Teaching Tara (An Age Play Story) (12 page)

“Alright then,” said Alexa. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Steven said.

“Perfect. So this is what we do,” Brandon said as he began to explain his plan. He already had everything set up back at his apartment.

Unlike Most of her classmates, Corina didn’t care about the upcoming spring break. She was determined to graduate early, so almost all of her time went to studying. She didn’t have time for parties or fun. And yes, the stress got to be very intense. For most of the students who ran similar schedules, it came down to parents or the pressure of keeping a scholarship. Corina wasn’t very close with her family, and she saved plenty of money for college while back in high school. It helped that she still had a part time job as a teller at a local bank, though she hated the work.

After graduating, Corina didn’t know what she was going to do. She just knew she had to get there and as fast as possible. She wanted to be a success, though she had no idea what that meant. Sometimes the questions about her future bothered her, but then she just worked harder.

Very rarely, when she was too tired to continue, Corina might lay down and feel the strain of the schedule she led. It was hard, always studying, always working, never having any fun. Since starting college, she was so focused on her classes and homework that she didn’t really have any friends. Once in a while, she let herself daydream about the idea of friends or a boyfriend. She saw some of the cute boys walking between classes and laughing or the clusters of other college kids as they talked about parties or movies, and for a little while, Corina wished she were one of them.

But then she would remind herself of some paper or upcoming exam. There was too much to do and she didn’t want to slow down. During her freshman year, a guy from her geology class came up to her and asked her out. She had to study though, and said the same thing. Corina didn’t regret the choice, mostly.

Spring break meant some extra time to study, though she didn’t really need it. A free weekend here and there would have been plenty of time for her to study and get her homework done. She would probably ask her manager for some more hours at the credit union. She had to stay busy.

Her frantic schedule left her pretty tired though. Even as the psychology lecture ended, Corina felt the weight of exhaustion in her joints, her breath, her pulse. The constant running from place to place left her pretty drained, but it was almost the weekend and she could catch an extra hour or two of sleep. That would be plenty.

One of her professors heard about her schedule and asked if she thought there would be any regrets. After all, this was college, a time to party and enjoy the last vestiges of childhood mixed in with the freedoms of being an adult. Corina smiled politely and said that she was ambitious.

Her answer didn’t feel entirely right.

All of those half-regrets and hesitations were just a function of fatigue, Corina decided as she crossed campus. She had already survived a busy day. There were quizzes in her first two morning classes after which she sat through the psychology lecture, and then she studied for another four hours in the library.

As she stepped back outside, the cool air helped wake her up a bit, but she still had a long trek back to her car. Because it was the Friday before vacation, the campus was pretty much deserted. Even the professors and staff seemed to have closed down early. Yes, the buildings remained officially unlocked and open, but Corina suspected anyone with office hours would find a convenient excuse to be elsewhere today.

Sighing, she made it past the administrative building where students applied for financial aid and consulted their counselors. She glanced around, a little nervous now because she didn’t see anyone. Even the coffee house had closed early. It felt like she was all alone except for the trees and buildings.

Corina ignored the feeling and kept going until the same lethargy of sleepiness settled down on her. She probably should have gone with the first instinct of nervousness. If she had, she may not have cut across the grass or pass so close to the next building’s blind corner.

She didn’t hear them and never thought a group of friends would be waiting for her. She always parked in the same lot since she had no idea that someone would want to take her.

But then she stepped past the building and a pair of arms looped around her waist. Corina inhaled to scream, but a third hand clamped over her mouth. It held something soft and vaguely wet. The scent of something chemical filled her nostrils.

Chloroform, she thought through the frenzy even as her body went on autopilot and tried to fight back. Corina tried to punch out, but she wasn’t especially muscled and there were two, no three people. Corina didn’t recognize them. Two guys and a girl.

The first guy had spun her around and tried to lock her in a bear hug. He was handsome, she thought in some corner of her mind. That thought didn’t keep her from trying to punch him though. But then the other girl grabbed her right hand. The left was snatched up by the second boy.

That left the third one to hold the cloth to her mouth and nose. Corina took a long and deep breath to try to scream. There had to be someone on campus to hear her. And even though she realized this was probably some stupid joke, maybe a fraternity prank or something, Corina didn’t care. She wouldn’t let them do this to her!

That was her last thought before darkness swept up and took her to a peaceful nap.

Awareness crept back slowly. Her body floated for a long time. Drifting in the dark, she didn’t really think. The only sensations she experienced were the feel of air on her lips when she inhaled and exhaled. Then she started to remember the feel of her heart. Perfectly relaxed, she lay there. It took a while for her to begin the process of waking up again.

First Corina went through her usual step in getting up; she thought through her long to-do list. Corina thought of the homework in geology, psychology, English, and statistics. She marked off what she already accomplished that morning, which classes she scored points in with her teachers. And then she remembered studying in the library and her walk back to her car.

Only Corina never made it there.

She was half way back to the parking lot when three people grabbed her.

Corina tried to open her eyes, but her vision blurred and the room started to spin around her so she shut them again. Her throat was dry, though not painfully so. When she didn’t hear anything and no one seemed to react to her waking up, Corina decided she was alone.

What happened?

Her pulse sped as she tried to figure out what to do. As her heartbeat quickened, she realized there was an ache in her head. It pressed down against her forehead like a migraine. It had be a side effect of whatever they used on her.

“Oh my God,” she mouthed. She didn’t make a sound, but it felt good to move some part of her body. Making any other motions might alert her captor or captors. No, definitely more than one, she thought. She remembered different sets of hands grabbing her. They held her, she tried to break away, but the fingers wouldn’t let go.

