A New Style of Education

by Karen Page

Deleted Chapter

This follows on from Part 63. The day after the commitment ceremony.
Events in this were mentioned in several later chapters. I didn't include it as I thought it might have been a distraction. On reflection I think it does add something, so rather like Blu-ray disks sometimes contain "deleted scenes" I thought this would be a good way to share it – after the event.

---

Sunday, 12th March 2006

Thank goodness it was a Sunday and because of the previous night's fun, all the breakfasts had been delayed. This wasn't just because we all were sleeping late, but also because the kitchen staff were up late too.

"Hi Darling," I said, as Helen's eyes fluttered open.

"Hi," she said, and then winced as she moved.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned. She was okay when we went to bed. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Last night was wonderful. I just feel a bit sore and itchy. How late is it?"

"Nine," I said, after consulting my PDA. A light breakfast of cereals was available until ten.

"Then let's shower and meet the world."

By the time we got to breakfast it was nearly ten. We were walking through the entrance hall when we bumped into Rachel and Dr Sue. Dr Sue looked like she was wearing what she was yesterday.

"Hi," Helen and I said together.

"I didn't know you worked Sundays?" I asked Dr Sue as we got closer. "Is someone ill?"

"It was just so late last night that I stopped. Helen, are you oaky?"

"A bit tired. Why?"

"You have some red blotches on your face."

"They weren't there earlier," I mentioned.

"They look like an allergic reaction," said Dr Sue taking a closer look. "Let's get you to the hospital wing and get you checked up. The tests I did after Stacy's latex reaction didn't show you were allergic to anything common."

Helen and I looked at each other helplessly. Going to the hospital wasn't really on our plans. We wanted to have breakfast and relax in each other's company. The weather was starting to warm up a bit, and by early afternoon there was a chance we might have been able to lie out on the back lawn.

We followed Dr Sue to the school hospital. It wasn't long before the Robert, the nurse on duty, was guiding Helen to a bay. Her face didn't seem any worse, which I hoped was a good thing. Though it wasn't looking much better either.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked, calmly. Inside I was worried and upset at seeing Helen like this, but I knew that if I got upset it wouldn't help.

"Helen is in the right place. Let's listen to see what the doctor has to say."

"Your blood pressure is normal," said Dr Sue to Helen.

Dr Sue spoke quietly to Robert, and he disappeared. She produced a small torch and a spatula from a bedside cabinet and asked Helen to open wide and say "Ahh".

Helen complied. "Good, you don't seem to have any swelling there. Have you had any trouble breathing?"

"No."

Robert appeared with a machine on a trolley. "Okay, Robert here is going to put you onto this monitor so we can see observe your heartbeat and blood pressure. We are also going to set up an intravenous line just in case you do get worse and we need to give you so antihistamine medication."

"It's that bad?" Helen asked.

"No, I'm taking a lot of precautions. If something does go wrong, I want to be ready."

One of the other nurses, Pauline, popped her head around the curtain. "Rachel, do you have a moment?"

Rachel muttered something under hear breath and disappeared. Robert was quickly done, and the monitor was soon doing its job.

"Thanks," smiled Dr Sue to Robert. "Is this the machine that can be relayed to reception?"

"Of course."

"So, what's going to happen?" I asked.

"We need to monitor Helen until we know she is okay."

"Thank goodness this didn't happen yesterday," commented Helen.

"We also need to try and find out what caused this reaction. Can you tell me if you've eaten anything unusual in the last day?"

"Nothing unusual. The kitchen should be able to tell you what I'd eaten."

"Did you feel unwell before I saw you?" the good doctor asked.

"Not really."

"You said you felt sore earlier," I chimed in.

"Well, that was probably because-" Helen suddenly stopped as Rachel came back in.

"Yes?" Dr Sue prompted Helen.

