Kevin’s cell phone rang as he was sitting in their flat, looking over the textbooks he had purchased for his classes.
“Can you get that, please, honey? It must be on my nightstand!” he called.
Denise was in their bedroom. “Yeah, got it!”
He heard the murmur of her conversation; then Denise walked into the sitting room.
“It’s Malik Hadad, they’ve checked in at the Bath Road Hotel at Heathrow. They want to meet Amelia’s flight tomorrow with us,” she said, handing Kevin the phone.
“Hello, Malik, yes, that would be great. And let’s all have dinner together then. Your flight leaves the following day, right?” Kevin said. “Good; Amelia’s shipment of her clothes and stuff came yesterday so she’s all set. Elliott told us she’d only have a backpack and another small case so her customs should go quickly.... Okay, then.... Well, we’ll meet you at the international arrivals lounge at 3:30.... Sure; ‘bye then.”
Kevin turned to Denise. “All set; let’s do this with taxis—be easier. Amelia’ll be tired. That was a long trip for us when we did it and she had that layover in Qatar too.”
~~~~
The following afternoon, Kevin and Denise were waiting with the Hadads at the exit from customs.
“There she is!” Denise called.
“Where?” Saja looked at the crowd emerging from the corridor. “Oh my! Yes, my goodness, how she’s grown!”
Amelia saw the group and ran up to them, dropping her bags, and wrapping her arms around her grandmother.
“Nenek! I missed you so much!” she squealed and then grabbed Malik. “Hello, Petu, missed you too.” She kissed him. “These are my new big sis and brother,” she declared to them, grabbing Denise’s and Kevin’s hands and then hugging them both.
Kevin whispered to Denise, “Nenek and petu—it’s actually petulu—are Indonesian, grandma and grandpa.”
“I figured,” she whispered back.
“Have all your luggage, dear?” Malik asked Amelia. “Well, let’s be off, then.”
At dinner and later in the lounge of the Hadads’ hotel, Amelia told her grandparents about her school activities, including the plays she had performed in, during her last school term. Of course they knew all about her injuries and expressed their dismay about how difficult it was to try to stop the practice of FGM all over the world. And on more than one occasion they praised Kevin and Denise for stepping in as Amelia’s guardians so that she could get her medical treatment.
They left the Hadads after about an hour’s visit at the hotel, since Amelia was quite tired and the Hadads had an early flight. Amelia lovingly hugged her grandparents farewell and Kevin and Denise received their own emotional parting hugs from the older couple, who promised that they’d send their contact information when they arrived in Accra so that they all could keep in touch.
~~~~
Two days later, Denise and Kevin went with Amelia to her new school to take care of the final registration steps and for Amelia to buy her school uniform clothes and other supplies that the pupil handbook said were needed. Since Amelia had previously been in a school in England, and uniforms were required in Indonesia too, this wasn’t a surprise for her or Kevin, who grew up in countries where school uniforms were mandatory, but for Denise, who wasn’t used to uniforms, the idea was strange. Especially when they went to the school store to get some of the uniform items and she noticed a note in the dress policy.
“Look, Kevin, look at this,” she pointed and read it aloud, “‘Girls are to wear white or light-coloured unpadded bras; our school’s governors believe that coloured bras which are visible through pupils’ blouses are offensive to a modest appearance. Also, white or light-coloured panties must be worn as well, and must have full fronts and backs. Boys are to wear black or navy boxer shorts or full briefs and black or grey socks.’ I wonder, do they do briefs, bra, and panties checks here?” she asked, amazed.
“Oh, I really hope not,” Amelia blushed. “I see that girls can wear pants here and I’m more comfortable with them than skirts. And I won’t need the PE kit, right?”
“Oh yes—thanks, Amelia, I almost forgot about your PE exemption. Let’s go back to the office and take care of that,” Denise said.
They reentered the school office. “Excuse me,” she asked the clerk, “we also need to get a PE exemption for Amelia.”
“Well then, that will require a medical certificate and the head teacher will need to see you,” the clerk answered. “If you can meet now, I’ll see if she’s available.”
