sure" said Carmen and Turquoise. "Agreed, Mackay?" said Jenny. "Ah, totally agreed. Totally agreed. I'm not suicidal, you know." "And, us two will still be using our dressing gowns when we move between our bed and our rooms!" said Carmen. Vigorous nods from Turquoise. She still had her arms around Carmen's body. She flicked her long hair around, so that most of it cascaded across Carmen's neck and down her shoulder. "But nevertheless, Mackay is a normal heterosexual boy. Which means he just can't help himself noticing us. Isn't that so, Mackay?" said Turquoise. Mackay risked a look towards Carmen and Turquoise. "Y-Yes, I, err, am definitely noticing. And, you two look, well, gorgeous as you hug each other, I hope no one minds? Please?" He was conscious that Jenny was tightening her grip. "All things considered, I am going to have to allow that. Carmen and Turquoise are special. It can't be helped." she said, "Just remember that I and those two talk with each all the time..." "I think I can get used to it. Being admired for my good looks, that is. Even if it is by a boy. As long as it is the boy that keeps me alive on a day to day basis." said Carmen. "And, what about you, Turquoise." she then said. Turquoise rubbed the side of her face against Carmen's. "It it's Mackay, it's Ok. Any other boy, definitely not. But Mackay, well he's nice, he saved my life, and he saves your life. So I think I can get used to it." "Err, thanks." said Mackay. Who was still acutely conscious of his current physical state. "Are you still in an embarrassed state, my dear?" said Jenny, with a smile that was showing some teeth. Also this was the first time she had used the word 'dear' to him. "Y-yes..." "As long has you continue to make an effort to hide it from us, I suppose that's all right." said Carmen. Jenny had some more things on her mind. "I'm sure, Mackay, that you are like any other teenage boy, and have a few magazines with pictures of naked ladies stashed away in your room? Or, probably, thumb stick drives of images?" "Y-yeah. I cleaned out my old room at my parent's place, and all of that, err, incriminating stuff, is now in my room here." "You should realise, I am a fairly possessive female. Or maybe I am an extremely possessive female. Whatever. So, you know, if you're going to have me, plus share a life with two more gorgeous girls, and considering that we just can't get away from you, I really think you should - just stop looking at pictures of other ladies. Carmen and Turquoise, don't you agree?" "Oh definitely." said Carmen. "Sounds fair to me. If he wants my permission to admire my body, even if it is always going to be under a full length dressing gown at the very least, he needs to pay a suitable price." said Turquoise. "Of course, this is nowhere near the full price, but let's proceed one step at a time, shall we?" "So Mackay, by tonight you will dispose of all such images, right?" said Jenny. "I can't fault your reasoning. I will." said Mackay. "Of course, from now on I consider I have the right to enter you room, err, well, with permission of course. So there had better be no hidden caches of magazines or thumb stick drives!" said Jenny. "I'm still not suicidal." "And thinking this through a bit more... The only way it is going to work is if us women are the ones that set the pace. In new situations, we decide, between ourselves as need be, what the boundaries are going to be, and how we want Mackay to interact." said Turquoise. "Agreed. Of course, we have to be realistic in our expectations. After all, he is only a boy." said Carmen. "Yes. And we are going to have to have a lot more of these discussions in the future, and it's going to be uncomfortable and even painful on occasions, but that's the way it is." said Jenny. At last, Carmen separated from Turquoise. "I'm fully charged! Right, Mackay, look away for a moment." she said, as she and Turquoise got out of bed and scrambled into their dressing gowns. After a moment, Mackay, realising it was safe to look back, did so. Just in time to see Carmen shoot her arms up and gave her body a good stretch. Incidentally showing off her nice figure, even if it was concealed by clothes. Mackay definitely noticed this. And the others definitely noticed him noticing. "Fine, Mackay. It's fine. Just don't forget that us three girls own you, Ok?" said Carmen. "Ah, I won't" Turquoise grabbed Carmen's hand. "Here, come to my room for a bit." They left, leaving Jenny and Mackay alone together. Jenny took a visible breath, then hopped out of her bed and sat, on top of the blankets, on Mackay's bed, right next to him. They looked into each other's eyes from close up. "I don't mind being like this with you, as long as you understand that nothing further is going to happen for now. Ok?" said Jenny. "Yes. Even like this, this is good." said Mackay. He took a chance, and put his arms around her. She did not object. "I think that even if we weren't