Pride x Familiar (31 page)

“Really. And what do you like about her?”

“I like her positive outlook in life.”

I felt like laughing at that.

Duncan continued obliviously. “I like her
honesty, and I like her spirit. I find that we have a lot in
common, and my friends approve of her. She’s kind and sweet. She
smart and easy to talk to.”

“Is that so…and is that all?”

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the girls in
the nearby tables were glancing our way. They gave Duncan admiring
looks. They gave me curious and unpleasant glares. They were
probably mortified to see such a handsome senior talking to a lowly
Familiar like me. Was I going to damage his reputation and corrode
his good looks by breathing in his direction?

Uggh, I was starting to grow irritated.

Duncan frowned. “What do you mean ‘is that
all’?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Well, I thought her looks might count for something.”

He gave me a faintly withering look. “Yes,
Haruka is a very attractive girl.”

Aggh, I couldn’t take this anymore.

I leaned forward and slapped the table. “Okay.
Time out! Let’s drop the niceties. Haruka is a very attractive
girl? Give me a gods damn break. She’s not an attractive girl!
She’s a babe. She’s hot. She’s the kind of girl you want a poster
of on your wall. She’s so hot she can stop traffic, and she was hot
before she became one of your kind. So now she’s easily a nine
point five out ten.”

“Eh,” Duncan uttered.

“Believe me I’d give her a ten out of ten, but
then I’d feel biased. I mean, I’ve known her since we were kids, so
of course I’d naturally want to bump up her rating but a nine point
five is a top mark.” I pointed at him. “Don’t you agree?”

“Ah…yes….”

“Great! Now don’t tell me you haven’t thought of
her in a swimsuit, or skimpy lingerie. I mean, she’s got the body
for it.”

“Uh, well, it’s not like I haven’t
wondered—”

“And those breasts.” I mimed fondling them. “I
mean, can you imagine what they feel like? They must be amazing.
Firm and soft and heavy. One look and you know babies aren’t light
weight, and they’ve got just the right bounce. You’re not going to
tell me you haven’t peeked down her top?”

“Ah, well, maybe once or twice.”

I slapped the table again. “Once or twice isn’t
good enough. You have to take every opportunity that comes your
way. Those puppies were grown to be looked at. You have to
appreciate them at every turn.” I stood up and leaned on the table.
“You have to grab her with both hands, wrap her in your arms, and
feel
them against your chest. If you can’t do that you’re
not man enough for her.”

Duncan rose to his feet and glared down at me.
“What the Hell are you trying to say?”

“I’m telling you to be a man and take that girl
before someone takes her away from you.”

Now he looked stunned. “What?”

I challenged him with a smile. “Better get a
good grip on her or Haruka’s going to slip through your fingers. In
fact, she’s already slipping out of your grasp.”

“I definitely have a good grip on her—just you
watch. This time next week, that girl will be mine, and I’ll let
the whole colony know about it.”

I laughed at his bravado. “You seriously think
you have what it takes to make her yours? Is Haruka really number
one in your heart? Aren’t you just playing around with her?”

Duncan punched the table. “Haruka is number one
in my heart. In fact, she’s the only one in my heart.” He slapped
his chest hard. “There’s no other girl in here!”

Almost on queue I heard the sound of crashing
plastic plates and trays, and more than a few cups and
utensils.

Duncan and I turned slowly to witness a sea of
female eyes staring at us.

It seemed every girl in the cafeteria had caught
onto our conversation, and was now gaping at us with shocked
expressions.

Then quite a few broke down in tears.

“It’s over. It’s all over,” an unidentified girl
cried. “I can’t even dream anymore.”

“Aggh, no wonder he never replied to my love
letter,” another girl wailed.

“I knew he liked someone, but why is it that
second year girl?”

“What’s so good about her?”

“It’s those breasts she has! Tear them off.”

“What the Hell is it with men and large breasts?
What’s so good about them?”

“It’s not fair. And I drink milk every day!”

“Death to girls with large breasts.”

“There’s one. Look at her. She’s so shameless.
Aggh, I’m going to wipe that smile off her face.”

