Cerridwen's in the Dunking Booth

Part 2: The Opening Dunk

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow, polka dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy,  bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka dot bikini
So, in the locker, she wanted to stay

I knew Jamie would make good on her threat to come and pull me out of the locker room. Jamie had political pull at the school and half the boys in school would die for her. Many were willing to thrash somebody on her behalf. Save for Daisy, who would only thrash somebody for me. That thought brought me a small amount of comfort. Anyway, after sulking for a few minutes I started toward the door. The hallway was deserted. Which I was thankful for.

I felt my heart start to race as I slowly made my way down the hallway, a few minutes later I was pushing open the double metal doors located at the end of the hallway and out into the blinding early summer sunshine I stepped.

I had to raise my hand to shield my eyes from the bright rays of the sun, the field behind the school was bathed in sun. The dying yellow and brown grass seemed fitting enough for a painting about the deep south. And located on top of this acre and a half of parched ground one of the most gaudy money making schemes ever thought up by man. 

It was a verbal bazaar, food trucks were lined up bumper to bumper, with folding tables and metal chairs set out in front of them. The air was thick with the smell of fish being fried, of chicken being grilled, of beef franks and hamburgers being charbroiled on an open flame. Groups of people, students, former students and just random locals were all walking around. Some were snacking  on hunks of grilled meat that had been speared on a wooden stick. Others were sipping cold cokes.

While others were holding hands and making love with their eyes. And toward the center, was the dunking booth. A massive tank with a viewing glass in the middle, with an old metal target sticking out on the side and a plastic next wrapped around the top.  A cardboard sign located in front of it had the following message plastered to it.

“Benton Academies Annual Dunking Booth Fundraiser! Sponsored by the cheerleaders. Three throws five dollars. To push the button, ten dollars.”  

To the left of the sign was a cardboard table with a money box sitting on top. Behind the table, I spotted Jamie was wearing a nice, blue and white sundress complete with white sandals. Her golden, blonde hair was tied back in a high ponytail that had a matching blue ribbon tied around it. Her baby blue eyes seemed to glitter in the strong sunlight. She quickly spotted me and waved.

I blushed and walked up the table. 

“Hey! Five minutes to spare, good we can open up early then.” Jamie said smiling. I knew in years past that Jamie's older sister Lily would be the one sitting behind the table, taking peoples money, making change and handing out the balls. With one of the footballers being the one to round up all the missed and stray balls. And as I figured her long time boyfriend Ben was the one who she had drafted into doing that. 

“Hey squirt!” Ben called out with a smile. As he walked over to me. “Were Daisy? Normally he's following you around like a lost little puppy.” Ben added with a chuckle.

A crossed look came over Jamie as she pushed her elbow into Ben. Ben blinked and started to rub the back of his neck and thankfully he did not say much. 

“I don't know. Daisy has been kind of silent.. I know he's raising a ton of money. Last time I talked with Mrs. Croft, the one who puts on that Dotty Fundraiser, said Daisy has managed to raise close to six thousand dollars. Smashing your record, and Madeline's record.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Jamie said nothing but just turned her head around and nodded.

“Anyway.” She said as she pointed toward the dunking booth. “I need you to get up that ladder and settle yourself on the seat. Taylor is going to have the second shift, then Rebecca. And you're going to finish out the day by taking the fourth and final shift. Each shift is around forty five minutes, with a fifteen minute cool down time to get the tank cleaned, the balls picked up and stuff. But you might need to work an extra fifteen minutes if there is a long line or something.” Jamie said.

I nodded my head.

“Okay Cerridwen.” Jamie said, taking a deep breath. “Up the ladder you go.” 

I blinked and blinked again.

But I gathered up my courage and slowly I started to walk up behind the dunking booth. I then noticed a ladder with twelve rungs. The ladder led to the top of the dunking booth. Once at the top of the ladder one could crawl over and sit there bottom down upon the plank that would drop them into the three hundred gallons of ice cold water that waited at the bottom.