I knew why Helen went quiet. She didn't mind talking with Dr Sue about what we did, but there was no way she was going to mention that in front of Rachel. Dr Sue probably knew, and the blushing of Helen was just an unneeded clue.

"Dr Ruiz and David," said Dr Sue very formally. Rachel looked a bit surprised at the formality. "Would it be possible for you to both to wait in the hospital reception for a few minutes? I think this conversation would go a lot smoother as a one-to-one. David, I know you would normally be here, but don't you think you should notify your friends where you are?"

"That's never happened before," said Rachel, as we walked towards reception. Camped there was Stacy and Andy. "They were the reason I got called away. They were asking about Helen and if they could see her."

"Dr Sue kicked us all out so she could have a private word with Helen," I explained, taking a seat next to Stacy. "Helen has had an allergic reaction to something. Dr Sue was worried enough to get her down here, but it seems not worried enough to take her to go to A&E."

Rachel shook her head. "We brought Helen down here to assess her and keep her stable. If she got worse, we would have been calling an ambulance. If she was here, we could give her adrenaline and a few other items to keep her stable. My official role here is as a school representative. I can give permission if any medical intervention is needed. I'm here unofficially because I care and want to see she is okay."

"So, will she be okay?" Andy asked, not sounding his usual confident self. I smiled a bit at the almost duplicate question which I asked.

"Her vitals look good," said Rachel carefully. "However, the blotches on her face did show she has had a bad reaction to something. It wasn't as bad as Stacy was with latex, but it is something that we need to find the cause, so she doesn't suffer again."

"Thank you both for yesterday," I said to Stacy and Andy. "You both helped make the day perfect."

"We enjoyed it too," smiled Andy. "Talking of yesterday, I'm beginning to think that Jill is more trouble than I am."

"She wasn't trouble," laughed Stacy. "And I didn't hear anybody complain!"

"David," called Dr Sue from the other end of reception. "You can come in now."

As I got up, I said to Andy and Stacy, "Are you two coming too?"

"Are you sure?" said Andy, slightly surprised.

"Helen may be embarrassed at first, but I know she will be pleased to see you."

They got up and started to make their way across the room. Dr Sue looked confused and rushed across. "Sorry, just David at the moment. Just partners. Visitors possibly in a bit."

"But-" I started.

Andy interrupted. "Go ahead David. We'll wait."

"Will you or Stacy let year-one know?"

Stacy agreed to do so, and I followed Dr Sue back to Helen. "How is she doing?" I asked as we went.

"She's stable."

I walked through the gap in the curtains and saw that Helen was in a hospital gown. I rushed across to her, "Are you okay?"

"I feel fine," she said, as we embraced.

"Andy and Stacy are here," I mentioned. "Though Dr Sue said they couldn't come in."

"But-" she stopped, not knowing what to say.

"That's about as far as I got," I added.

I mean what could I say? The relationship wasn't traditional and in some ways it might have been regarding as very close friends. Nothing had ever happened, well more than an odd kiss on the cheek. However, we all knew how we felt but we all seemed to be following Stacy's ruling that nothing can happen.

"They are very close friends," I tried to explain; knowing Dr Sue kept stuff to herself.

"More than that," butted in Helen.

"Yeah, a very strong emotional attachment," I agreed. "Though nothing physical. There is a technical word for it, but I can't remember what it is."

"If it was this important, then surely you would have remembered," said Dr Sue pointedly.

"It's a label and I hate labels. All I can remember it was sort of two words merged together and one came from Latin. Rachel probably will be able to tell you."

"Okay, I'll have a chat with Rachel in a minute. First though, I want to give you an update. Helen, you are stable and whatever allergen affected you seems to be dissipating. You had an allergy test before and nothing showed up, but that is only for general items such as dust mites, peanuts, latex, chlorine etc. I need to ring a colleague to discuss the symptoms as this is something unusual. Now I did hear him mention a strange case that sounded similar, so let's see what comes out of that."

"How long will I be in here?" Helen asked.