“Yes, thank you.”
About five minutes later, they were ushered into the office of Rosemary Pittsdon, the head teacher. She rose when they entered.
“A PE exemption, miss,” the clerk announced.
“Very good,” Pittsdon replied, “and you are?” spoken to the three.
“I’m Denise Roberts. This is Kevin Coris and our ward, Amelia Hadad. She just arrived in London and we’re here getting her supplies.”
“Ah yes. Amelia. Our late admit. Yes, I recognize you, young lady; your acting on the clips you sent was excellent. I’m looking forward to your studies with us.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Amelia said.
“You have a very good academic record as I recall, and yes, I also recall that you were here with guardians. But you are requesting a PE exemption? PE is an important part of your development, you know.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Amelia agreed. “But I was injured several years ago and PE activities are simply too painful; besides, it might worsen it.”
“We would require a medical certificate. Do you have one? We could exempt you for a short period until you obtain one if necessary.”
Denise spoke. “Amelia brought an up-to-date one with her when she arrived. Here’s a copy. I hope you can accept one from a hospital in Jakarta.”
“Hmmm, I see no reason why not,” Pittsdon said. “I see it says ‘traumatic groin injury.’”
“Yes ma’am,” Denise confirmed, “In fact that’s why Amelia is in London now, for treatment. In fact, we’ll periodically need to have her released from classes early to go for treatments, as I understand. This will be over the next six-month period, I was told.”
“We can certainly accommodate her medical treatments although Amelia will be responsible for her missed work.”
“Absolutely. She knows that, ma’am,” Denise acknowledged as Amelia nodded her head.
“Quite. Well then, young lady, this won’t mean that you get free time here,” Pittsdon smiled, “we shall expect that you take on a project during your PE time; one that won’t be physical but will teach you the importance of keeping physically active. I trust that this shall not present a problem?”
“Oh no, ma’am,” Amelia. “I used to love playing football. I can’t now, but there are still things I can do to keep active.”
“Well said, young lady. We’ll have you meet with our PE teachers then, to design a program for your special needs. Is that all you need, um... hah, I can’t use your surname; there are three different ones... anyway, is there anything else... Amelia, I see you raising your hand. Yes, dear.”
“Um, this is a little embarrassing but I need to know, ma’am,” she ventured. “Um, in the dress policy about undies...”
“Ha, ha,” Pittsdon laughed. “Yes, we hear that question all the time. No, we don’t have panties inspections. We state those rules because we want to stress modesty in dress. We don’t want for our pupils to call special attention to the way they’re dressed and our governors decided that wearing modest underwear will set the tone for all clothing you wear. Does this reassure you?”
Amelia nodded vigorously. “Yes ma’am.”
“Excellent. Thank you for coming in today; it was a pleasure meeting you, and Amelia, I’m really pleased you’ll be with us. I’ll be looking forward for when you have your stage performances.”
They left the office and purchased the items Amelia needed, her school clothes and the recommended supplies.
On the way out, Amelia looked wistfully at the bike racks outside the building.
“I used to love riding, you know,” she remarked. “I’d love to be able to ride to school instead of taking that bus. Maybe someday I’ll be able to...” she trailed off as Denise slipped her arm around her waist.
“Let’s hope for it, sweetie,” Denise said. “Let’s go home and drop off this stuff. Kevin has some errands to do now, so let’s go to that big shopping mall—we need to get you a mobile phone and a laptop computer for you to use. And how about looking for some clothes at Morleys for everyday wear? You won’t be in school always, right?”
“Oh yes! Thanks, Denise!” she exclaimed.
Later, as they were shopping in Morleys, Denise asked Amelia, “You mentioned that one of your therapists had you use whirlpools and you said that you like gentle swimming, sweetie. There’s a health club in our area that Kevin’s checked out and we’re going to join. They have a pool and spa there. Interested?”
“Oh sure! Um, but I didn’t pack any swimsuits to bring.”
“Well, we’re in the store right now, and I’ll bet the swimwear must be on sale; I hope there’s still some stock. Let’s look, okay?”
