Chapter Twenty-five -- Communications 301
Gwen woke Katy early and shuttled her back to Virginia Beach so she could be
interviewed by Detective Wilkins and make a sworn statement about what she saw.
Everyone else got to sleep in. By nine, the junior class had finished their
showers and was entering the dining room. Maria stopped in the doorway and
gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth. "That's Felicia!"
"Who?" Jennifer asked.
"My cousin, Felicia. How... Oh, geez. I can't go in there with her."
"Why not?" Wendy asked.
"She'll... She'd tell everyone. And I'm naked."
"You've been naked for six weeks," Debbie laughed at her. "And it looks like
your cousin's already been in trouble." All four of the new women at the table
were wearing cuffs on their wrists and ankles connected to metal collars by
short chains.
"She'll be a lot more embarrassed than you are," Wendy noted.
"And didn't you say it was another cousin of yours who talked you into coming
here?" Jennifer asked. "What was her name?"
"Consuela," Maria answered.
"Well Consuela already knows what goes on here. She spent twelve weeks doing the
same things you're doing. You and she and all of the rest of us will forever
have a special bond, a secret past that we shared," Debbie said philosophically.
"So why don't you just go up to her and embarrass her. Take charge."
"Yeah," Maria smiled walking toward the table. "Hey, Felicia," she called out as
she got close. "You put on a little weight, I see, eh, chica?"
The cousin looked surprised, then terrified, then just embarrassed. She tried to
cover herself with her hands and earned some more teasing from her cousin. "Want
me to cover your titties and pussy?" Maria asked evilly, walking around her
cousin to fondle the helpless girl. "What's the matter? Can't talk?"
The girl looked around, terrified. She squirmed, trying to pull away from Maria
or shrug off her cousin's hands. "Relax, chica," Maria chuckled, moving her
hand's to Felicia's shoulders to try to massage away some of the tension. "We'll
see each other again and again. No way to avoid it. Finish your breakfast."
When Maria joined her classmates, she grinned. "It _was_ better when I took
charge."
After breakfast, they assembled in the classroom with all the computers, the
classroom where they had assembled the first day after they arrived, a change
from the printed schedule that was announced during breakfast. It was already an
hour past the time their first class should have started. They all waited for
Kim and Kaitlyn.
Instead, a black woman stepped to the front of the room. A _very_ black woman,
coal black. Physically, she was a classic Negress with the full cheeks, high
cheekbones, full lips, and thick brows that showed full southern African
heritage. She was dressed in khaki like Tina had been for their first week.
"Hi, guys," she greeted them. "I'm Mitwanna, the African name my mother gave me,
but I go by Wanda. I'm a substitute and I'm new at teaching this class but,
well.. Here's the deal. Did you notice our freshmen class? Well, you may have
noticed that women of color aren't exactly well represented here at GWU. There
was some prejudice and discrimination early in its history just like the rest of
the country and that didn't change quickly. Because you only find out about it
by word of mouth, it took a while to integrate."
She smiled, "And Maria, you and your cousin Consuela and now Felicia are adding
another ethnicity that was lacking until very recently. You're our first three
Hispanic students. Believe it or not, the Asians from Okinawa, Japan, and Korea
were students early on because they married into the families of military men
and were brought back as war brides. Old conventional mothers-in-law sent their
Asian daughters-in-law to GWU to learn to be American wives."
"So back to how I got here," she sighed. "You may have noticed our freshman
class contained a majority of women of color, three black, two Hispanic, and an
Asian, Thai, I think. There's one white girl who's already feeling like a
minority and one, well, OK two white girls but one is blind. She's only the
second blind student we've ever had. It's going to be an interesting class."
"So what happened is that my 'sisters', meaning the black girls, well.. They
thought that they could get over on me because our skin's the same color.
Wrong!" she laughed. "We talked about it -- the staff, that is -- and we decided
we'd change things around a bit to change their minds. We're all pink inside as
dirty old men would say and we all bleed red. So they're now in attitude
adjustment mode."
"Why are they all chained up?" Maria asked bravely.
"Oh, we had a mass escape attempt last night," Wanda laughed. "It was quite a
job to get them all back here without anybody getting hurt. And that's part of
the reason for all the hard feelings. You see, only the white girl and the blind
girl stayed behind so they're the only two not being punished. It has nothing to
do with skin color but it may take us a week to convince their class of that."
Wanda took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her expression changed
completely. Very seriously, she told the class, "And now I have some very bad
news. It's... Well, in forty years, there hasn ever been a rape during a
session, but.. This isn't easy. Kim was raped by her husband."
She paused for a long time to let that piece of information sink in before
continuing. "I don't know if she'll be able to continue with the class or not.
We're about to get into the heavy stuff, bondage and all that. We, the staff,
don't know how she will handle it psychologically and emotionally so we're
getting some expert help. The reason Kaitlyn isn't here was because she
witnessed the rape."
"Are they all right?" Laura asked.
