Sexual Research Commission/Grover/Peters/6
The Peters Family
Lyla: an obstinate 5 year old girl
Jack: a 10 year old boy
Emily: a daydreaming 12 year old girl
Michael: 35-year-old single father of three
Part 2: Emily | Chapter 6: Fallout
Trying to go to bed at 4 pm doesn't work so well. After tossing and turning for nearly eight hours, Emily lay awake with a growling stomach. She turned to the clock. "12:14", it read. Realizing she had skipped dinner, she dragged herself downstairs, made a bowl of ramen, and stared at it for a while. Her only thoughts were of how tired yet unsleepy she was, the dull ache of her disturbed circadian rhythm keeping the disturbed memories of the day at bay. She slowly managed to eat it, mostly before it went cold. Back upstairs, she lay in bed again. broken as it was, she had already slept plenty for the night, so sleep did not come easily. Throwing her feet off the bed, she forced them to take her to the bathroom to take a melatonin tablet. After staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours more, she drifted in and out of restless sleep.
Emily's morning alarm blared at 6:30 as it did every morning. Her head pounded with the cloudy migraine of a terrible night's sleep. She felt as though she hadn't truly slept and the melatonin seemed to have only just taken it's full effect, weighing down her limbs, making her mind sluggish. Her alarm continued to ring out. She considered sleeping through it. She tried sleeping through it. It was no use. She couldn't avoid facing the day forever. Lurching across the room, she finally turned off the alarm. Fighting the temptation to lay down on the floor and enjoy the silence, she forced herself out her bedroom door. Stumbling into the kitchen, she poured cereal into a bowl and sat down at the breakfast bar.
When her father walked in to see Emily shoving a handful of dry cereal into her mouth, he grabbed the milk jug and a spoon, insisting without milk cereal had as much nutrition as a chocolate bar. She didn't protest, just took the spoon and ate. When she was finished, she sat on the couch to wait for Jack to walk to school. She still wore her clothes from yesterday which were terribly wrinkled, but she didn't care. Scrolling through various apps, she just passed the time away. Eventually, Jack came down, got ready, and they left together. Their father had decided it would be best to drive Lyla to school and she hadn't woken up by the time they left. Emily was grateful she didn't have to face her. Neither kids were in the mood to talk as they walked.
Emily didn't pay attention in class. She just hoped none of her teachers had assigned something and she missed it. It was an absolutely terrible day, she just felt rotten. On Thursdays, she didn't even get to see Riley at lunchtime. At least the day was uneventful. When the last bell rang, she went out to the field to watch Riley's soccer practice. Riley was usually pretty good, but it was clear by the way she played that afternoon that something was weighing on her. Jack joined Emily on the bleachers after half an hour, but after fifteen minutes he really wanted to go home and lay down. Emily agreed and waved goodbye to Riley before they walked home. They found their home empty, no dad, no Lyla, just peace and quiet.
"I'm hungry. Do we still have any more granola bars?" Emily asked.
"I think so." Jack answered.
"Oh, we have popcorn! Do you want any?"
"Sure. Do you want to watch TV?"
"Yeah, I don't care what. You can choose something while I make our food. I call the couch though. Should I mix in some of this snack mix?"
"Alright, getting fancy. I like it." After a moment, Jack added, "Can I join you? On the couch, I mean. Like we used to?"
"That actually sounds nice. Guess you've had a rough day too, huh?"
Jack didn't answer, he just went to the living room and searched for something to watch. By the time Emily came in with the snacks, he still hadn't found anything. She laid down behind him and took a turn searching. Halfway through the bowl of popcorn, they settled on some dumb show with awful acting and worse writing. By the time their dad came in carrying Lyla, they'd become so invested in binging that neither of them noticed what a mess Lyla was. They both started nodding off through the season finale and took that as a sign to go to bed instead of starting season two.