"Let's see how you go the rest of today and what I can find out. Why don't we make an assessment at five? Any other questions?"

Helen and I exchanged looks, neither of us had anything to ask so we replied not.

"Okay, so try and relax. I'll have a word with Rachel and see what she says about those two."

When Dr Sue disappeared, I asked Helen, "Did you tell her what we did last night and this morning?"

"Yes, she mentioned that we were too young for that and reminded me of the law. But she wasn't judgemental about it and wouldn't be telling the school. She checked me out down there when I said I was sore. Thank goodness she got Pauline to chaperone rather than Robert. Anyway, I'm very red down there, but she can't tell if that is because of what we did, or because of the allergy."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't. I think it was the perfect time to do it and I wouldn't have wanted it to be with anybody but you."

I leaned across and gave her a gentle hug. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she happily responded.

"Knock, knock," came Andy's voice. I looked up, but the curtains were still shut.

"Come in you silly thing," Helen responded. "And I hope you've brought Stacy with you."

"I'm here," said Stacy coming in with Andy. Both had brought a chair with them. They took up position at the opposite side of the bed and Helen filled them in with the findings.

"I let your year know that you wouldn't be around for a while," said Stacy. "They were all concerned that you were in hospital and were all about to come down until I explained that tests were being run. I said I would try and find out more information, which is why Andy and I are here. Mr Hobson will make a proper announcement at lunch, so the rest of the school knows."

Strange though it was, but the next few hours zoomed by, and it turned into a day to remember. This was really one of the first times that the four of us had been so close together and just chilled. There was no talk about lessons, no talk about beta stuff, just us talking about anything and everything.

It was coming up to lunchtime when Rachel reappeared. We'd had a few visits from Pauline, but other than that we'd been left to ourselves.

"Sorry to disturb you," announced Rachel coming in. "I'd like to remind you that it's coming up to lunch."

"I thought lunch was delayed today?" I enquired.

"It is. It is quarter to one now. The late lunch will be staring in fifteen minutes."

"Wow, where's the time gone?" said Andy to nobody in particular.

"Can I stay here?" I asked hopefully. I really didn't want to leave Helen's side.

"Yes," smiled Rachel. "I'll make sure that the staff bring something down for you as well as Helen." Rachel turned to face Stacy and Andy and gave them an inquiring look.

"We better get going," said Stacy, standing up.

A look of sadness momentarily flickered across Andy's face, before he nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you at lunch then," said Rachel who disappeared, leaving the four of us alone again.

"Will you be back later?" Helen asked.

"We'll see," said Stacy carefully.

"I know, you don't want to give the wrong impression," I muttered slightly bitterly.

"No, it's not that," Stacy responded sounding slightly hurt. "We don't know if Dr Sue will allow us."

Helen smiled and said she understood. She got a small kiss on her cheek from the two of them before they went to have lunch.

Two meals appeared, which Helen and I quickly devoured. Whatever allergic reaction Helen had hadn't diminished her appetite. It was a bit after our trays were removed that Dr Sue appeared.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a bit better," Helen replied.

"That's good." murmured Dr Sue whilst she checked Helen's chart.

"Did you find out what's wrong with me?"

"My colleague was able to give me the information regarding the historic case. It was quite enlightening. I'm not sure yet if it's the same problem, but a test will help. I will need David's help to set it up and will mean he will be away from you for a little while."

"Am I allowed visitors?"

"Not yet. I want to see how this test goes. Stacy and Andy are allowed and should be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Helen said. "It will be nice to have company while David is helping you." She paused and then asked, "What do you need David for?"

"I need some samples to set up an allergy test. It might be a bit hard, so I'm not sure how long he will be away."

"David, once Stacy and Andy are here, can you come and see me."

She disappeared and it was again just the two of us.

"Are you really feeling better?"

"I didn't feel that ill to start with. Just a bit sore. I'm sure I looked worse than I was."

