ACADEMY GIRL - Book 4: Departures

Chapter 11


THE NEXT MORNING

Linda came out of the shower wrapped in a towel, blow-drying her hair. Realizing she was ignoring her resolve to avoid referring to the charade unnecessarily, Amy said, "Zoey, ummm... your hair's not going to stay like that for a month."

Linda set down the hair dryer and unplugged it, giving her head a shake to make her hair fall the way she wanted it. "I'm on it, Amy. The salon is going to re-do it about every couple of weeks, including the night before we go to Stefanie's. So twice, I guess, unless Stefanie takes longer to get ready than she thinks." She grinned. "Don't worry. There won't be any blonde roots showing."

She unwound the towel and rubbed it against a remaining damp spot on her shoulder, then tossed it into the bathroom to land on the hamper. Apparently she felt comfortable now being naked with Amy and Megan, despite her unfinished skin. She pulled some clean underwear out of the drawer she was borrowing in Amy's dresser, and slipped on a clean bra and shorts. She looked on the floor and frowned. "Where's the jogging suit?"

Megan waved a fistful of rolled up cloth. "I went down and traded it for a fresh one while you were in the shower." Megan smiled. "I know you like baby blue." She handed the outfit over. Amy grinned. That was one of Zoey's preferences, not Linda's, gleaned from their voluminous reading.

Somehow, thought Amy, it doesn't look like anything's missing on Linda's neck, though Amy had never seen Linda without her slave collar, at least not when she was dressed, and rarely when she wasn't. Looking at Linda, Amy had such a strong feeling of Zoey's presence that it seemed right for her neck to be bare. During the coming month, wearing a collar, even one as subtle as the choker all the girls wore from Third Year on, would clash with Linda's Zoey self-image, and the dean had given permission for her to forego the universal requirement for slaves. It wouldn't cause any trouble in the confines of the Academy's secured student area. It should also help the other girls treat her as Zoey.

Now fully clothed, Linda leaned towards the mirror, worried her hair with her fingers for a moment, then shrugged, took a deep breath, and sighed it out with a smile. "I guess I'm ready." She gave Amy a look of complete innocence as she said, "You'll need to show me the way."

Amy blinked and nodded. She's not going to give up, Amy thought, until she's got me totally convinced she's Zoey. She opened the door and let Megan go out first. "The caf's not too far. One of the privileges of being a Third Year is we're closer to pretty much everything." There, she thought, you're not going to out-act me, dammit.

There were a couple of open doors in the hallway before they reached the turn, and in one of the rooms, Amy could hear a gasp as she went by, followed by a loudly whispered "Zoey Hillcrest!" She and Megan kept going, with Linda a half-step behind, and nearly ran into Lucy coming the other direction. Lucy stopped dead and goggled, and suddenly blurted, "Z... -- Miss Hillcrest! Are you... wow!"

Linda stopped and smiled at her. "Hi. You must be one of the Third Years. The color." She looked Lucy up and down, as if taking in her uniform.

Still wide-eyed, Lucy held out her hand. "Lucy Ward. Miss Hillcrest, I just loved you in 'The Charmer.' I knew you'd end up with Tommy in the end."

Linda shook hands with her. "Thank you. I had fun in that movie. Please, call me Zoey."

Lucy smiled uncertainly, and echoed, "Zoey." She seemed half dumbstruck. "I... Oh, don't let me keep you from wherever you're going." She waved Megan on. "I just need to talk to Amy for just a second."

Megan took a few steps further down the corridor, and Linda followed her, walking backward for a moment. "Nice meeting you, Lucy. Good luck with your hanging."

Lucy nodded her head up and down rapidly. "Thank you." She watched for a moment after Linda turned to follow Megan, then whipped her head around to Amy. Making sure the others were out of earshot, she whispered frantically, "I know Linda's supposed to look like Zoey, but... I mean, is that her, or did the real Zoey just show up here for some reason?"