When she opened her eyes again, the spinning slowed down and eventually stopped. The room was dimly lit by what looked like a night light in the corner. At first, that comforted her because this had to be someone’s bedroom. But then she took in the rest of her surroundings, and she started to think there was something else going on.

She took a gulp of air, held it in her lungs, and tried to relax. This had to be a joke. That made sense. It was some prank. The psychology majors loved pulling stunts like this. Only when she sat up, her theory started to melt.

For one, she was alone. There weren’t any frat brothers here to giggle at her. For another, there were bars in front of her. An instant passed where she panicked because this looked like a jail cell. She grabbed the bars, only they weren’t metal. Instead, they felt like very thick, very sturdy wood.

She pulled on them and found they didn’t budge, not even a little. She thought about spinning around and trying to kick her way out. Her shoes were gone. Even her socks had been replaced. Where she normally wore white ones, she now had on a pair of flimsy pink socks. The edges ended in ruffles. They were way more feminine and girly than anything Corina would have picked on her own.

What was going on?

She glanced up and expected the bars to continue all the way up to the ceiling. This had to be some cell. Only they didn’t go to the ceiling. They stopped about four feet up and ended in another set of bars which crossed on the horizontal axis. When she squinted through the dimness, she saw something else. The crossbars were painted. Pink, the same cotton candy shade as her socks. But there was something else there too.

Corina sat up. The height of the cage allowed her to rest on her butt, but she couldn’t do anything else. Reaching up, she touched the other part of the cross beam. At first, she didn’t understand, but then she confirmed her suspicions. Someone had attached flowers. Yellow, red, pink, and pale blue flowers had been nailed into the wood.

When she turned back to the rest of the room, she started to form a guess. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like this guess at all.

Off to the side, she saw a flat table, only there weren’t any chair and it was as tall as most kitchen counters. Worse, she saw little white straps, each one nylon and attached to the sides of the table.

She also saw a rocking chair. It looked larger than most though, big enough to accommodate two adults.

Then she saw a child’s bouncer, only it looked way too big. It looked big enough to accommodate her…

The lights came on. The glare flooded the room, and Corina had to lock her eyes shut as blue and orange globes spun in front of her sight.

“I see my little girl’s waking up,” said a guy. Corina pulled her hand away from her eyes and tried to make her vision adjust faster. It didn’t. He stood at the doorway, his hands comfortably at his sides.

The voice sounded familiar though. It had a cocky lilt which she recognized from somewhere. A class, maybe. That wouldn’t help much though. Corina had little use for most of her classmates since the majority were more interested in partying, sex, or video games. It didn’t make sense to her. She had drive and ambition. She wanted everyone to know what she could and intended to accomplish.

This man took several steps closer. Her eyes finally adjusted to the light, and her first thought was an unexpected one. Yes, he still looked familiar, but there was something else too. He was cute. Very handsome. He wore dark slacks, polished shoes, and a collared shirt. All together, he could have been some business major on his way to the interview for an internship. He had short, dark hair, brown eyes, and even features.

The last feature she noticed though, the one which someone how intrigued and annoyed her at the same time, was his smile. He smirked back at her as though he knew everything. It was the kind of arrogant grin only someone truly convinced of his place in the universe could wear. It was frustrating and sexy at the same time.

But then Corina reminded herself of how someone drugged her, how she was a prisoner. At once, she started to sat up and hit her head right into the wooden bars above her. The pain broke her train of thought and shattered any sense of intimidation she may have been able to summon.

“Careful, girl. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Anger flared through her chest, and she wanted to snap back with something sharp, only she needed more information. So Corina bit down and refused to speak as this guy walked up to her bars. She thought about reaching through and grabbing him, maybe refusing to let go until he released her or at least explained what was going on. He was taller than her and probably a lot stronger.

Yes, Corina knew books and how to deal with professors. She didn’t get a lot of time to work out though. Risking a confrontation like that might get her in even more trouble, so she settled back down against the back of her cage and glared at him. Unfortunately, her hateful stare couldn’t set him on fire.

“Do you recognize me?”

“Did, did we have a class together?” She tried to sound bored, but a tiny note of fear seeped into her words. She cleared her voice and started again. She had to seize control of the situation, “Look, I don’t know what you think is going on here, but you’re going to let me out of here right now.”

“Or what?” He flashed a cocky grin, the kind which would have made a lot of girls melt. Corina definitely wasn’t one of them as she had no time for pretty boys who figured they could do whatever they wanted just because they were sexy.

She bit down and chewed her lower lip for a second. It’s what she did whenever she hit a question without an easy answer. “Look, this doesn’t have to go any farther. Let me out right now, and I won’t have to call the cops.”

“What makes you think you’re going to want to when I’m done with you?”

He sounded too comfortable, too secure. If this was a prank, he should have been nervous. Only when she searched his expression or body language for some sign of hesitation, she found none. Corina decided he seemed completely relaxed and at home with the situation.

Corina swallowed the fear bunched up at the back of her throat and tried again, “What do you want?”

“Okay, now there’s an intelligent question.” He stepped right up to the edge of her cage and peered inside. He watched her like an animal at the zoo. “I’ve been watching you for quite a while, Corina. We met in psychology a few months ago, only now you’re going to help me with the presentation.”

“Maybe I have a low self-esteem.” He definitely didn’t. “Or maybe I just want to prove a point. Either way, does it matter so long as I’m offering to let you go? One click of the lock, and you can pop out, then run off and tell whoever you like what a bad, bad man I am.”

“Fine.”