From what Rachel had said earlier, I wasn't convinced, but I didn't want to say anything to Helen. She might not have felt too ill, but from what Rachel had said it could have been bad.

Andy and Stacy weren't long before they made an appearance and I left them all to find out what Dr Sue had planned for me. I found her in reception where she escorted me to the small room she used as a temporary office when there was someone in the hospital that she was keeping an eye on.

"I won't beat about the bush," Dr Sue started after I sat down. "Helen has had a bad reaction and a potential cause I want to test for is in relationship to you two having sex."

"You can't be allergic to sex, can you?"

"The symptoms that Helen have are like a case a colleague treated. So, I think is a good place to start. Helen said you didn't use a condom. Can you confirm that?"

"No. I didn't know they were available. I thought sex was forbidden at this school."

"It is and we will talk about that later. However, it is understood that even though it is banned it might happen. One of the hardest things for any child to cope with is becoming a parent too early. Since it is possible for Helen to get pregnant by accident, she is on birth control. That isn't to encourage sex, but to stop any unwanted consequences. Likewise, there is a supply of condoms available. Since any pupil using condoms wouldn't want the school aware of it, there is a secure disposal facility. I will explain this to you and Helen later, or if it is too embarrassing you could ask Andy or Stacy."

I blushed. It was more at the mention of Andy and Stacy rather than the talk of sex.

"Are you okay about Andy and Stacy being with Helen?" I asked.

"Let me show you something." Dr Sue punched a few things on her PDA and pushed it across towards me. "That is Helen's heartbeat. As you can see when you were all talking this morning it was a lot lower than when she was being seen to earlier. She was distracted from worrying about what was going on by the three of you."

"Is that it?"

"No, I have a lot more graphs but I'm sure that you'd rather find out what is wrong with Helen rather than discussing biology."

"Yes," I said eagerly. "What do I need to do?"

"There are two parts to these tests. One to make sure that neither of you have any other conditions; for that I'm going to need to take some blood and urine samples like I took from Helen this morning. The second part is to see if Helen has a conditional called Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity."

"Are you saying she might be allergic to my sperm?" I shrieked. I couldn't believe this. I'd only just got capable of being able to be intimate and now she had an issue? I think somebody was trying to tell me something.

"No, not your sperm. You missed the word Plasma. That is the fluid that the sperm swims in. If that is the problem, then there is a way to desensitise Helen. I just need a sample from you."

I nodded.

"Okay, if you can roll up your sleeve then I will take the blood."

I turned away as she found a vein. I hated injections, but it wasn't long before I was being told that it was all done. I turned to look and saw that there was a small swap of cotton wool affixed to my arm by some surgical tape.

"Do I get a lollipop for being so brave?" I joked.

Poor Dr Sue must have thought I was being serious as she got a look that was a mixture of shock and worry. I laughed and told her I was just teasing.

"No, you are right in some ways. I keep forgetting that you are still a child. I had to get permission for the tests from Rachel after all."

"Does she know about the hypersensitivity thing?" I started to panic, wondering what the punishment might be.

"No, just we need to rule out several things. I'm sure she is wondering, but she knows I won't break patient confidentiality."

"Not even in the middle of the night?" I blurted out. I instantly regretted saying it. I gave myself a mental slap, knowing I would have got a real one from Helen if she'd been here.

Dr Sue gave me a stare and I blushed. "Sorry. I shouldn't fish."

"No, you shouldn't, but that isn't what upset me. I always keep my patient's confidentiality and I would appreciate it if you didn't spread rumours."

"I wouldn't. I just wanted to see if what I thought I'd seen this morning was true."

Dr Sue put two containers on the desk. One was a smallish one, and the other was slightly larger. Each had a plastic bag with them.

"This one is for urine." Dr Sue pointed to the small container. "Please make sure that the lid is secure before putting it in the clear bag. The other container is for your sample. Once you have managed to do that, secure the lid and put it into the yellow bag." I took the yellow bag and saw it hid what was in it.