Amy choked back a wild laugh by jamming her forearm into her mouth, and turned to lean against the wall, her shoulders shaking helplessly. When she felt some semblance of control, she looked back around at Lucy, coughed, and finally whispered back, "She's good, isn't she?"

Lucy clenched her fists in frustration. "Just tell me if that's Linda or not!"

Amy felt the laughter ready to burst out of her helplessly again. "I swear that's Linda." She took a deep breath. "Come on, how likely is it Zoey Hillcrest would really be here? And in the secured area, no less?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I know that! But she just..." She gestured with her hands, unable to find words.

Amy nodded. "Doesn't she just?"

Lucy shook her head. "I feel like an idiot."

Amy shook her head vehemently. "No! I know exactly how you felt, really. And you acted just the way we're all supposed to. As long as she's here, she wants to be treated exactly like you'd treat Zoey."

Lucy looked down the corridor towards the cafeteria door through which Linda and Megan had just disappeared. "No problem. I don't know what I was expecting, but... I mean, she makes me feel like I'm talking to Zoey."

Amy gave her a quick hug. "Well, that's perfect, then. See you later." She turned and trotted down to the caf, leaving Lucy still shaking her head.

*   *   *   *   *

Amy walked into the cafeteria and was struck by the impression of a gaily-colored room-sized flower, with students in their various uniforms forming concentric circles around Linda. Those in the innermost circle were speaking with Linda. A little farther away stood a number of girls fidgeting, looking as if they wanted to approach, but couldn't quite bring themselves to come any closer. Farther still, more girls looked on in wide-eyed wonder, frozen into immobility.

Amy weaved her way through the circles, drawing near enough in time to hear Cheryl ask hesitantly, "So... Are you making a movie here?"

Linda, sitting with Megan at one of the tables, looked around at the other girls as she spoke, as if understanding they were all wondering the same thing. "I don't think the filming will actually be done here. I believe they're building a set that will look something like this. But I want to get familiar with what Hanging Girl life is like. You don't need to let me in on any big secrets, because it won't really be about that. More of a day-to-day life at the Academy kind of thing..."

Wendy broke in. "Will they need any real Hanging Girls as, like, extras?" Several girls around her broke into giggles, one of them saying "Here's your big chance, Wendy."

Linda laughed with them. "I'm sorry, that's not really up to me. Oh, sure," she said to Cynthia, one of the First Year girls, and took the pen and paper Cynthia had thrust towards her. "What's your name?" As if she hadn't spent a month as Cynthia's dorm sister. Moments later, she handed the paper back, and Cynthia laughed out loud as she read it, thanking her.

Amy managed to read the note over Cynthia's shoulder, as Cynthia started showing it to the others: "Cynthia -- Thanks for hanging out with me. Zoey Hillcrest." Linda had signed it with a flourish, making the dot over the i a tiny heart.

Amy took advantage of the brief lull in conversation. "Can I get you some breakfast, Zoey?"

Linda looked up at her briefly. "Would you get me a fruit salad and a glass of grapefruit juice? Thanks." She looked away immediately, as if accustomed to having her orders followed.

Amy smiled and turned towards the serving line, trying to keep from shaking her head. It was nothing like Linda's usual preference for breakfast.

Molly, one of the Second Years, fell into step beside Amy, and whispered out of the side of her mouth, "So is that...?"

Amy could tell she was going to get a lot more of this. She wondered whether she'd have to confirm it to every student individually, none of them trusting what they were told by anyone other than Amy or Megan. "Yes, it's Linda. Remember to keep acting as if I just told you the exact opposite." She reached for a tray.

"I promise. It's just..." She looked back again towards Linda. "...really spooky."

Amy laughed. "Tell me about it."

Molly drifted back towards the middle circle around Linda, as Amy began picking out some food for Linda, Megan, and herself.

She caught her breath and tried to stifle the spasm that went through her body when a voice at her elbow suddenly said excitedly, "Hi, Amy!"