Slowly I reached up and took hold of the iron side of the ladder. I then put my barefoot on the first rung. After a few seconds I lifted my foot to the second rung, and then to the third and then to the fourth till I was at least inching my bottom out onto the plank. I edged toward the edge and then folded my hands in my lap.

Jamie nodded her approval and then turned toward the gathered crowd and in a loud, booming voice she called out.

“Alright everybody! The dunking booth is now open. Our first lovely volunteer is none other than Cerridwen Circe Whitethorn! Proud member of the 'B' squad and Benton Academies only witch! Though I assure you she won't melt when she hits the water!” 

I blushed a little and offered a little wave, to someone who I don't know.

“It's five dollars for three throws.” Jamie added as she held up three, yellow and white tennis balls in her hand. “Or for ten dollars you can come up and push the button and send our lovely volunteer into the dunking booth! And remember guys, all the money raised from this dunking booth goes directly into the cheerleader's banking account. So step on help and help us fund another year of cheerleading and help us carry on the proud tradition of the Benton Academy cheerleaders!”

A little too much pepper there Jamie I wanted to say, and just was this proud tradition of 'The Benton Academy cheerleaders' that Jamie spoke up. The only traditions we had were showing up to games and flashing our underwear to the crowd when one of us did a high flying stunt and sitting in a dunking booth. Or volunteering to get covered in chili to save puppies. I don't count those as traditions, not in the true sense of the word anyway.

I must have lost myself in my musing because at that very moment I felt the wooden board I was sitting under give way and like a stone I dropped into the freezing cold water below. The cold water took my breath away and the sudden onset of gravity caused me to yell. And then it happened, my world turned blue as I floated around the bottom of the tank. I swam if you could call it that toward the front viewing glass. I pressed my face to the glass and then came to the top, cause you know I still needed to breathe.

The moment I broke the surface of the water a small wave washed over the top of the tank.

“That was cold!”  I said as I wrapped my arms around me for warmth as I bobbed up and down in the dunking before somehow getting myself together enough to swim toward the edge. Blushing I started to climb up over the edge and onto the ladder and once more I managed to seat myself on the seat.

I then noticed out of the corner of my eye that Jamie was standing beside the trigger. A smile a mile wide seemed to be plastered across her face.

“My top could have come off!” I shouted as I peered toward Jamie. One of the drawbacks of wearing a string bikini was you had to make sure the strings were tied right or you ran the risk of your top coming off. “I would have somehow managed to flash the whole freaking school!” I added.

“I hope not.” Jamie said, sighing. “You only have apples up there and nothing more. Really I'm sure you could get away with going topless if you wanted too.” Jamie said grinning. “Maybe you should? That would really bring in the money!” She said grinning sweetly.

I wanted to call her a 'bitch' because she was acting like one. But I stopped myself. It seemed the closer to graduation Jamie came, the more she started to act like her old sister Lily, who I'm told was famous for such comments and such teasing remarks. Instead I just pouted a little and folded my arms across my chest and turned my face to the side.

“They are  big enough for Daisy!” I added with a glare.

I could tell Jamie was about to say something when Daisy appeared. He looked hollowed.  No, he looked ghoulish. Like a man who had braved the perils of Hell and returned to tell the tale. Come to think of it, he always looks like that after he comes back from that scout-camp he attends. His eyes seemed slightly sunken in, his shirt hung off him like a sail, and he seemed to jump at the slightest noise. His one desire I  know was to become an Eagle Scout, and at fifteen he was posed to become the youngest one in the history of Scouting in Mississippi. But it seemed for that honor he would pay in pounds of flesh.
Jamie blinked and Ben blinked. 

“Hey Daisy..” Jamie said, leaning over the counter. “Want to put five dollars down and try to dunk your girlfriend.” She said, I noticed she did not look into his eyes. His eyes seemed hollow. Kind of glazed over.  

“I guess.” Daisy said, shrugging his shoulders. He then reached into his wallet and pulled out a crinkled up five dollar bill. I noticed his wallet looked like it had seen better days. Hell Daisy looked like he had seen better days. 