"What type of sample?" I asked naïvely. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Sorry, I need a sperm sample."

I sat there and stared towards Dr Sue, but she wasn't my focus. Doing something like that had never crossed my mind. It was like having sex without someone I loved. Pure selfish pleasure. I shuddered. Yet it was needed to help Helen. I'd seen how much pleasure she had last night, and this morning and I wanted to be able to always make her happy. A tiny tear leaked from my right eye and slowly made its way downwards.

"David, are you okay?" Dr Sue asked.

There was concern in her voice and I hoped that she hadn't seen the tear. I didn't want to wipe it away, worried that she might have seen it. "I've never done anything like that before."

"I see. Do you not know what to do, or is there a bigger issue?"

"Oh, I've read enough books and seen enough films to know what to do. It's just –" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Why don't you go and do the urine sample," suggested Dr Sue. "We'll leave the other test."

I transferred my gaze to the container that was still sat on Dr Sue's desk. I didn't see the container though, but Helen's skin full of blotches. I remembered Dr Sue ordering some antihistamines just in case Helen got worse and Rachel saying that it was the best place to try to stabilise Helen if they needed to get her to the hospital. Could I be that much of a danger to Helen?

Wordlessly I picked up the two containers and went towards the toilets. When I eventually came out, Dr Sue was at reception. I handed over the two bags. She handed the clear one to Robert who said that he would get it sent off. Dr Sue took the yellow one and told me to follow her. I didn't. I'd spied a red plastic waste bin and made a mad rush for it and threw up.

"I suppose I'll sort that out," said Pauline, getting up.

"Sorry."

"You aren't the first person to be sick in here and you certainly won't be the last. At least you did it in something rather than all over the floor or the bedding! Now go catch up with the doctor."

I found Dr Sue in another room. It was a mini lab where some tests could be done immediately. This school never ceased to amaze me.

"Can you close the door," Dr Sue said, the sample was on the side and a countdown timer was gradually ticking down.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Waiting. As always, waiting is the worst hardest thing, but in this case the wait is needed for things to become liquid. We then do a bit a few other things to prepare the skin test for Helen."

"It isn't dangerous for her, is it?"

"It shouldn't be. This is going to be a very small sample that we will put on her arm. If she's allergic, she will get a small reaction that is localised there."

"So why did you call me in here instead of letting me go and see Helen?"

"Before you went to do the samples, you were very upset. When you came back didn’t just look ill. you were sick. Seeing you like that would only upset Helen. I wanted to give you time to recover a bit."

"If Helen is allergic to me, would she also be allergic to Andy?"

Dr Sue looked surprised, but quickly answered, "Is that likely to be an issue?"

"Not while we are at school. Afterwards, who knows? Though isn't it best to know?"

"Let's see how your test goes. It is pointless testing Andy if Helen doesn't react badly to this test." She paused. "Can I ask you a personal question, not quite related to the medical question at hand?"

"Sure."

"How does the relationship with Andy and Stacy impact yesterday's commitment ceremony?"

"It doesn't. We made a commitment to each other. Hopefully, we will love each other for the rest of our lives. Part of that commitment was being fully open with each other. None of us planned how we felt about, as Rachel calls them, our cross-partner feelings. One thing we learnt early on at school is we had to be honest with our study partner. Earlier this year, after some issues, we also learnt that it includes others that are in extended relationships."

"The time about your birthday when you seemed a bit angry?"

"That's it. Rachel made us talk about things between us. We all learnt a hard lesson then. It also helped that we found out there was a proper term for it."

"I'd heard of the term, but it took talking with Rachel this morning to understand properly. It takes a lot to buck the trend."

"But isn't bucking the trend what you did and most of the students at Hayfield? There are a lot of LGBT at this school which isn't the norm."

"That's true. You're looking better, do you want to go back to Helen while I finish off here?"