stuck together, I could have fallen for you. But since we are, then it's just as well that we are compatible, isn't it?" "Yes" "You're not perfect. You're nice and you are protective towards those you love. But without anyone pushing you, you tend to slack off and goof around with games and easy stuff. You probably would have gotten into university without what happened to us, but only achieved a lacklustre result. You're passive and easily let other people take the lead. But, of course, in our current situation, that is a good thing. And us girls can give you a lot of pushing to get you to do what you should. And, of course, since I'm bossy, we go together well." "Ah, thanks." "You know, I think I can end up enjoying your company." "And I think I can enjoy your company. Although I don't want to be bossed around all of the time." "Don't worry, I'll keep it in moderation." said Jenny. "And now, this is all you are going to get, Ok?" she said. She leant forward and kissed him on the lips. For a few seconds, he felt her warm, moist lips, against his. "Ok, that's enough. I'm going to my room. Oh, and this weekend, I'm due to dig over the veggie patch. Normally dad helps me, but this time you can do it. Ok?" "Sure, I'll help." Jenny got out of bed. She imitated Carmen's stretch, but without wearing a dressing gown. So she displayed a bit of her midriff as she did. Then she scampered off to her room. Mackay was alone. He got out of bed, stuck his head out of the door. No one in sight. Phew. He dashed across the corridor, into his room, closed the door, and locked it. At last... After a while, he had a shower, got dressed, and packed his school bag. Then he fossicked around his desk and under his bed, and extracted a pile of magazines, and half a dozen thumb stick drives. Could I give these to some other boy? Nyah, too embarrassing. Besides which, the only suitable one I know is Seff, and, well, ah, let's forget it. He put the magazines into a plastic bag, along with the other rubbish from his bin. Then sat down at his computer and started re-formatting the thumb sticks. Have to re-format, not just erase. Since erasing them only flips some bits to say that the memory pages are free, the image data is still present. As he waited for each drive to be re-formatted, he had some further thoughts. So, I get to admire Carmen's and Turquoise's bodies, with their approval. Limited approval, but still. That's actually quite an achievement, considering up to now I've had to sneak looks at every girl whose body I have ever admired. I'm sure most were aware of it, but none would have been all that enthusiastic about it all. But now I get to have Jenny as a girlfriend, and I still maintain friendships - strictly platonic! - with the other two. Hmm, overall, not bad. Maybe the price I have to pay for saving the girls is not very high, after all. Wait a moment, our situation means that Turquoise, and to a lesser extent Carmen, also get to admire Jenny's lovely body. So does that mean that things are not quite so one sided? Perhaps I should say something about this... In his mind's eye, he ran a few images past: Carmen saying that he was owned by them. Jenny laying down the law about pictures of naked ladies. Turquoise talking about partial payments. On second thoughts, I think I will leave things as is. Turquoise: When Carmen and Turquoise had left the room, they had headed straight for Turquoise's. Turquoise held Carmen's hands. "You would like me to give you another hug, don't you?" They were up close to each other, Carmen leaning back her head to took up to Turquoise's. "You are mellowing, Carmen." said Turquoise, "Back before I joined this group, I noticed you would be quite abrasive towards others. Not only the boys, but the girls too." "Yes. Being with the other two, and especially with you, makes me feel a lot more relaxed with myself. And you have improved a lot also. You're no longer a timid little tortoise, creeping around inside her shell, keeping everybody locked out." "Thanks to you and Jenny. And Mackay." Silence for a while. "And now, this is all you are going to get, Ok?" said Turquoise. She leant forward and kissed her on the lips. For a few seconds, Carmen felt her warm, moist lips, against hers. "Ok, time for you to go to your room and get ready for today." "Oh, remember that you need to give me help on my maths assignment, tonight." said Carmen. "Sure, I'll help." Jiro and Janet: At breakfast, Jiro noticed that Mackay seemed to be unusually contemplative. And the three girls were unusually chirpy. He made a leap of logic. "Say, Mackay, have you had some sort of talk with the girls?" "Yes, you're correct." Janet, who had been poking a knife into a jar of jam, trying to scrape out the last remaining dabs, stopped what she was doing and listened. "How did it work out?" said Jiro. "Actually, very well." said Jenny. Agreement from the other two girls. "Although, I have discovered, girls