Amy was glad the tray had been resting on the counter at the time, or it would be on the floor now. She felt the hand briefly on her elbow. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"

Amy had no idea why her heart was pounding so hard. She and Melissa had arrived at sort of a distant-friends understanding in recent weeks, and the discomfort at Melissa's presence had receded to manageable levels. Until this moment. Amy put on her friendliest smile, proud that she managed to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Hi, Melissa. You look happy."

Melissa's whole face was glowing, making her look more like Miranda than ever. "I just got my report card. I'm up to number six in the class! I was number nine for the first grading period..." Amy nodded. "...and I really did feel like I was doing better this time." Melissa giggled happily. "I guess I won't be the meat after our first party, this week."

Amy said, trying to be warm, "Melissa, I'm sure you're not going to be meat after any of the parties or demos."

Melissa bubbled, "I'm so excited about the party. I want to meet some outsiders so they can see me as a Hanging Girl! Will you be doing one of your shows?"

Amy shook her head. "The dean gave us a little time off from that. We'll be pretty busy with Linda."

Melissa's glow diminished only slightly, a look of disappointment passing through it like a momentary cloud across the sun. "I've heard so much about your shows from the older girls. I want so much to see you do that!" As an afterthought, she added, "And Megan."

Amy smiled. "You will before long." She wanted to change the subject. "How's Jana doing? She must have got her report card too."

"Uh-huh. She's seventeenth. She's a little disappointed, but that's in the top third. I've been helping her. I was going to ask, could I come by your room later? After dinner, maybe? Like I said, my overall grades are good, but my hanging grade is down. I'm almost up to five minutes now, but most of the girls are passing me up. Maybe you could see something I'm doing wrong?" Melissa bit her lip, her eyes looking hopeful.

Amy had watched Melissa practice several times in the last few weeks, but suddenly found herself looking for any excuse to avoid that sort of contact now. Amy always saw Miranda superimposed over Melissa whenever she watched her hanging -- seeing Melissa naked reminded Amy that much more strongly that the girl's resemblance to Miranda didn't stop with her face -- but had thought she was coming to terms with that. Her spinning mind suddenly remembered she actually had an excuse. "I'm sorry, Linda's getting some cosmetic surgical work tonight. I promised I'd stay with her for that. And that's going to occupy the next few evenings. But I'll try to get with you soon, okay?"

The cloud over Melissa's face was darker this time. She nodded. "Okay. I've gotta run, but I'll talk to you later." She took off and dashed out of the caf, not even glancing at the girl who was the center of absorbed attention of everyone else in the room. Amy looked back towards Linda, and saw Megan watching Melissa, saw Megan suddenly blink in startlement as the girl ran past. Amy suspected Megan must be as surprised as Amy that Melissa had completely ignored Linda.

Minutes later, her tray loaded with food, Amy came back to the table, took her seat and passed a fruit salad bowl and drink cup over to Linda, who absently said "Thanks" and resumed signing autographs and chatting with her "fans" about her most recent movie. Megan, scooping up a forkful of scrambled eggs, gestured with her head back towards the serving line. "What was that about?"

Amy looked back at the serving line, and then realized what Megan was referring to. "Oh, with Melissa? She was excited about her report card. She's doing really well."

"Did she want something?"

Amy was startled briefly, despite years of living surrounded by girls who all had that skill of reading people. "Just to come by later for some practice. I told her we'd be with Linda in the evenings for a few days."

Megan looked at her a bit longer, then nodded. Amy wondered if she'd missed something, then shrugged and turned her attention to her food. She heard Linda beside her saying, "...it's funny, he's really such a sweetheart normally, but his character was such an asshole, and he wouldn't come out of character even during breaks in filming. So he'd be a total asshole to the sandwich girl when we'd stop for lunch. I think he apologized to her later."

Amy felt Megan tap her elbow. "Can you take care of our guest on your own awhile? I want to get to the library." Megan had already wolfed down her food.

Something in the way Megan's words crowded together, as if in a hurry to get out of her mouth, struck Amy as odd. Wherever she's going, Amy thought, I don't think it's the library. Amy shrugged mentally. Whatever it is, she decided, she'll let me know soon. Probably setting up some surprise for Linda. Amy leaned over to kiss her roommate and said, "Sure. See you in awhile."