"Thanks for the chat," I said, getting up. As I got to the door I added, "You and Rachel did look good together this morning."

I was gone before I got a response.

Helen's face lit up when I walked through the curtains. "You're back!"

I went across and gave her a hug and a kiss. As I pulled back, she looked at me oddly. "You've been sick."

"Yes," I responded. "I have. Though I was glad I got to a waste bin, which Pauline offered to clean up."

"What were you doing?"

"Helping create a test to see test one of Dr Sue's theories on your allergic reaction. I also had to give some blood and urine to make sure I was clear of other issues."

Helen didn’t mention me having been sick again, which was good as I didn't really want to explain what I'd had to do. If the test came back positive, I'm sure Andy will find out soon enough.

"So, what did I interrupt?"

"Nothing much, a bit of talking shop. About what happens when year five leave."

"Is there a big ceremony?"

"I wouldn't say big, after all there are only eight of us. There is a bit of a show of what we've achieved and some embarrassing photos. Finally, after handing over head student there is a big party."

"Big?"

"Yes, one where there is far too much food," added Andy. Last night Andy referred to the buffet as just the right amount of food, and there were tonnes of it. If Andy thinks there is far too much food, how much are they going to provide and how long does it last?

I didn't get chance to ask anymore as Dr Sue appeared along with Rachel.

"Why does it always go quiet when I appear?" Dr Sue asked

"Because we're respectful and want to listen to what you say?" replied Stacy.

"Hey, I like the sound of that," laughed Dr Sue. "Okay, I have the items for a skin prick test. One is a control and the other is what David helped me cook up. According to the notes the test should be left for twenty minutes. If at any time you feel unwell then please say. Do you have any questions?"

"No," replied Helen.

"Are you okay for me to give you the test?"

"Yes," Helen replied.

Dr Sue looked across at Rachel who nodded, and Dr Sue set the test going.

The twenty minutes seemed to drag, and we all wanted to look at Helen's arm. Dr Sue had left, but Rachel had stayed to keep us company.

After a few minutes of silence, I couldn't get a thought out of my head and decided now was as good a time as any to ask. "Rachel, can I ask a difficult question? Well, I think it's difficult, but it really depends."

"Difficult for you or me?" she responded.

"You, I think. I know you have multiple roles at the school. A psychiatrist, a guardian and a sort of representative to the school. Isn't a psychiatrist supposed to keep things confidential? Yet how does that relate to what you have to do school wise for the other roles."

"I think I understand where you are coming from. I suppose part of this comes down to trust. Can I be trusted to be told something and not get you into trouble?"

"That day, you were like the high inquisitor, dishing out the punishments," said Helen, rather more forcefully than she normally was.

"Do you think this should be talked about without Stacy and Andy?" asked Rachel.

"No," Helen and I said simultaneously.

"We don't have secrets," said Stacy. "Not anymore. It was the only way that made sense. If one of us does something that hurts the other then we talk about it, we try not to let resentment or confusion settle."

"Who came up with that plan?" Rachel asked. All three of them pointed to me. I just blushed.

"Weren't we talking about trust," I said pointedly, trying to get the conversation back on track.

Rachel nodded. "Okay, let me summarise the events as I remember them without interruption and let's see if you agree."

"Okay," Helen and I agreed. Andy and Stacy just kept quiet.

"You came down to breakfast very tired and with silly grins. The way you acted with each other was that you had not just broken the school rules, but potentially the law. It was thought that you had engaged in underage sex. This was not just noticed by the support person at the table but also by Mr Hobson. After breakfast we had a chat, with me as your school representative. You admitted what you had done and hadn't done, and the punishment was set."

"That sounds about right," Helen agreed.

"Okay, now if you'd come to me before breakfast and said you had a problem that when you tried to get intimate that David didn't feel well, then I would have been bound by confidentiality. I would also have advised you not to have silly grins on your faces at breakfast. However, if Mr Hobson seen you beforehand and had twigged what had happened, then if he asked for a meeting, I would have had to recuse myself from acting as your guardian. One of the other support staff would have had to take that position."