Friday morning was a new day. Emily still woke with a headache, but it got better after her dad gave her some medicine and she took a shower. She dried off and wrapped her hair in a towel. The bathroom was attached to her bedroom (and Jack's), so she didn't need to cover herself before going to her room to pick out an outfit. She had a slight moment of panic, remembering those stories she'd heard of girls who came home one day to an empty closet and the news they'd been signed up for the program. She shook off those thoughts and opened the closet, still filled with her average-looking wardrobe. She'd never been terribly fashion-forward, but at least her dad didn't try to shop for her so she could do her best to at least wear clothes that fit in well enough to not stand out. With Summer fast approaching the weather had been getting hot, so she decided to go with one of her favorite outfits: a baby blue, off-the-shoulder blouse with ruffles that showed some midriff and her high-waisted white denim shorts that covered more midriff than leg. The combo tastefully showed off just a bit of her upper stomach and the ruffles almost suggested she had more to her chest than she really did. She worked herself into such a good mood, she could nearly forget the past two days. Heading downstairs, she could smell her dad cooking up a proper breakfast with bacon and eggs.
"Morning dad!" she greeted him.
"Morning, Starshine! You're awfully chipper this morning." He noted.
"Daaaad." she whined.
"Sorry, I'm just glad to see you're doing okay. I know the past couple days have been rough and you had me real worried yesterday." He plated some food for her and set it on the breakfast bar.
"It's got Avocado, thanks!" she responded delightedly.
"I know it's your favorite." he paused, "Lyla's doing alright you know. She comes home exhausted, but she's alright." Emily rolled her eyes and focused on her food, but he continued, "This isn't what I wanted. She says she's enjoying it, but if I could reverse it I would. I wouldn't wish this on anyone and there is no way I would sign you up for it, okay?"
Emily kept staring at her food, but she couldn't keep from cracking a tiny smile.
"Do I smell bacon?" Jack said as he entered the kitchen.
"You sure do!" their dad answered proudly.
"Awesome!" Jack said as he took a seat next to Emily and shoveled some eggs into his face.
"Bacon?" Lyla asked, waddling in like a cowboy. The last of her body writing had nearly washed off after two days and several baths.
"Here you are my little penguin." their dad set down a plate on her small table so she didn't have to sit up on one of the stools.
"Daddy I'm sore." Lyla complained.
"I know sweetheart, but the doctors at the SRC office said you should be able to handle another day at school, so skipping could be like saying no to sex and you can't do that anymore, right?."
"Right." Lyla pouted.
"They also said that with how well you've been doing all with the training, you should be able to get used to it really soon and you won't get so sore as long as you only take a day off when they say you can."
"Okay."
"Tomorrow is Saturday and they said you should stay home this weekend. That's one of the benefits you get having a SRC office nearby is they can tell you when to rest, since over exhaustion can be counted as harm if you get a SRC doctor to advise you."
"Okay! If I have ta stay home, will you play with me all day?" She got excited about the idea.
"Sure thing, as long as you still get your rest, okay?"
"Yay! Imma get ready for school so it can be tomorrow sooner!" she cheered and ran off to find her backpack, leaving her breakfast half eaten.
"Hey dad?" Emily asked.
"You want the rest of her breakfast? I gave her as much as us, so she didn't really need it anyhow." Their father offered.
"No, it wasn't that." Emily began.
"I'll take it!" Jack jumped in.
"Here ya go, champ." their dad passed him the plate.
"Dad, can I stay at Riley's tonight?" Emily spat out.
"Sure hon. Have you cleared it with her parents?"
"No, I haven't talked to Riley yet, I just wanted to, um, just thought of it now."
"Ah, alright. If it's okay with her parents you can spend the weekend there. Just let me know your plan and be home for dinner Sunday so you can get a good night's sleep for school."
"Thanks, Dad!" She gave him an awkward hug before rushing off.
Emily ran upstairs to brush her teeth and threw a swimsuit in her bag before running down to meet Jack at the stairs. They walked to school in silence again, but the songbirds sang beautifully as they had a couple of days before. Emily enjoyed her classes, throwing herself into work mode. She rushed from her English class to meet up with Riley for lunch. As soon as she spotted the baggy t-shirt and mess of hair that hid her best friend, she nearly toppled her with a hug.
Once Riley caught her balance again, she said, "I was ready to ask what had you so down after I saw you yesterday, but I guess I was wrong. What are you so excited about?"