*   *   *   *   *

Amy winced as Linda convulsively squeezed her hand again. Linda was on her back on the padded table, with Dr. Perrin sitting on the side of her opposite Amy, bent over in close concentration, her tattooing pen hopping slowly from point to point on Linda's outstretched arm. Linda's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and she was breathing hissingly through clenched teeth.

At last the doctor gave a heavy sigh and sat up. "Hold your arm up, L--... uhh, Zoey. Let Amy see." To Amy, the doctor said, "I could use another pair of eyes here. Do you see any areas I missed?"

Amy looked carefully, and shook her head slowly. "You're doing great, doctor."

"Look okay to you, Zoey?"

Linda twisted her arm to various angles, a smile of relief spreading across her face. "Looks great!"

The doctor stretched her back and neck. "I'm going to take about a ten minute break, then start on your other arm. I should be able to finish that tonight. Then a full session each of the next couple of days for each leg."

Amy asked, "Will you really get done in a week?"

The doctor nodded. "I should. There are some areas that will go pretty quickly. It's a little inconvenient that Zoey's never done any nude scenes in a movie. I'll have to assume that she has a pretty standard freckle pattern in areas we've got no photos for. Except for full-time nudists, most people with freckles have them fairly sparsely on parts of their skin that are normally covered by clothes, so I'll go with that." She smiled. "Luckily, Steffi has never seen Zoey naked either."

Linda grinned. "So you won't need to put a lot on my breasts and around my pussy?"

The doctor laughed. "See? Not as bad as you thought." She stood. "I'm going to walk around a bit." To Amy she said, "You can move around to the other side, and we can get started again when I get back." She brushed the curtain aside and left.

Immediately the curtain parted again, and the infirmary nurse looked in. "Zoey, there are a couple of visitors who'd like to see you. Is that okay?"

Linda smiled, and looked up at Amy. "That'd be Becky and Cheryl. I told them they could come by. And that I'd be out of character when I'm in here. Could you put that sheet over me? I'll show them my arm, at least."

Amy quickly spread the sheet out to cover Linda, feeling proud that she and Megan were still the only students allowed to see Linda naked.

Linda told the nurse to show her friends in, and seconds later Becky and Cheryl appeared at the curtain.

Linda waved, giving them a chance to see the freckles.

Becky blinked. "That really looks great!" She frowned. "Does it hurt, getting all that?"

Linda laughed. "Hell yes, it hurts!"

Becky and Cheryl laughed along with her, then Cheryl gave Linda a serious look. "I really admire what you're putting into this, Zoey. I don't think I could do it."

Linda smiled at her, but spoke seriously. "Cheryl, of course you could do this. Look what you've already done, just because it was your dream. You're a graduate of the Academy!" Linda locked eyes with her friend. "We all share a dream, but we dream it differently. We all picture the details in different ways. The show I'm going to do isn't what you want. If it was, you'd go through anything, absolutely anything, to get there. For me, it is what I want."

Both girls nodded, while Amy thought, for the hundredth time, how wrenching it was when Linda changed characters, like a locomotive hurtling down a track that made a sudden right-angle turn. She was clearly being Linda, yet Zoey's voice was still coming out of Zoey's face. And at any instant, she might suddenly start discussing the state of her movie career.

Becky suddenly grinned and started tentatively, "Speaking of the dream...", and then stopped.

Linda gasped. "You got sold!! But I just saw you a few hours ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

Becky held up her hands. "It's not done yet. But I've got a meeting set for tomorrow afternoon in the dean's office. It's a married couple, and they picked out my picture, and they know I want to do the Princess. And it sounds like they're really nice people. Of course, I'll know more after I meet them, but I really have a feeling they'll buy me!" Cheryl leaned closer to her and rubbed shoulders with her, to share in her roommate's excitement.

Linda exclaimed, "That is so great! When will you..." She stopped and frowned suddenly. "Ummm... I'm not sure I should come to your party."