"It's a question of hats," said Stacy.

"Perhaps we could help David by getting some hats made up for Rachel. A different title on each hat."

"Don't you dare," said Rachel trying to keep a straight face, but failing. "It's hard enough to carry a PDA around, let alone finding storage for a bunch of hats."

"I'm sure that isn't the correct collective noun," I added.

"Don't scratch," Rachel ordered Helen when she noticed Helen starting to do just that to the test area. "I'll let Dr Sue know."

Stacy, who was seated closest to the hand Helen was scratching with, took her arm and held it so she couldn't scratch. "Sorry, but you will only cause more issues if you do."

"I know, it was just a powerful desire to scratch."

Dr Sue came bustling in with Rachel and immediately went to inspect Helen's arm. "Definitely a reaction. Rachel, will you be kind enough to measure it when the twenty minutes are up, so I can see how it fits into the scale? Helen, this was a very targeted test. I would like to do another test on your other arm to test if this is a wider issue. Is that okay?"

Helen nodded. "I just want to find out what's wrong."

Dr Sue turned to Andy. "David was kind enough to help me earlier, but he found it rather difficult. Would you be willing to help me this time?"

"Sure," he responded.

"If Stacy gives Andy a hand, then it might make things quicker," I suggested.

"They are both over eighteen, so I will leave it up to them," said Rachel.

When Andy and Stacy had gone with Dr Sue, I took over to hold Helen's hand so she wouldn't be able to scratch. "Rachel, can I trust you to keep something confidential?"

"As long as you aren't going to endanger yourselves or others then yes."

I looked across at Helen who looked slightly panicked, but she nodded.

"Don't be upset with Dr Sue. She is trying her best to help Helen, but she knows that if you aren't told in the right way that Helen would have been in trouble. If Helen didn't feel that she could have trusted Dr Sue, she wouldn't be getting the help she needs. That is why Dr Sue sent you out of the room this morning, so that Helen would be open."

"What were you able to tell Dr Sue that you weren't able to tell me?"

"The only thing different was that we'd had sex," said Helen. "And I was sorest down below."

Rachel gave a small sigh and said, "I can understand why you didn't want to say anything in front of me. Especially after what happened before. Has Dr Sue mentioned how wrong you both were doing what you did?"

"She mentioned that not only were we breaking the school rules, but we were breaking the law."

"And she is right, but I will save my lecture for another day. It appears that Dr Sue has an idea of what the cause is, by the fact she has managed to get an allergy test run that has shown positive. So, we wait and see what she says when the next test is run."

Stacy re-appeared and without saying a word came up to me and gave me a big cuddle. "You must really love her to do what you did."

Helen looked really confused, but all Stacy would add was that Dr Sue would explain everything after this test had been run.

"Where's Andy?"

"I helped him with the initial work needed, but he made a total mess so went to get changed. Dr Sue is processing things now."

"Now you've explained what's going on, I'm going to see if I can help the doctor. Hopefully, she can fill me in a bit on her theory and what can be done to help."

Andy was a bit longer than we expected, but when he did reappear, he was looking all cleaned up and came with a bowl of green grapes.

"Food?" Stacy enquired. "I though you would have had enough after lunch."

"It's not for me, but for Helen. Anyway, grapes are healthy."

"Ah, that’s really kind," Helen smiled. "Though it looks an awful lot for just me."

"Aren't there a few missing?" I said, pointing to the empty area.

"Blame Pauline and Robert. It was payment to let me in with them."

We all had a big laugh at that one.

Dr Sue appeared around half an hour later. She had the same testing equipment that she used for the previous test. "Now we have a problem. You are all sitting near the arm that I need to test. However, before you move, let me have a good look at your other arm."