"My dad said I could spend the weekend at your place if your parents are cool with it!" Emily proclaimed. "I brought my swimsuit so we can use your pool."
"Really? That's awesome!" Riley bounced with excitement as they joined the lunch line. "Wait. My parents are out of town until tomorrow. Could I come over to your place instead?"
"I was kinda hoping to get away from my house this weekend." Emily confessed.
"Why? I'm usually the one avoiding my house. What did Jack do?"
"No, it's Lyla. Oh shit!" Emily swore under her breath and covered her mouth a moment to see if anyone heard before continuing, "I didn't get a chance to tell you. She's enrolled herself in the program."
"Your sister's a pfangirl?" Riley announced to the whole cafeteria, "She's in kindergarten!" Emily clasped a hand over her friend's mouth, but it was too late.
"Your sister's a pfangirl?" asked a voice behind them. Emily turned to see it was that pig, Billy Connors. "Daddy gonna sign you up too?"
"No, he would have done them at the same time if he was, right?" Danny Phillips joined in. Why a cute guy like Danny would hang out with that pig, Emily would never understand.
"Bet his older daughter was too much of a prude already. He wanted a little sex doll, right?" Billy snorted.
"Think we should go pay lil sis a visit after school?" Danny proposed. Maybe he's a pig too.
"Dude, she's like a baby." Billy slapped Danny's chest, "You can't fuck a baby."
"Hey, if she's in the program, she's legal." Sean Murphy piped up, "Besides, she's not really a baby. She said she's in kindergarten."
"What does it matter? She's still too little." Billy insisted, "Why would you even want to?"
"Dunno." Danny said, "I only ever fucked girls in our classes. Might wanna try something different."
"If you want something different, we should go to the high school, they got plenty of pussy to go around." Billy retorted.
"I heard someone has a real baby in the program." Sean reported, "Like can't even walk or talk yet, but she's a pfangirl. They say her mom brings her when she picks up the baby's brother from preschool. I bet she has to wait around forever while the brother's friends take turns with her."
"What can you even do with a baby that small?" Billy wondered, "No way you fit inside her."
"Sure you can!" Sean insisted, "If she's in the program, you can fuck her. They wouldn't let babies in if you couldn't, right?"
"Rule is you can do anything that won't hurt them." Danny corrected. "But she can suck. Now I want a baby blow job. Think she even has teeth yet?"
Thankfully, Emily and Riley got their food just then and could leave them to their conversation. People watched them walk past their tables as the pair sought out the most secluded table, not that any of the tables were really secluded in the crowded cafeteria.
When they finally found a seat, Riley asked in a hushed tone, "Your dad really put Lyla in the program? Why would he do that? Are you next? If you get put into it my parents will do it to me the same day, I'm sure. Why didn't he do you too? Those boys weren't right were they? Your dad didn't do it just turn her into his sex slave, right?"
"Woah, woah, Riley!" Emily stopped her, "I told you before, Lyla put herself in the program. She always hated clothes and she has a friend in it already. I guess it's not that surprising now that I say that. I just never thought my dad would let her, but I guess he couldn't stop her, could he? Oh this is so fucked, right? My five-year-old sister is a public slut now, but here we are about to fail Sex-Ed because we can't choose a guy to give our virginity to."
Riley just stared at her with her mouth open until her tongue dried out. After rehydrating her mouth with a sip of her Sprite, she said, "I see why you don't want to be home this weekend. My parents are out of town, but I'm sure they'll be fine with it as long as I text them. Not like you haven't stayed over without them before. The only problem is my brothers. Cade was already being a pain this morning when mom told him he'd be in charge."
Riley shook off the thoughts of her sister and put her optimism back on. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Cade likes me, remember?" she laughed "At least he stays out of our way when I'm there, so really you need me to come over to rescue you from him."
With their weekend plans settled, they finished their meal and started the long march to their next class. Emily felt everyone's eyes follow her now that they knew about her sister and she was relieved when they finally slipped into Mr. Barnes' Science class and distracted everyone with a pop quiz. Emily made it through the rest of the day by focusing on how excited she was about their after-school plans.