Unknown: Island of terror

None of us could have dreamed of what we were getting into that early January day, when we boarded the plane in New York. We were all going off to the south Pacific, ten teenage girls from snooty Rushdale Academy, going down to see how the natives lived in Malaysia and the Philippines.

For most of us it was nothing more than an excuse to get away from New York's cruddy winter and get a nice tan. There were a few do gooders along of course, but weren't there always?

The main topics for conversation were what the accommodations would be like, and what the boys would be like. The boys were the guys from Morehaven, an all boys military school, that were supposed to accompany us.

Annie Fox was saying how the boys must all be druggies or something, or else why would their parents send them to a military academy.

"That's stupid Annie," Wendy said, flatly. "My brother goes to a military academy, and there's nothing wrong with him."

"According to whom?" Annie sniffed. Wendy looked at her dangerously and Annie wisely shut her mouth.

Annie might be the snottiest, snobbiest, nastiest girl in school, but Wendy was the toughest by far. Wendy didn't get into complicated philosophical arguments or try to top another girl's put down. She tended more towards punching the offender in the stomach or face.

Not that she was mean or anything. Wendy wasn't a bully. She just didn't take any crap from anyone, girl or boy, man or woman. She was captain of the swim team, captain of the volleyball team, and captain of the field hockey team.

She was the proverbial tomboy, cute snub nose, wide but pretty blue eyes, short blonde hair, and thin but athletic body. Annie was taller than her, and weighed more, but she was a powderpuff, too spoiled to have any strength in her limbs at all.

Her legs were for boys to watch, not to walk on, and her arms and hands were for waving and fluttering about, not working with, let alone fighting with. Annie hated school, and only went because she hadn't any choice.

"Why should I go to school anyway?" she often said, "I'm filthy rich. I don't need to work, and I never will."

She spent all her time preening her long brown hair, and constantly perfecting her makeup. I'd known her a long time, and had never met anyone as conceited and lazy and spoiled. Even when she was thirteen, she was talking about getting plastic surgery on her ear tips, or nose, or cheekbones.

When she'd turned fifteen, and it had become apparent that nature wasn't going to endow her with anything bigger than a size thirty-two chest, she'd spent weeks pouting and begging her parents for breast enlargement surgery, only to find out after they gave in, that no doctor would do it until she was eighteen.

So now she wore a padded bra, and avoided changing in front of the rest of us.

I slipped a chocolate into my mouth and gazed out the window, wondering what we'd find ahead.

"Can I have one of those?" I handed a chocolate to Penny, who grinned and thanked me.

"Don't you think you should watch your weight dear?" Annie purred from across the aisle. Penny flushed red, and gazed down at the chocolate uncertainly. I turned to frown at Annie.

"Why don't you mind your own business DEAR?" I glared.

"Well, my goodness, such hostility. I was only trying to help the poor dear. I mean, she is slightly… obese."

"She is not obese you snooty cow! You just like bugging her."

"Well, really Meghan, I'm sorry my showing any attention to Penny bothers you," she looked meaningfully at Cathy Simmons, her partner-in-snottiness seatmate. I didn't miss the insinuation, nor did Penny, who colored an even brighter shade of red.

In fact, from a lot of angles Penny did look overweight, especially if she was wearing anything loose, which she usually was, but she wasn't at all fat, as Annie well knew. The problem was that Penny had enormous, simply huge round breasts. They were something to behold, drawing envious glances in the shower room.

Penny's big chest irked Annie more than just a little bit. She was always needling the girl, who was so completely shy and tongue tied, she couldn't defend herself. If Annie wasn't poking subtle taunts at Penny's big chest, she was putting down her family, or insinuating her hair, a bright, very light blonde, was colored, or dyed.

She was always calling her the Milkmaid, and treating her like some slutty, dumb Scandinavian peasant girl. Penny was such a nice kid that it irritated me to no end, and I had to stick up for her, no matter what Annie implied.

But then Wendy leaned across and stared hard at Annie, and whatever other words the girl was going to say died. Wendy was my friend you see, she didn't really get along with very many of the other girls, thinking them all spoiled and dumb.

I was on the swim team with her though, and we'd gotten to be good friends. Actually, a little bit more than just good friends. Annie's nasty insinuation about me and Penny was dead wrong, but me and Wendy… well, neither of us was a lesbian but…

I remembered back last year after we'd won the regional championship. The whole team had gone out to celebrate. Some of us had managed to slip away from the coaches, and make it over to Clair Donovan's house, where we'd gotten totally pissed.

I lived only a few blocks down from Clair, and after we'd had more than a few, I'd suggested to Wendy that she spend the night at my place. I knew her parents were really hard edged conservatives, and would throw a shit fit if she came home half pissed like she was.

Wendy had agreed, phoned home to get permission, and then gotten drunk as a Lord, or Lady, or whatever. I'd had to keep shushing her up as we staggered down the streets to my house afterwards. She kept trying to sing some dirty song she'd learned from her gardener.

We'd snuck through the gate and up the long driveway, then half climbed, half fell through a hedge and into the back yard. My parents bedroom faced the front and we didn't want to get caught pissed.

"N… niiish plaash," she groaned, her words slurring heavily.

"Shhhh."

"Who's gonna hear us anyway? Your parents are in the front, ten fucken miles away," she giggled. We did have a big house, thirty eight room actually. The chances of my parents hearing anything less than a full blown explosion out here was pretty slim.

Wendy fell, pulling me to the grass, and giggling stupidly. I couldn't help join her, and the two of us lay on the grass acting like assholes for several minutes.

Then she'd spied the pool and sat up quickly.

"You got a fucken pool!" she yelped.

"Uh, huh." She staggered upright and blundered across the yard, through the tennis court and over to the pool. I got up and wandered after her.

I heard a loud splash and tried to run, but almost fell again. Anyway, I heard laughter coming from the pool and knew she was okay. I trotted up to the edge and looked in.

"Come on in," she shouted.

"Too dark."

"Turn on the fucken lights."

"Somebody might see us," I protested.

"Aaahhh… you pussy." She swam up to the edge and then grabbed my ankle, jerking me off balance and into the pool. I gave a short scream, cut off as I splashed into the cool water. Then I was popping to the surface, sputtering in annoyance as Wendy backstroked and giggled at me.

"You dumb bitch!" I cursed.

"Race you," she taunted.

She pulled off her jeans and threw them up onto the cement, then pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it as well. She stripped off her bra and panties and they followed. Then she swam slowly back and forth, doing the backstroke.

"I hope my dad comes out and sees you like that," I laughed.

"Wimp," she called back. I wasn't at all shocked at her skinny dipping, after all, I'd seen her naked enough in the showers. I quickly stripped off my own clothes, tossing them ashore.