After inspecting Helen's arm, Andy and Stacy moved to the other side and I moved back to give room for the test to be done. We could then all stop Helen from scratching if it became bad.

The test came back positive.

"What now?" sighed Helen. "What am I allergic to?"

"I'll explain in a few minutes," said Dr Sue. "First thing that is important; you aren't going to die today. So, let's get you unhooked from the monitor, and you can get dressed. We will then chat about what you are allergic to and what can be done. We'll have this chat in Dr Ruiz room."

"Sounds good," said Helen, trying to get out of bed before Dr Sue had removed the monitor pads. We all left her to get dressed in peace and wandered across to the hospital wing reception. Andy took care of making sure the bowl of grapes was finished before rushing upstairs to take it back to the kitchen. He would meet us in Rachel's office.

It didn't take Helen long before came into reception, wearing the clothes she'd worn this morning. Her badge of commitment proudly on display. She didn't come straight across, but instead went to thank Robert and Pauline for their help. They smiled and said that she was a model guest, but not to visit too often.

"Am I allergic to sex?" Helen asked, as we went to Rachel's office.

"Not quite." I explained what she was allergic to.

"And the second test?"

"Andy," replied Stacy.

I thought she would have been upset, but Stacy seemed to be quite accepting of that test.

"But why?"

"You won't be having sex with him this year, but can you say the same of five or ten years? Isn't it best to find out now as the tests are being run, rather than at the time?"

"You're just like David, always thinking to the future and planning," said Helen soberly.

"Of course. It was David who suggested the second test. That is just one of the characteristics of why David will be Beta One next year. He needs to perfect his forward thinking, but he is getting there."

We didn't say any more about it until we were in Rachel's office. Andy was there already. Dr Sue outlined the problem and Helen managed to pull off looking surprised.

"Can anything be done?" asked Helen. "Is there a cure?"

"Two things are possible. The first is any partner you have sex with should use a condom. Not overly exciting, but it should stop you getting ill. The second, if they are a long-term partner then you can be desensitised to him."

"How?"

"A series of weak injections that slowly gets your body used to him. However, to stay tolerant they have to have sex every few days."

"What?!"

"This is the first time that I've ever heard of prescribing sex let alone doing it," said Dr Sue. "However, it is only possible once you have been desensitised. Also, the literature isn't very clear about the regime if you have two partners. It is an unusual problem to have, and it seems the people who have been diagnosed are all in a monogamous relationship."

"Once you do leave the school, if you do get condom's, make sure they are latex free. You don't want anything latex in or around Stacy," advised Rachel.

Helen looked like she was going to ask a question, but Rachel continued. "Nothing can be done yet. Where possible, the school ignores sex they know does happen. They can't turn a blind eye when they make it obvious, like you did a few months ago. They also find it hard to turn a blind eye to give authorisation for medical treatment which only allows sex to happen. Remember sex isn't just against the school rules, at your age it is illegal."

It wasn't what Helen, nor I, wanted to hear, but it was the truth. We walked out of the Rachel's office knowing that things were going to be harder, but then when was anything that was worth something easy? It was just something else we would have to work on.

"Thank you for being here with me today," said Helen to Andy and Stacy. She gave them both a kiss on their cheeks.

"Our pleasure," said Andy and Stacy together before wandering off, hand in hand.

"Why don't we nip to our room and grab a rug. We planned to lay down out back this afternoon, and I think there is still time."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Helen.

We rushed to our bedrooms. We each had a rug so we could spread out as we desired, or if someone in our year spotted us, they could join us without having to get their own. When we got to our room, I spied a printed note on my desk. 'Check bedside table'.

Intrigued, I did as the note instructed. There was nothing unusual in the top draw. However, in the middle draw was a big box. I opened it and saw it was full of condoms, the box was marked latex free. I heard a squeal from next door and presumed Helen had a similar gift.

Grabbing my rug, I yelled, "Are you ready?"

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