"It looks like it," Wanda replied evenly. "I got a call this morning. It's not
decided for sure yet but Kim has said that she wants to come back. You guys are
her support network. If she comes back, she'll be treated pretty much like a
regular student except for some of the anal stuff."
"She was pretty sore," Darlene nodded.
"That's an understatement," Wanda told them. "Her anus and rectum were torn
badly. She had stitches taken inside her bottom Sunday night while you coming
back here. Her anal play is over for the next four to six weeks."
"Geez, what'd Roger do to her?" Maria gasped.
"No lubrication and violent entry," Wanda said, shaking her head.
She waited until the murmurs subsided before she continued. "She'll get a few
privileges like a padded seat while you're stuck on hard wood. And when the
husbands meet on Tuesday night, all the men will get another safe, sane, and
consensual lecture. And now we have to get to work. The BDSM classes scheduled
for today have been put off until tomorrow and both today's and tomorrow's
communication classes are going to be combined today. That's because they're
easier to make up if Kim comes back and when Kaitlyn makes it back."
"And now, on with the show. How many ways of communicating can you name? Maria?"
"Speaking?" she offered.
"Right. Verbal. Oral communications. But some has a greater impact. Can you say
your A-B-C's without singing? So even with verbal communications, there are
variables. It's easier to remember the words to a song than to remember words
that are just spoken. Let me..."
Wanda skillfully led a lengthy discussion on various verbal communications and
they talked about verbal communications skills, observing not just what was said
but how it was said. They illustrated misunderstandings that were easily passed
along when verbal communications were used by playing 'rumor' in the group. They
all laughed at how garbled the messages had become by the time they were passed
down the line. Another exercise consisted of Darlene turning her back to the
chalkboard and trying to give instructions to Debbie on how to draw a simple
figure without seeing what Debbie was doing. The results were hilarious.
"OK, verbal communications is one method and we've seen how poor a means of
communicating it can be. We'll work on improving our verbal communications a
little later. So what is another way we communicate?" Wanda asked.
Jennifer picked the obvious. "Non-verbal."
"Very good," Wanda grinned. "So let's try a little exercise, ah, Jennifer, isn't
it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Very good. You can no longer speak. If you do, I will use this on you," Wanda
said, picking up a wicked looking riding crop like the one Tina carried their
first week. "Now, I will also use it if you fail to obey my nonverbal
communications promptly and correctly. Ready?"
Jennifer caught herself just before she said "OK" and nodded instead. Wanda
grinned. It was working! She had never taught this class before and didn't have
much time to prepare after helping to handle the mass escape attempt late last
night. She was at least as scared as any of the students but now she was gaining
confidence.
She put the tip of the crop under Jennifer's chin and lifted up until the tall
young woman was looking right into her eyes. Then she pointed down with the crop
and looked down at the floor. The message was unmistakable. Jennifer knelt
before her.
"This little demonstration is usually done right after the introductory class on
bondage and discipline," Wanda told the class as she circled Jennifer's nipples
with the loose flapper on the end of the crop, then lowered it to tap gently
between Jennifer's thighs, prompting her to spread her legs. For ten minutes,
Wanda directed Jennifer's actions with the crop, letting her know where to place
her hands and correcting her posture.
"As you can see, nonverbal communications can be quite effective," Wanda said to
the students. "I'm sure you all saw me communicating messages to Jennifer. What
other communication was going on?" She looked around, smiling. "I saw Jennifer's
face say, 'Please don't hit me' and 'I'm scared' and 'This is humiliating' among
other messages. Did anyone else see her communicating?"
She then looked down and Jennifer and said, "You can get up now." And as
Jennifer got up, she opened her arms, smiled, and added, "Kiss and a hug."
Jennifer felt so relieved that the barely blushed when Wanda enfolded her nude
body and they Frenched each other for a moment. "Do I taste like chocolate?"
Wanda teased. "No. Minty mouthwash," Jennifer giggled. "Am I the first Afro' gal
you've ever kissed?" "Yes." "How was it?" "Not bad." "Want to do it again?" Now
Jennifer really blushed and as she did, Wanda almost shouted, "See the body
language? OK, ah, Laura. What did she do?" So they talked about body language
and other eye contact and the many variations of non-verbal communications.
Kaitlyn came in as they role played through several exercises and she soon
commented, "I wish I'd already done this for that first weekend. I was really
queasy about playing 'vamp' for Bruce." They were backed up to doors, raising
one leg seductively, and 'making eyes' at each other to try to look sexy. And
they did, just before they burst into giggles. "So there are visual signals,"
Wanda went on, leading the discussions. "Which will be a challenge for our blind
freshman. What other kinds of visual signals do we send and receive? Think about
it. When you look at someone, how do you size them up?" "Clothes?" Wendy
suggested. "Good. What else?" "Hair?" Kaitlyn though out loud. "Sure," Wanda
agreed. "Let me show you a picture." She dimmed the room's lights with a remote
control and a projector cast an image on the white wall. "Tell me about this
person." "Dyke," they all agreed, looking at the slide of a slender woman with a
short, masculine hairdo, small breasts, tight jeans, and leather vest with her
thumbs stuck under a wide leather belt. She looked vaguely familiar to many of
the students. "So you've made a judgement," Wanda grinned. "How about this one?"