Soon they had picked out some cute suits and Amelia went into the fitting room to try them on. After a few minutes, she called Denise.
“Umm, Denise? Can you come in? I need help.”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh sure, but I need your opinion,” Amelia giggled.
Denise slipped into the room and looked at the girl, who was wiggling into a dark blue single-piece suit. She gasped. “Oh my!”
Amelia looked at her.
“Oh dear—your clothes hide your figure, dear. My goodness, you could be a fashion model.”
A deep flush spread from Amelia’s face down to her chest. Denise took in her youthful figure. She had a perfect hourglass shape with high, firm breasts, a small C-cup, Denise thought, and a round perky derriere. Standing at about 5 feet 7 inches, she radiated a nubile femininity.
“Denise! You’re embarrassing me,” she chided.
“Can’t help staring; you’re a vision of loveliness, honey.”
“Awww, thanks. Papa says I’m getting to look a lot like my mum and she was a stunner. Come on, tell me how this looks now!”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit tight? Look on top here, it’s pretty small for your chest, don’t you think?”
“Yessss, maybe... I must still be growing up there,” she mused. “Let me try this one, it’s a bit bigger, I think.”
Eventually they picked out three suits and left for home with their purchases.
After dinner that evening, Amelia was sitting with Kevin and Denise watching the news on the TV when a news story about Atlanta began to be aired. It was quickly apparent to the watchers that it held no interest for them, and then the news turned to sports. Denise waved her hand at the screen and Kevin took the remote and shut the TV, but Amelia’s expression had become thoughtful.
“Denise...?” she ventured.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Um, you came from Atlanta... when you lived in America...?
“Well, yes, but I grew up in a town near Raleigh in North Carolina, honey. Why do you ask?”
Amelia blushed. “Remember when we met? I asked you how you and Kevin knew there was something wrong with me. You said it was a sense you and Kevin had, or something, and you told me that he knew there was something wrong when he first met you and saved your life. You said that you’d tell me that story, but you never had the chance, I guess. Hearing about Atlanta reminded me.”
Kevin chuckled. “I suppose I should leave the two of you to share those girlie secrets...”
“Um, no, please, Kevin,” Amelia demurred. “I want to hear how you protected my big sister so you’ll protect me too, big brother,” she smiled at him.
“Okay, then. Some of the story can be pretty intense, so tell Denise if you get uncomfortable.”
“Oh really? Now I absolutely want to hear it!”
Denise chuckled ruefully. “Yeah. I might get a bit uncomfortable revisiting some of that history.”
“Remember how good that therapy was, sweetheart—um, it was ‘Prolonged Exposure,’ right?” Kevin asked.
“Oh my... I haven’t thought about that in years... yes, the reliving of the events was a major key, wasn’t it...?” she mused. “Oh!” she snapped out of her reverie, “okay, Amelia, it’s a little complicated but let’s see. It happened when I was 13, the spring before I started high school. My mother’s boyfriend at the time, the creep, began trying to molest me and one day that summer he tried to rape me. I fought him but he scratched and bruised my privates when he tore off my panties and bruised my vulva when he tried to penetrate me but I was saved when the police came; a neighbor had heard my screams.”
“Oh, oh,” Amelia shuddered, “that was my age when I got cut...”
“Are you okay, darling?” Denise asked.
“Yes, but how did Kevin save you? Weren’t the police the ones...”
“Oh, that was later. See, I had this trauma—the scratches, some were deep—they healed but left me with adhesions and the scratches were painful for some time. I don’t remember how long, because the psychological scarring damaged me so much that when I touched myself in my crotch, I would get spasms and the pain would return.”
“Oh, Denise, no wonder you said you understood... nobody else has made me think they knew how I feel...” she sniffled as Denise embraced her.
“Still okay, sweetie?” Denise asked. Getting a nod, she went on. “Soon will be where Kevin comes in. I don’t know if you ever heard of a school program in America where the kids have to be naked.”
“Oh, I heard some joking about that but I thought it wasn’t serious—was it? It wasn’t a joke?”