Becky gave her a stricken look. "What? Why not?"

Linda sighed. "Well, you know how everybody gets, around me. And I don't want to take attention away from you. It's your party. You should be who everybody's looking at."

Becky put her hands on her hips and gave Linda a stern look. "Linda -- okay, I'm sorry, I won't call you that again after this, but just this once, I have to. Linda, you have got to be there. I don't care how everybody acts around you. To me, you're a friend who'd better damn well be at my party!" Her eyes flashed.

Amy rubbed Linda's arm. "Zoey, we're all Hanging Girls. Give us some credit. Everybody's going to understand it's Becky's special day, and that's all they're going to be thinking about."

Linda finally smiled and sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry. Of course I'll be there. It was just..."

Amy interrupted, addressing Becky. "Her overinflated ego." They all laughed.

Linda, after the laughter died down, nodded. "Anyway, I'll have my secretary check my calendar, but it should be okay." She said it with absolute sincerity. Amy felt the train careening again.

*   *   *   *   *

SIX DAYS LATER

"How do I look?" Linda struck a pose, her face showing her best "I want you now!" expression. She was wearing the sexiest nightie she could find in Wardrobe -- frilly, gauzy, barely coming down far enough to cover her thong panties, her newly-enlarged and bare breasts clearly visible through the fabric.

Amy laughed. "I don't think Zoey would really have to try this hard."

Linda giggled. "I know. I just want to see their reaction." She craned her neck to get a look at the clock. "Okay, I'm out of here. I'll see you in the morning." She kissed Amy, then bent to kiss Megan, sitting on the bed.

Amy blinked. "What, you're going to wear that to walk down there?"

Linda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Mom. Sorry if you're shocked." She grinned. "Don't you think everybody wishes Zoey Hillcrest would show up at their door looking like this? I'm just practicing fulfilling fantasies."

Amy laughed. "Well, yeah, that'll get 'em, all right." Tonight was, in a sense, Linda's coming-out party, her entire body, for the first time, looking like Zoey's. She would be spending the night with Becky and Cheryl. Probably mostly in bed.

Linda kissed her again. "You guys have fun." She took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked out into the hallway. Amy could hear a couple of gasps. She wasn't sure whose. Linda, in her current state of semi-undress, was obviously going to be causing even more of a stir than usual.

Amy giggled and returned to the bed to sit by Megan, slipping an arm around her waist. "I love her so much, but it'll be really nice having a night by ourselves. What are you up for?"

Megan gave her a smile that Amy, to her astonishment, recognized as nervous. Amy's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Megan took in a deep breath, like Linda had moments earlier. "Ummm... mind going down to somebody's room for a movie? Not a Zoey movie." Her nervous titter was unlike any Amy had heard from her before.

Amy was silent for several seconds, and finally said, "What's going on? Whose room?"

Megan paused equally long, and answered, "Melissa and Jana's."

Amy gawked at her. "You took an invitation without even asking??" Amy was slowly getting accustomed to Linda acting like another person. She wasn't ready for Megan acting like another person. "Honey, you know how I feel when I'm around her."

Megan suddenly looked very determined. "Yes, I know. I know all about it, and I understand. But you need to start thinking about how she feels around you."

Stung, Amy said, "I know she's got a monster crush on me for some reason. I was never trying for that. I'm really sorry that it's hard for her."

Megan shook her head. "That's not what worries me. It's what it's doing to her development as a Hanging Girl. I guess she told you her grades are falling off in Hanging. She might be number one or two in her class if it weren't for that. You've watched her hang as much as I have. She's got perfect form. She's a total natural at it. Is there any reason she shouldn't be number one in Hanging, along with everything else?"

"What are you saying, it's because of how she feels about me? What's the connection?"

Megan shook her head again. "Not because of how she feels about you. It's about how she thinks you feel about her."

Amy folded her arms under her breasts, and realized she was shaking. Since that night in the Hall of Honor so long ago, she had never had a fight with Megan. She couldn't imagine what was causing this one. "Okay, what does she think I feel about her?"