It was hard to recognize that it was the same woman with soft brown
shoulder-length curls cascading over her shoulders and a navy pinstripe suit
with a knee length skirt and heels. The discussion continued. The briefcase she
carried and the pen behind her ear were visual clues. "Her name's Sylvia," Wanda
told everyone. "A GWU graduate, a model, and an actress. She's darned good if
you ask me. You've seen her in television ad's, magazines, catalogs, and a few
movies but I doubt you'll see her in any starring roles because she's totally
devoted to her husband and kids. But she's always in demand because of her
versatility and competence. Now tell me about this woman." And they discussed
slides of Sylvia dressed as a hooker, as an ordinary maid, as a sexy maid, a
librarian, a homeless bag lady, a fitness instructor (one of her movie parts), a
housewife with kids (from a TV advertisement), a firefighter (she really is a
volunteer fireman and was an extra in 'Backdraft'), a cheerleader, and a
stripper, and chorus girl. "So clothes make the woman," Wanda concluded. "You
can project an image with how you dress. You _always_ project an image whether
you intend to or not. If you're in a frumpy bathrobe and fuzzy slippers with
your hair in curlers when hubby gets home, you've sent him a signal. But if
you're in a short silk kimono robe and high heels, the signal's a bit different.
And we'll be talking a lot about using clothing and looks in the next six weeks.
But for now, let's go to the kitchen, get some coffee, take a break, and then
we'll work on some other ways of communicating." Once everyone had some fruit
and their beverage of choice, Wanda brought out folders containing graded copies
of the love letters that each of the women had written. It was easier for those
who were married. They wrote the letters to their husbands based on the outline
in the back of John Grey's book, 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.' They
were encouraged to mail them and were provided stamped envelopes. They also had
to write an explicitly erotic letter describing a fantasy they would like to
fulfill. The single girls had similar assignments except that their letters were
to fantasy partners. The most embarrassing assignments were the letters to each
other. At least they were embarrassing when they started, especially when they
were ordered to read them aloud to the whole group. There were lots of blushes
and giggles to begin with, but then they began to openly share some of their
fears and joys, details of what turned them on or off physically and
emotionally, and their hopes for the future. "We'll spend more time talking as a
group every morning and evening," Wanda informed them. "But I would encourage
you to share with each other one-on-one as well. But we're talking about written
communications and they can be powerful and very clear. If Darlene had just
shown that drawing to Debbie this morning, she could easily have reproduced that
egg with a diamond in it. If picture-words were allowed, the drawing would have
been more accurate. Every time we buy an appliance, a car, computer, or any
other machine, there are step by step instructions for how to use them, fix
them, clean them, or whatever. Illustrations clarify instructions." "Well, the
same it true in a marriage. Darlene, how often do you write to your husband?"
"Never," she replied. "Until our assignments." "Do you have a calendar at home
where you write down appointments and schedules? Dates when the kids have
activities and things like that?" "No," Darlene admitted. "Every family needs an
anchor like a master calendar," Wanda told them. "Especially if you have kids.
It's a suggestion in every one of the books on organizing your life that I've
ever read. It not only helps you..." And on they went. "... Why not send love
letters to your husband? Why not put notes in the kid's lunches to remind them
that you love them as well as to remind them that they need to get bring home
the permission form for the class trip? Why not?" "And we're just covering the
basics," Wanda concluded as the sophomores started preparing the dining room for
lunch. She got serious for a moment and told them, "Some lessons don't stick.
This will probably be one of them. We need reminders and reinforcement. For you
married ladies, when things start getting rough again in six months or six
years, remember this -- 'WorldwideMarriage Encounter.' If you think what we're
doing is intense,then go on a Marriage Encounter weekend
with your husband. It'll change your life."
"But more on that later. Now I have some new assignments. Ready?"
A mixture of groans and giggles came from the eight naked women. "OK, your
homework assignment is another self examination. I want a paper describing the
image you think you projected before you came here and then another paper
describing the image you want to project. Each should be at least two."
It was time for exercise class and Wanda joined the advanced group. Chris
reminded them that vigorous exercise just before lunch was often beneficial
because it suppressed the appetite so they didn't need as much food to feel
full. They showered as a group, no longer bashful about washing backs and
backsides. And, as usual, dinner at noon was spectacular. Then it was back to
work in the same classroom they started in that morning.
"How many of you are on line at home or work?" Wanda asked the class. Not
surprisingly, everyone but Laura raised her hand. "Do you ever send e-mail to
yourself? To your husband?"
The afternoon was spent on communications technology; radio, TV, computers and
the Internet, and the telephone. They spent hours talking about 'phone sex' and
everyone was given a homework assignment that consisted of phone sex with their
husbands. The single women would receive calls from some of the boy toys for
their homework.
"Sounds like fun," Kaitlyn giggled.
It was.