I stared at the commotion beginning to brew
around us.

Little by little, more and more girls were
starting to argue and loudly complain.

One girl slapped her hands on a table. “It’s
true! Paul pays more attention to my sister than me—and he’s
supposed to be
my boyfriend
!” She pounded the table. “And
it’s all because she’s a Dee cup! It’s not fair.”

“Every time we’re at the water park, Marcus is
always ogling the girls busting out of their swimsuits. What’s
wrong with my swimsuit? I look good in a swimsuit.”

“I hate the posters he has on his bedroom
walls.”

“I’m going to delete all the wallpaper images on
his slate.”

“Why did he choose my cousin and not me?”

“He said he likes them small but I know he’s
lying!”

“I’m tired of wearing falsies for his sake.”

“My push-up bra is so uncomfortable.”

“My legs are better than hers, but he’s always
checking out my sister’s chest.”

“Big breasted cows.”

“Damn show offs.”

Then someone laughed and I clearly heard a girl
say, “Talk about envious.”

“Flat chested and hopeless.”

“No wonder they can’t keep their boys.”

“Men like something to hold onto, little
girl.”

“I got no complaints from Kaden. There’s no way
he’d ever stray.”

Suddenly one half of the cafeteria grew
quiet.

The other half seemed to notice and stopped
bragging rather quickly.

Duncan and I stood silently, watching the
cafeteria polarize into two camps with messy battle lines drawn all
over the place.

Girl glared at girl.

Friends eyed their friends with either envy or
scorn.

And then some nameless idiot from the male camp
broke the silence with a loud battlecry.

“Big breasts forever!”

The male camp erupted into cheers.

“All hail Dee cup and above!”

Yes, the cafeteria had definitely polarized. The
battle lines were drawn and a small scale war over a millennia old
rivalry erupted.

Small breasts versus large breasts.

“Emily you bitch! You let my Daniel fondle you
during karaoke! Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Charlie was slobbering all over your chest
Cassandra and you let him!”

“What—you saw that? You were watching us!”

“Karen lost her top on purpose down the water
slide, then made my Marcus fetch it for her.”

“What a shameless bitch.”

“I found your photo on his palm-slate,
Maria!”

“Hey, he begged me for it. He promised not to
tell you.”

I stared in horror and disbelief at what I was
seeing.

Oh my gods! What have I done! I really have
started a war.

Across all three floors, girls hurled
accusations and insults at each other. Friendships went south in a
heartbeat, and I heard a few slaps ring out. Somewhere to my left I
heard the sound of fabric tearing.

“You ripped my blouse, you bitch!”

“Trying to hide your big tits, were you.”

“Give Adrian back to me to you cow.”

“I’m sick and tired of boys asking me for your
number. It’s always you they ask about. What the Hell is wrong with
me?”

“My breasts didn’t grow when I became an
Aventis. What am I supposed to do now?”

From a corner of the cafeteria I heard a loud
crash as chairs tumbled over.

Now things were getting serious and some of the
braver guys were stepping in to stop the various struggles breaking
out. I witnessed one high-school senior separate two girls tearing
at each other’s hair.

“Cassie—stop it. Calm down. You and Marina are
friends.”

“You’re protecting her. Look, she’s hiding
behind your back.”

“Jeezes, Cassie, you’re over-reacting.”

“I hate this. You never look at me the way you
do her. Why? What’s wrong with me?” The girl popped open her
blouse. “What? These aren’t big enough for you?”

I thought the senior’s eyes were going to pop
out.

“No—no, they’re perfect.”

The girl hiding behind him suddenly grabbed his
right hand and pressed it down on her chest. “Huh? What about
these? You don’t think these are better?”

Even from a distance I could see his fingers
automatically fondle her mammoth chest.

“Wow, so soft.”

Ah, you idiot! You made things worse!

The girl, Cassie, screamed and landed a kick to
his crotch. Before he hit the ground, she’d tossed a drink at her
former
friend.

Duncan took a step forward. “We have to do
something.”

I glanced at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding?
Do what? We can’t step in there. We can’t choose one side without
pissing off the other.”

