The Festival of Fertility

Chapter Five

Lin was up before the sun rose the following morning. The flight to Bolivia left early, and Harwood had stressed over and over how important it was to be at the pick-up spot on time. "If you're not on time, we will have to leave without you," the professor had said, and Lin had no intention of being left behind. She rose, took a very quick shower, and dressed as quietly as she could to avoid waking her still-sleeping roommate. Then she gathered up her luggage and headed for the door. Lin gave Dana a final, fond look before she shut it carefully behind her.

The pre-dawn air was chilly and there was a slight wind blowing. Lin, in her denim shorts and black short-sleeve shirt, shivered as it gusted over her. Her skin broke out in goosebumps. Lin considered digging through her things to find the windbreaker she'd packed, but decided against it. All it would do was make a mess and upset the delicate order in which she'd organized everything.

She stood there, alone and trembling in the cold, for the better part of fifteen minutes before the other students in her class began to arrive. Bonnie came first, looking drowsy with bags under her eyes. She didn't look like she'd slept well at all. Krupa arrived next, and unlike the busty blonde Bonnie, she looked rested and eager to begin the trip. Brian and Richard, ever the study in visual opposites, arrived not long after that. Brian was carrying a large suitcase over each shoulder as though they weighed nothing. Isaiah was next, followed by Gabby who was clutching a thermos of coffee in one hand. Bonnie gazed at it enviously, but Gabby either didn't notice or didn't care. Her arrival was closely followed by Aisha and a young man Lin didn't recognize. That must be Jeremy, she thought. He was almost as tall and powerfully built as Brian, but where Brian was gentle, Jeremy looked stern and brooding, even a little frightening.

He does not seem very nice, Lin concluded. But Aisha seemed happy enough and Lin supposed that was all that mattered. In fact, Aisha seemed almost comically eager to please her man. She trailed behind him like an enthusiastic puppy, her dark hair still half-damp from the shower. Jeremy's hand was firmly clasped around hers.

"Is this everyone?" he asked curtly.

Aisha nodded. "Almost. The only person who hasn't shown up yet is Dr. Harwood. Otherwise, yeah, this is everyone."

Jeremy grunted. "Thought there'd be more."

Richard pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Harwood planned for more, but many of them walked out when she told us what her class entailed."

"Bunch of pussies." Jeremy's lip curled. "I'm kind of surprised you didn't go with them."

Richard bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means whatever you think it means, nerd."

"Jeremy. Sweetie." Aisha kept her tone quiet. "Please try to get along with everyone. Can you do that for me, baby?"

"...Fine."

Aisha turned to Richard with a sheepish grin. "Please don't hold it against him. Jeremy can be...blunt, at times."

"If by blunt you mean an asshole," Richard shot back waspishly.

Krupa, sensing the tension growing between the two males, took it upon herself to change the topic. "Wonder what's taking Harwood so long? The shuttle to the airport will be here soon."

"I'm sure there's a good explanation," Gabby said. "Harwood never does anything without a reason." She turned to Lin. "What about you, Lin Ming? You excited?"

Lin nodded, a little jerkily. "Yes. I--I am. I will not deny I am still very nervous, but...I feel excitement as well." Whether the excitement was about the trip itself or about the idea of living amongst a people with few if any sexual inhibitions was another question entirely, and one she didn't know the answer to.