"That you don't like her. That you don't think much of her abilities. That you think she's a pest and you wish she'd go away. She's got all the form for hanging, all the natural abilities, but she doesn't have the confidence. She doesn't think she can do it, because she thinks you don't think she can do it."

Amy's eyes flew open wide. "How do you know she thinks all that?"

"Because I asked her."

Amy shook her head, astounded. "She's got it so wrong! What am I supposed to do? You've heard me encourage her every chance I get!"

"I know what you say to her. None of that matters. It's your body language. Melissa's only been here a couple of months, so she's not an expert yet. She can't read the small print of what your body is saying. But for this she doesn't need to. It's written in huge letters all over you! Like in the caf last week. When you were talking to her, when everybody else was crowded around Zoey. Did you know she was crying when she ran out of there? I couldn't hear anything you guys were saying, but I saw you slap her down again. All in body language."

Amy's hands flew to her face. If she were to look up right now, she'd be looking straight at Miranda. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

Megan gently pried Amy's hands away from her face, and held them in both of her own. "Amy, I love you so much!" Amy realized, with a shock, that Megan was crying. "It was you that taught me how to care about everybody else. And now it hurts me so bad inside to see a Hanging Girl who's not developing the way I know she can. And for you, of all people, to be the one keeping one of the girls from being everything she can be..." Her voice was shaking.

Amy was crying too. "I'll fix it. I promise I'll fix it. I'll tell her..."

"There's nothing you need to tell her. She already knows what the problem really is."

Amy wiped at her eyes, sniffling. "What? How does she know?"

"I told her."

Amy gawked at her. "You told her??"

Also sniffling, but with her voice getting stronger, Megan said, "I told her that everything she's feeling about you, you feel the same way about Miranda. And that you get really nervous around her because of that, and that something inside you wants to make love with Miranda, but you're too good of a person to use Melissa that way."

Amy sighed. "I still can't do that to her."

Megan squeezed Amy's hands. "You need to. For Melissa. You have to stop comparing a First Year girl with one of the best graduates ever. She needs to read in you how good you think she is. From you, that would mean so much to her! But you see Miranda every time you look at her, and you see her not measuring up to what Miranda was after three years of training. You need to sleep with her and let your fantasies run. You need to get it all out of your system, so you can start seeing Melissa for who she is, instead of who she looks like."

Amy shook her head vigorously. "I can't!" She was sweating, her stomach tying in knots.

Megan rubbed the backs of Amy's hands with her thumbs. "Amy, when you're with Linda, especially that first time after the operation, but still even now, you're fantasizing you're making love with Zoey Hillcrest, aren't you? How is that different?"

"It's... it's... Well, Linda knows how much I love her! And she's having fun pretending to be Zoey, and she's doing that intentionally. She loves it that I imagine she's Zoey. That's what she wants!"

"Okay." Megan nodded patiently. "So what if Melissa was ready and willing to be Miranda for you?

"S-she said that?"

"In words? Of course not." Megan stroked Amy's shoulder. "Amy, it's no surprise you haven't been able to read Melissa and see how she's been feeling. You want so badly for her to be Miranda that you're blind to all that. But I'm not. Every time I see you and her together, I see the person I love most in the world, and a new friend who has so much potential, and you're both miserable. You said you'd fix it. She wants to fix it too. This is how."

Amy looked into Megan's eyes. Megan held her gaze without flinching.

She remembered a Megan who would never have been capable of this. What it all came down to was whether she trusted the Megan sitting in front of her now.

"They're sitting down in their room, expecting us right now?"

Megan nodded.

Amy closed her eyes. She sat silently, for a long time.

Finally, she said, "Drag me down there. Now, while I'm still confused. Get me there before I can change my mind."

She felt Megan's arms wrap around her, heard Megan say, "I love you!" Felt the pull as Megan stood and backed away from the bed, drawing Amy upright with her hand. "Let's go, babe."



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