can be really scary." said Mackay. "You mean Jenny?" said Janet. "No, I mean all three of them." Janet relaxed and went back to spreading jam on her toast. "Well, it relieves my mind to hear that," said Jiro, "It means that you lot are going to be getting along just fine with each other in the future." Turquoise: Cuddling a baby "Hey, everyone," said Carmen at breakfast soon after, "You all do know that my brother is having a baby? Err, that is his girlfriend is having one." Mackay frowned in concentration. "That's right; I noticed she looked distinctly pregnant when I first met you at the hospital. Of course, I'd since forgotten all about it, what with various other things happening..." "It was accidental, but they have decided to make the most of the opportunity. And what's more, I have volunteered us for regular babysitting duties." said Carmen. "Ooh, wonderful. I haven't had much chance to cuddle babies, before." said Jenny. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." said Carmen. "I'm not sure I'll be all that good at it." said Turquoise. "You'll be all right, I'll show you what to do!" said Carmen. "That is, after I find out myself from Kiara." "Well, while you lot are at babysitting, I suppose that gives me a chance to catch up with some game playing." said Mackay. Both Carmen and Jenny, showing amazing synchronization, grabbed him by the collar. "You're coming with us!" said Carmen. "That's right. If you ever want to be a father in the future, just saying, mind you, then you need to learn how to hold a baby also!" said Jenny. Gulp. "I suppose so..." said Mackay. Soon after, Kiara had her baby. "I hadn't realised just how pregnant she was, when I saw her in the hospital." said Mackay. And, a week later, Carmen was unable to contain her enthusiasm. "Right, we're going to visit the baby tonight! It's much too soon for us to baby sit him, but we can introduce ourselves to him." At Kiara’s house that evening. "Err, you really sure I should..." said Mackay. "Mackay, just stand there like a man and take it!" said Carmen. "I mean, take him." Jenny put a small towel over his shoulder. Mackay put up his hands. Turquoise carefully and gently transferred a small baby across from her arms into his. It feels a lot easier being close to him when we're both looking after a baby. "Support his bottom with one hand and his head with the other." said Kiara. "This feels weird.' said Mackay. The baby gurgled and burped up some milk, which ran down the towel and across Mackay's shirt. The girls giggled. Mackay's eyes boggled, but he had to keep on holding the baby. "At least someone please wipe off the gunk!" Back at their home, having a late night snack at the kitchen table. "That was fun, we're definitely doing it again!" said Carmen. "And did you enjoy it?" said Turquoise to Mackay. "Well, hmm, I suppose it takes some getting used to it..." said Mackay. "I'm sure you will. Won't you?" said Jenny, poking his shoulder with her finger. "Oh, definitely!" A week later, around the kitchen table again. This time it was only the three girls, Mackay had been volunteered by them to help Janet with the shopping. "Say, Jenny, assuming you continue with Mackay, do you intend having children?" said Carmen. "I really hope I continue with Mackay. And, yes, I think that having children would be nice. After we have all been through university, of course." They listened to the sound of the windblown branch outside tapping on the window for a while. "And, well, would either of you ever want children..." said Jenny. "Hmm. Good question. I mean, we don't actually have to, you know, sleep with a man to get pregnant. I'm sure we can arrange something or other." said Carmen. "It's a bit icky, but!" said Turquoise. "Yeah, isn't it. How a woman in a heterosexual relationship ever puts up with it, I don't know... no offense, but!" said Carmen. "Oh, assuming things get to that part, I believe I will be able to cope." said Jenny, "Of course, that brings up the question, which man are you going to ask to donate the sperm?" Three faces slowly went red. "Well, there is an obvious candidate, isn't there?" said Turquoise. "In fact, he is the perfect candidate. He knows exactly what the situation is, and will always be on hand to be a father to his children." said Carmen. "Providing that he maintains certain conditions, about which I'm sure we will be able to inform him, and make him aware of how - important - those conditions are, well, then, I'm sure I can agree to it." said Jenny. "Oh, and I'm sure he'll agree also. If we ever ask him, that is." she added. The branch tapped the window a few more times. "Let's not tell him about this, yet, Ok?" said Jenny. "I agree. It's getting, ah, very serious, isn't it. We definitely need some time to think about the implications." said Turquoise. "For that matter, time to actually start our physical relationships." said Carmen. Jenny giggled. At this point in