Toward the front of the bus.

Nat walks awkwardly a few steps down the aisle, glancing around. As she looks toward the back of the bus, she sees that one of the girls sitting back there has scooted into a boy's lap, where she's squirming as he works his hand up her shirt. As she watches, another girl gets her head pulled down toward the lap of a boy she's sitting next to. Nat shudders slightly and casts about herself desperately. Two girls are sitting in the seat next to her, but one of them smiles timidly and Nat feels her heart race.

"Can I, uh. Can I sit with you?" she asks.

The girls glance at one another. "Sure," the girl who smiled said. She scooches all the way to the window and the other girl moves over as far as she can to make room for Natalie. Natalie smiles gratefully and sits down with them; it's a little tight with three to a seat, but they manage. She shoves her backpack between her feet{if Slut_Clothes=True}, smooths her skirt,{endif} and glances over at the other two. "I'm Natalie. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Claire," the girl who smiled said. She's short and curvy, with wide blue eyes and chin-length blonde hair. "Nice to meet you, too."

"I'm Denise." The other girl seems quieter; she's taller, a bit more slender, with dark eyes, frizzy dark hair, and full lips. Both girls have green chokers on.

"Did you two do high school together?" Bridge Year is a consolidation program - it pulls together students from many different high schools, and Nat doesn't recognize either girl.

"No," Claire says, shaking her head. "I went to private school - Ms. O'Ginee's Prep."

"I went to Forest Pond," Denise supplies.

"I was at Hardon Hills," Nat says. "This is gonna be...an exciting change."

{if Slut_Clothes=True}"Was that, uh...how girls are mostly dressing at Hardon?" Claire asks delicately.

Nat blushes. "Oh, uh, no, n-not exactly." She attempts (futilely) to pluck her tank top up so it sits a little higher. "I...guess I wanted to look fun for the first day."

"No, no, totally! It's...a cute bra," Claire says awkwardly, blushing slightly and looking away.

"You look very fuckable," Denise says quietly. It's not clear whether she thinks that's a good thing or not.

"Yeah, well...I don't know that I need that, y'know, just yet," Nat mutters.{else}"Yeah. It's...definitely going to be different than my all-girls school," Claire mutters. Denise nods agreement.{endif}

Just then, they hear a series of shrieks growing louder and louder. They swivel to look for the source of the noise, and all of their eyes widen when they find it. Near the back of the bus, a skinny Black girl with an Afro and a crop top has her head thrown back in ecstasy. Though they can only see her from the waist up, it's clear that she's fucking the boy whose lap she straddles. Her hands are braced on the seat in front of them as she rides him, her cries growing louder with every thrust. Her boyfriend nuzzles her neck above her red choker as she rides him.

"Hey! KIDS!" the bus driver calls as they pull up to a red light. "You wanna fuck, fine, but you gotta keep the sluts quiet! It's distracting to me and to anyone who's trying to study."

"Sorry, sir!" the boy calls. "Here, Josie..." As Nat watches he reaches up and stuffs what looks like a pair of panties into her mouth. Denise {if Sluttery > 40}and Nat bite their lips{else}bites her lip{endif} as the girls turn back to one another.

"What happens at the back of the bus stays at the back of the bus, I guess," Claire mutters, shuddering slightly.

"I mean...everyone here's an adult...if they want to have sex, they get to." Denise says. She rubs one hand up and down her thigh over her long, black dress. "I mean, we're probably gonna end up fucking someone too...sooner or later..."

"Fucking's one thing, but getting fucked is another," Claire argues. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend...trying some things out...but I don't wanna end up just tied to a man for the rest of my life. Or worse."

"Yeah, I want to go to {if Intellect > 80}a good {endif}college," Nat says as the bus comes to a halt at another stop.

"Nat! Hey!!" It's Anna, striding onto the bus like she owns it. She comes up to the seat Natalie, Claire, and Denise are occupying and glances at it critically. "Looks cozy." She turns to a girl in the seat behind them and jerks her thumb. "You. Get out of there, I wanna hang with my friend."

"W-what? I was here first," the girl protests.

"Yeah, but these are my friends. What, you can't do me this one little favor? C'mon, girl. Show some solidarity!"

"But..." The girl glances backwards, brown eyes round with trepidation. "But the only seats left are like...way in the back."

"So?"

"So some guys might...might get the wrong idea..."

"Feh. With those flat little titties I doubt they'll even notice you." Nat winces slightly but it's true - the girl is flat-chested. The girl Anna's talking to flushes scarlet. "Look, just think of it as practice being assertive - which you clearly need. You can say no, girl!"

"Oh, I don't know if I...could..."

"Then you've gotta practice. Now scat!" Anna leans in close and breathes, "Do not make me tell you again."

The girl swallows and, after an uncertain moment, gathers her bag and trudges toward the back of the bus. Anna slides into the seat behind Natalie, grinning. Over her shoulder, Natalie sees the other girl sit down in an empty seat near the back. Immediately some stoner bro moves seats to slide in next to her, and the girl squeezes up against the window as he leans in to sweet-talk her, playing with her hair.

"So, Nat! Happy first day! Who're your new friends?" Anna asks, leaning over the back of the seat.

"Oh, uh, this is Claire and Denise," Nat says, dragging her attention back to this set of seats. "They let me sit with them. Guys, this is Anna. We went to high school together."

"Nice to meet you," Anna nods perfunctorily. "What were you all talking about? I heard something about college?"

"Oh, I was just saying I'm hoping I get into{if Intellect > 80} a good{endif} one," Nat says. "And we were, uh, saying that it would help to...sit in the front of the bus, for that."

"It'll only help so much, though," Denise mutters darkly.

"Oh, Denise is totally right, all three of you should expect to take dick," Anna says cheerfully. Nat blinks, flushing slightly, and Claire gasps.

"What?" Claire says, clearly scandalized.

"Oh, come on, like 98% of Bridge Year students are sexually active," Anna says with a sigh. "They've done some pretty, like, robust psychological and statistical work on this. I mean, I can even tell you how you're likely to get fucked." She points to Claire: "Short, curvy, big eyes? Definitely plan to train your throat a bit, your mouth starts out too close to their dicks for pushing you to your knees not to be their first impulse." She turns to Denise. "As for you - hope you're flexible. Studies show that girls who are long-limbed and slender are the kind that guys are likeliest to want to fold in half for a rough pounding."

There's something about the way Anna delivers this all that doesn't sit right with Natalie - it may be true, and she says it as though it's just a fact, but there's a malicious sparkle in her eye and something cruel about the way she spells out how guys will want to use Claire and Denise's bodies. Denise is flushed, and Claire looks like she might cry. But then, Anna is really knowledgeable about this sort of thing...and she's Nat's friend, too...

Out of the corner of her eye, Nat sees the stoner bro at the back of the bus ask the girl something and, after she hesitantly nods, slip his hand into the top of her blouse, making her squirm.