“No, dear. It really happened. At the end of my sophomore year, that’s year ten, I was picked to be one of the pupils who were supposed to take their turn to be naked. Every week a bunch were chosen and they had to spend a week in school completely naked.”
Amelia’s face turned bright red and a look of horror spread across it. “NO! Oh, that’s awful!”
“I agree, it was. Can I go on?” Denise asked. Amelia nodded. “I had gotten a medical exemption letter, because of my history, but the school wouldn’t honor it. I refused to get undressed, so a teacher held me while another started to take off my clothes forcibly. I must have gone into shock because the next thing I remembered was being in the hospital. I didn’t go back to school that term; there were only two weeks left, anyway. That summer I got a lot of counseling and the doc said if I were forced again, it could cause permanent psychological harm.”
“Oh, I can’t believe it! I can’t believe they could be so cruel—I could never do that. I was taught to be modest, Mum was a Muslim—she didn’t practice, but she said girls must keep their modesty to be honorable,” Amelia breathed, her face was still quite red.
“Being naked—having your modesty stripped away—that’s bad but it’s not the really bad part of the Program, honey,” Denise said. “The really bad part is that you have to let everyone touch your privates and you can be forced to masturbate while the others watch you. Sometimes they allowed the boys to put their fingers into the girls’ vaginas.”
“Oh NO!” she shrieked. “How could they let that happen? OH—you had that pain in your privates and if you were touched there—no wonder you went into shock!”
“Yes—and this is where Kevin arrived. When school started up in my junior year—year eleven, I was selected again for the first week because I didn’t do the week in the spring. They were still ignoring my exemption. But Kevin had just started in my school—he actually had just arrived in America the previous week—and he was in the office registering when they picked him to be in the naked group too. Then I got dragged into the principal’s office; he was in there too, saw what was happening to me, and kind of took over and stopped them from stripping ANYONE that day, including me—he even got the whole first week of the Program canceled, and then got them to change how they ran the Program.”
“Well, not really...” Kevin objected.
“Oh yes you did! Remember the stories of how bad it was there in the spring? And the awful things that Abover thug had the teachers doing? You got the Guardians organized and made teachers follow the rules. And started the website. And found out about the kidnappers. And best of all, you saved my life—I think I might have killed myself, I was so, so depressed,” Denise choked, her eyes filling with tears.
Kevin reached out to Denise and both he and Amelia hugged her.
“So what happened then?” Amelia whispered, fascinated by the tale.
“Kevin is unreal; somehow he just makes things happen,” Denise collected herself and went on. “He got a lawyer and started to do things to tear down the Program and he got me a therapist who knew how to treat my own problem and he got the school to agree for us to do the Naked in School Program without us having to get naked! Can you imagine? Unreal! You know, the U.S. president gave him an award for the things he did.”
Kevin snorted, but Amelia’s eyes goggled as she looked at him.
“Yep, Amelia, he’s a national hero. The kids in our high school called him their super-hero, and that was even before the president’s award.”
“Okay, Denise, enough of that. Amelia, Denise also got an award from the president.”
“Oh my god,” Amelia breathed. “Oh my... no wonder Papa and Janet... oh my... they all think you two are the best people in the world.”
“See, Denise? I hate this... I hate being stuck on a pedestal like that; I’m an ordinary person, really, Amelia. I don’t know why everything I do becomes such a big deal.”
Denise snorted. “It’s because you make things happen, darling. You make good things happen and that makes people around you feel good. Anyway, Amelia, Kevin also had his own medical problem and I want to see if I can get him embarrassed now,” she giggled. “So tell Amelia about yourself now, my studly hero. Gee, I haven’t said that in years...” she giggled again.
Kevin shook his head. “Denise, I love your giggles. They make me all squirmy inside. Anyway, my story, really? It’s not ‘G’-rated, you know.”
“Hey, Amelia’s old enough,” Denise stated flatly. “Actually, unless we give her a blindfold and earplugs, she’s gonna learn plenty, sharing the flat with us this year...” Amelia turned bright red again and cupped her face in her hands, “...so you can tell her how we were able to overcome both of our medical problems. It’ll show her that we both really know something of what she’s experienced.”