time, the front door opened and Janet came in, carrying bags of shopping. Closely followed by Mackay, carrying a big cardboard box. Going by the label, it apparently contained baby's nappies. A bulk buy, 128 of them. "Hi, kids! Catalina is coming over later, and she rang me up to tell me to snap up these nappies at a bargain sale price!" said Janet. Three girls looked at the box, containing 128 nappies. They looked at Mackay, currently holding said box. They looked at each other. "So, Mackay needs a lot of nappies, all of a sudden?" said Jenny. Three girls fell out of their chairs and collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically all the while. What's more, they resolutely refused to tell anyone what the joke was all about. In bed with the flue: The flu season that year was interesting. As in the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times" interesting. For a brief period, half of the school students were absent. Nobody died, at least no one from the River Island School died. But there was no lack of sick kids around. Turquoise lay in bed and groaned. "How do you feel?" said Carmen. "God awful. My stomach doesn't want to know me, my throat as got razor blades in it, my head must be clamped in a vice with someone turning the handle, and, bloody hell my eyes are burning from the brightness, turn down the lights!" This was said in a voice that was a hoarse whisper. Her face looked as if she really was feeling those razor blades in her throat with every word she uttered. Carmen, a picture of perfect health, looked at Jenny on the other side of the bed. Who was also in pink of health. Actually, they could barely see each other, the light was off and the window blinds were down. "Ok, I'll try to get the room darker." said Jenny, as she fiddled with the controls to the blinds. There was a sudden gasp of urgency from Turquoise. "Ooh, gotta get up..." Carmen helped her stagger up, and then escorted her out of the room. Turquoise made a dash for the toilet, with Carmen waiting outside. Jenny was left in the darkened bedroom, looking at the other bed-ridden occupant of the room. Mackay, looking like a drowned rat, fitfully slept on his bed. His beard could have been described as casting a nine o'clock shadow, except that he had only recently needed to start shaving, and there was not enough of it to quite make it. Instead, it merely looked unkempt. As was his hair. He feebly moved his arms around and sort of woke up. "Argh, what's the time?" he managed to mumble. "It's early morning, Sunday." said Jenny. She put her hand on his forehead. "Yep, you are definitely running a fever; I'm going to get mild burns if I leave my hand here." "Ugh. And wasn't today supposed to be Saturday?" "You have been out for some time, you know." Turquoise staggered back into the room and cautiously sat on her bed. "Ouch" she said, as her posterior hit the mattress. Carmen wrapped her arms around her, and gently lowered her down, then tucked the sheets carefully around her neck, leaving her arms outside. She looked at the clock. "It's about time for another dose of medicine, help me, Jenny?" They prepared two glasses of water and put in the required number of tablets. After they dissolved, Carmen propped up Turquoise's head and helped her drink, and Jenny did the same for Mackay. "Ok, you should be feeling much more relaxed soon." said Jenny. "Meanwhile, we need to get some clean sheets..." said Carmen. The two girls left the room. Mackay woke up a little bit more and randomly waved his arms around. In doing so, his arm spanned the gap between the beds and his hand flopped down onto Turquoise's. "Huh?" He painfully rotated his head, to see her hand in his, and to see her looking back at him. "Sorry, but you look horrible." he croaked out. "No kidding. I feel it. Just like what you must do, judging by your looks." He clasped her hand. "This is somewhat ironical, isn't it?" he said. "Hmm" Five minutes later, Jenny and Carmen returned with the clean sheets. "My oh my, both sound asleep and holding hands." said Jenny. Two healthy girls sat down, Carmen on her side of the bed next to Turquoise, and Jenny on the left hand side of Mackay's bed. Thus Jenny's and Carmen's knees where almost touching. After a while, Jenny reached out with her hand. "This is going to be for life. So why not we hold hands also?" As it turned out, Jenny and Carmen never got the slightest touch of the flu. "You know," said Mackay after he had mostly gotten better, "Maybe that's a side effect of my healing power - if it can maintain your health in spite of the enormous cellular damage you suffer, then it probably is an easy job for it to casually brush away the effects of a simple flu." "Lucky Carmen and Jenny." said Turquoise. Mackay was not able to agree since he had already left the room. He was holding his hand on his bottom, and making a run for the toilets. Obviously, he was not quite fully over it, yet.