Jamie blinked and reached over and slipped the five dollars he had placed on the table and slipped it into the change box. She then placed three, yellow and white tennis balls down upon the table and stepped sideways. Ben just looked on and shook his head and muttered something along the lines of 'That boy is going to kill himself over a damn badge.'. Under his breath.

“Hey Daisy.” I waved as I stuck out my chest a little and peered at him. “You going to dunk me?” I said, smirking a little as I wigged my bottom on the seat. I hoped a little flirting would lighten his mood. And cheer him up. Instead he just blinked, slowly blinked like a cat.

I smiled sweetly and felt a huge sweat drop forming at the back of my head as I watched him do his thing. A few seconds passed then like greased lighting the ball seemed to leap from his hand and seemed to sail through the air before smashing into the tarp behind the metal target. It was only a hairs breath away from smashing into the iron plate.

“Wow! Easy their big boy!” I said as my eyes went as wide as saucer plates. “A little too much pepper on the ball!” I said. “The goal is to hit the thing, not smash it into a thousand tiny little bits and pieces.” I said sticking my pink tongue out a little.

Daisy muttered something under his breath. And he reached for the second ball. Once he had the second ball wrapped around his fingers, he pulled his arm back and tossed it toward the target. A second or two later the ball smashed into the center of the iron round target.

A second later, I felt the seat going out from under me, I dropped like a stone into the freezing water below. And like before, I swam toward the plastic viewing glass that was located in the center of the tank. I pressed my face up to the plastic viewing glass and made a goofy face before floating toward the surface.

Daisy just stood there blinking, but a smirk a mile wide came across his face.

“Do that again! And I'll give you a kiss.” I said winking as I climbed back up.

Jamie and Ben raised an eyebrow. Daisy just blushed a little and reached down and picked up the second ball. A moment later, I felt myself once more dropping into the freezing water. Having been dunked three times in quick succession. I felt the strings that held my bathing suit together starting to loosen. So I made a mental point to fix that as soon as possible. I might have, as Jamie said, just 'Apples' but I still wanted to keep them covered up.

Anyway I floated toward the edge or rim of the dunking booth and leaned over. 

“Come here boy and get your kiss.” I told Daisy as I smiled.

Blushing Daisy walked over to where I was floating and then it happened.
Fireworks, wonderful fireworks, as soon as his mouths connected our tongues came out of hiding and we started to kiss. I tossed my soaking arm around him and leaned in, pressing into him, pushing my tongue into his mouth and he in turn pushed his tongue into my mouth. Bright, neon images of color flashed through my head as we kissed.

Finally both Daisy and I needed to come up for air.

“I love you babe.” He said smiling sweetly, it seemed the kiss had restored a noticeable measure of color to his cheeks.

“I love you too.” I said smiling. “Want to get something to eat after my shift?” I said smiling as I looked into his eyes, his eyes seemed to once again twinkle with life. The twinkling of his eyes gave me hope that somewhere deep in that ghoulish shell of his, was still the heart and soul of the boy that I loved. I hoped all he needed was some food, some drink, and plenty of tender loving to cast off that ghoulish shell and return to being his old self again. After all, he was to play Dotty at the end of the month.

“Sure I would love it too.” Daisy said as his cheeks bloomed with color.

“See you in forty five.” I said and with that Daisy left to do Daisy things.

I smiled and hung over the edge of the tank. That kiss had kindled a fire deep inside my maiden heart. I noticed at that moment that Jamie seemed to just be looking at me with a scowl across her face. Ben, her boyfriend, seemed to look a tiny bit amused.

“I refuse to believe you're a virgin.” Jamie said, sighing. “No virgin would act like that!”

“I hope I can lose my virginity soon to him.” I said, sighing as I climbed up on the dunking booth. “But I'm saving myself for my Junior Prom.” I said as I climbed up and eased my bottom down on the drop seat. “Prom is supposed to be romantic. So it makes perfect sense for a girl to cash in her v-card on that night. Plus, I quite enjoy kissing. And there are other fun things for a girl to do, that don't require her to cash in her v-card.” I said, poking out my chest.

“Not that you would know anything about Ms. Jamie Sarah Potter.”

And with that I started my first forty five minute shift in the dunking booth.