“Well, fine,” Kevin sighed. “Amelia, dear, you must have had sex ed in school, right?” She nodded uncertainly. “This won’t be too graphic, I hope. You know that boys’ penises have a covering on the head, the foreskin, right? If they hadn’t gotten a circumcision, that is.” Another nod. “Well, my foreskin was way too tight and when I hit puberty and my... um... part... grew a bit...”
“A lot...” Denise interjected, indicating a size with her hands, and giggled.
Amelia’s jaw dropped and she stared at Kevin.
“Shit, Denise. You stop that. Well, boys get nocturnal erections, it’s normal, not sexual, and one time I got one and it got stuck erect. My foreskin kind of kept my penis filled with blood, the front part, anyway, and it was terribly painful, it’s really a medical emergency if that happens. It was treated but I was left with some kind of nerve damage...”
Amelia’s hands were up to her face again.
“You ok, sweetie?” Kevin stopped to ask.
“Yes... I can’t believe it; so you know how it must feel for me too...” she breathed.
Kevin took her hand. “Maybe. We each feel pain differently, but probably our pain experiences are kind of similar. Anyway, the damage caused incredible sensitivity to touching and if my penis moved too much, that hurt too, so I had to wear tight underwear and use a numbing cream. So obviously I couldn’t take part in being naked where I would be forced to have erections and be touched by anyone who wanted. Fortunately, after I was living in the U.S. for a while, I was able to find doctors who figured out what was wrong and I got treated. That’s why Denise and I want to help you. We both could sense that you were in pain and Denise knows that I’m a sucker for people in need. Especially anyone as pretty as you are,” he finished with a grin.
“Oh, Kevin, you’re so wonderful!” Amelia cried as she hugged him. “I’m so happy that we were brought together, like you and Denise were?” she said shyly. “Like the fates, we all had the same kind of problem. This is like a fairy tale but even better ‘cuz with me it’s a handsome prince and also a beautiful princess come riding to my rescue!”
Kevin and Denise chortled at the imagery of a horse carrying two riders to rescue Amelia.
“Well, we sure hope we both don’t turn back into frogs when this is all over,” Kevin joked and they all laughed.
~~~~
The weekend before classes began for everyone, Kevin had arranged to meet Jeremy at his dojang while Denise was to take Amelia to the health club.
As Kevin arrived at the dojang, a car pulled up and Jeremy hopped out with his bag.
“Hi, Kevin,” he called. “This’ll be great... I’ll introduce you to Chungsah nim Raymond and the people here. I hope you’ll like them and study here.”
“We’ll see... say, who dropped you off? I didn’t recognize her?”
He chuckled. “My security detail. State’s stepped up embassy security all over, recently. They drive us around in plain cars and watch us kids too. I’m gonna be driven to school now and not take the bus.”
Kevin had a vigorous workout during the next hour and a half and was very impressed by Jeremy. The instructors were interested to see some of the moves Kevin had picked up in the U.S. and Kevin saw some techniques which he wanted to practice. He was gratified to learn that his skills appeared to be at the fifth degree at least when he got to spar with the dojang’s owner, Master Raymond, who assured him that if he studied there he could test for the sixth degree in mid spring.
After the workout, he was dressing with Jeremy.
“Glad Master Raymond said I could use a locker here to keep my dobak and other stuff. Say Jeremy, when do you think Denise and I can come visit again? Denise wants to talk some more to Naomi and we have a high school girl living with us who maybe you’d like to meet.”
“Gee, I don’t know... Dad is so busy—Mum too. There’s this G7 summit meeting in Brussels coming up in two weeks and the president and his wife will be there so the embassy is in an uproar over the planning. And then Mr Gerston will be in London for two days after the meeting, too. I’ll mention it and text you what they think.”
They were walking out the door.
“Hey, my ride’s here... maybe she could drop you off somewhere?” Jeremy said.
“No thanks, buddy, but thanks for the offer. Got a quick shopping assignment from Denise before I head home. See ya next time!”
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