He started moving forward again but I grabbed
his arm.

“You walk in there, they’ll eat you alive.”

“If we don’t stop them, we’ll have a war on our
hands.”

“It’s already a war, and we kicked it off.”

“What? How?”

I really couldn’t believe this guy was a grade
Aye student. “Don’t you get it? You and I both admitted we like
large breasts. That means half the female student body is against
us. They’ll never listen to us. They’ll lynch us.”

As though proving my point I pointed at two
small breasted girls chasing a young man across the cafeteria
floor.

“Liam get back here.”

“Cheating bastard, don’t run away.”

Duncan looked aghast. “We—we have to call
security or the teachers.”

I pointed at the entrance to the cafeteria on
our level. “Looks like they’re already here.”

I didn’t recognize the female teacher, but she
certainly had a figure and face you’d find hard to forget. My
attention centered on her chest, and I had a sudden sinking feeling
that her arrival was going to make matters worse.

Behind her, a half dozen burly security guards
arrived and formed a line abreast, but the men looked downright
reluctant to step one foot deeper into the cafeteria. In a way they
were hiding behind the buxom brunette of a teacher.

The female teacher yelled loudly, trying to
compete with the din of the commotion. She had a small loudspeaker
in her left hand which she brought up to her full lips. “That’s
enough. Stand where you are and don’t move. Every student is to
cease their activities right now.”

“Oh no—it’s Miss Katrim.”

“Miss Katrim’s here.”

“Aggh, it’s Miss Twin Peaks.”

Miss Katrim did indeed fit the bill. Quite an
impressive rack she was sporting.

An envious female voice cursed loudly. “Look at
her puffing out her chest.”

“Even the teachers are big. It’s not fair.”

“She’s not helping my self-esteem.”

“This academy is biased!”

“They hired her because of her bust.”

I didn’t know where the cries were coming from.
It sounded as though from a number of places, but they were all
girls voicing their disapproval of the well-proportioned young
woman.

Miss Katrim had turned bright red. She seemed at
a loss for what to say, then abruptly demanded, “Who said that?
Come down here right now. I will not tolerate this insolence.”

On the third level, one girl walked to the round
balcony overlooking the center of the cafeteria – its atrium. She
had short blonde hair, and stunning legs, but where it counted – in
my humble opinion – she was doomed to a life of mediocrity. “We
demand changes to the teaching staff. We feel large breasts are not
appropriate in a teaching environment.”

“What?” Katrim looked stunned. “What in Pharos
are you saying?”

The girl pointed and declared, “You give boys
the wrong idea about women. Women are not all about their chests.
There’s more to us than just our cup size.”

“Wh—what?”

The girl folded her arms under her prepubescent
chest. “It’s no wonder they can’t concentrate in your class.”

I swallowed loudly, amazed at this girl’s
bravery and forceful convictions. She was clearly leadership
material. Man, she had beautiful baby blue eyes.

But her chest! Ah, what a tragedy. Even I could
tell she wasn’t anywhere near
modestly
sized.

I glanced at Duncan.

He was looking at the girl with admiration and a
hint of pain.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Hey, you suddenly
like them small?”

He shot me a surprised look. “No, big is
better—ah what the Hell did you make me say.”

I waved my hand at the girl standing before the
balcony railing. “Do you know her?”

He looked troubled then really guilty. “Ah,
yeah, I do.”

“Who is she?”

“Melanie Cardwell. We’re childhood friends.” He
sighed heavily and stared at the floor. “She’s had a thing for me
for a while now. And she dislikes Haruka. More like hates
Haruka….”

I looked at the girl again. “Damn, she’s
beautiful. I mean really, really beautiful.”

“Yes, I know. However, as you can see, she
really hates being…small….”

I nodded in abject sympathy. “It really is a
tragedy, otherwise she’d be perfect.”

The cafeteria had quieted down considerably as
everyone’s attention was focused on the stand-off between Melanie
and Miss Katrim.

But then someone unbalanced the situation with a
few choice words.

“Hey Melanie, so that’s why you’re such a fast
swimmer. No drag.”