The College Thespian, Chapters 1 and 2

The College Thespian, Chapters 1 and 2

By Hummingbird-Goal

*

Chapter One - Leah Gets the Lead Role!

Leah arrived home from her day at community college with a little extra pep in her step.

“What has you in such a good mood?” Her mother, Sarah, asked.

“I got cast as the lead in the fall play at school,” Leah said brimming. “I’m the first freshman ever to get the lead, I’m so excited.”

“Well good for you, honey. I’m so proud of you,” her mother said as they both walked into the kitchen.

“What’s for dinner tonight, mom?” Leah said, reaching both hands behind her back and unclasping her bra, freeing her D-cup breasts. She hated wearing bras, but her mother insisted that she had to wear a bra when out in public. Their compromise was she could take it off once she got home.

“Oh, I thought we’d have homemade pizza, does that sound good?”

“Sounds great, is Cory going to join us?”

“Why don’t you call him down. He’s been doing his homework since he got home from school. I’m sure he could use a break,” Sarah said, reaching for the container of flour. “And dear, please be aware that you’re wearing a white blouse.”

“Yeah?” Leah responded.

“I just don’t want you torturing your poor brother with those,” she said wagging her finger back and forth at her chest.

“I don’t think he ever really notices, mom. He’s such a nerd,” Leah said walking over to the bottom of the stairs and yelling, “Cory!! It’s dinner time!”

When she walked back into the kitchen, Leah’s mood had shifted and a concerned look came upon her face. Her mother noticed immediately.

“What’s wrong, honey?” She asked her daughter.

“Oh, it’s just this one scene in the play. I’m not sure if I’m up for the job.”

“Nonsense! They wouldn’t have cast you as the lead if they didn’t think you were capable. What is the scene?”

“Well…” Leah hesitated. “There’s a scene where I have to kick the male lead in the groin and so far, I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. The guy hardly moves when I do it. He has almost no reaction.”

Fighting back a smile, Sarah started kneading the dough in front of her. “Maybe he’s wearing protection, honey?”

“Protection?”

“Haven’t you heard of a jockstrap?” Her mother asked.

“Well, yeah, but aren’t those for sports?”

“Of course, but I would imagine, if you’re going to get kicked in the nuts in a play, that you’d at least consider wearing one, wouldn’t you?”

Leah stared at her mother’s hands kneading the dough, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You can’t help it the guy’s a lousy actor.”

“Oh, he’s a great actor, mom,” Leah said. “And he’s really cute. I think maybe he’s just too embarrassed to act out that scene.”

“Or maybe you’re not kicking him right? Did you ever think about that?”

“Think about what?” Cory said as he walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, your sister is having a tough time acting out a scene in the school play,” and without realizing what she was offering said, “Hey, maybe you could help your sister out and let her practice with you!”

“Sure, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my homework,” Cory said.

Trying to backtrack Sarah said with a laugh, “Well, you might want to know what the scene is before you volunteer for this.”

“What? It can’t be that bad. I love the arts. What is it?” He asked.

“Your sister has to kick the male lead in the, ummm, groin. And she seems to be having trouble getting it down.”

Cory’s eyebrows raised a bit. He always had a great relationship with his older sister, and would regularly help her with school projects as he was the smart one and she was a bit on the ditzy side.

“You don’t have to help me, Cor, that might be asking too much. I will just have to figure it out at rehearsals,” Leah said, her tone a bit defeated.

“No, no, no - I can help you,” Cory said, not believing what he was volunteering for, but wanting desperately to please his beautiful sister.

“Really?!!” Leah said, jumping up and down excitedly, causing her breasts to deliciously bob up and down inside her white blouse. Her brother’s heart skipped a beat. He never thought of her in a sexual way, but he is a red-blooded male and the sight did not go unnoticed.

“You’re the greatest!” Leah squealed, stepping over to grab his right arm, squeezing both of her breasts against him in a side hug. His heart rate quickened.

“Cool! Can we get started right after dinner?” Leah asked.

“Ahhh, sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Hold your horses, you two,” Sarah chimed in. “Last I checked your brother hasn’t played a sport since he tried soccer when he was 8 and decided it wasn’t for him.”

“What’s your point, mother?” Leah asked with a slight scowl.

“The point is, I’m pretty sure your brother does not own a jockstrap and I will not have my little boy practice this scene with you, however chivalrous it is, until he has on proper protection. I may want to have grandchildren one day.”

Leah started giggling, “I guess you’re right, mother. Do you have a jockstrap?” She asked her brother.

His eyes fell to the floor as he shook his head no.

“Guess we’re going shopping tonight - you up for it?” Leah said, bobbing on her toes, setting her breasts in motion once again. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to really badly.

“I would, but I’ve got to finish a paper that’s due tomorrow,” Cory said dejectedly. As much as he’d love to help his sister, he is not going to do anything to jeopardize his perfect grade point average. Not in his final year of high school.

“Mom, you and I could go get him one. It can’t be that complicated to buy one of those things. What do you think?”

“Well, I’d prefer he try it on before we buy one,” Sarah said. “It’s not like we’re buying him socks. If this thing doesn’t fit right, it could have severe consequences. And I will remind you that you have four years of cheerleading under your belt, so I can only suspect that your kicks are pretty lethal.”

“The director said she’s never seen anyone kick so hard,” Leah said, once again, bouncing on her toes with pride. “And there’s something about kicking a guy there that’s just so…so…exhilarating!” Cory dropped his head in embarrassment, wondering what he got himself into.

“Take it easy there, castrator,” Sarah said with a laugh, “We can go get the jock, we just have to make sure it fits him right. What’s your size hun?”

“For a jock, I have no idea. Maybe we should do this another time?”

“I know!” Leah said “We could measure him and make sure we get the size right. I’ll go get my tape measure!”

“Hold your horses, young lady,” her mother said. “We are not going to be measuring your brother, especially down there. Just tell me your waist size and we’ll see what we can find for you, honey.”

Leah plopped down on her heels, folding her arms in a pout.

“These jeans are 32 in the waist,” Cory said in a hushed tone.

“There you have it,” Sarah said. “You get to work on that paper and your sister and I will go buy you a shiny new jockstrap!”

That perked Leah right back up. She jumped and clapped and took a few quick steps to her brother, gave him another side hug and an unexpected kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for doing this. I will owe you big time!”

Cory loved the new-found affection his sister was bestowing upon him. They both really liked each other, but they weren’t much of a touchy-feely family. He could get used to this.

In the car ride to the sporting goods store, Sarah decided to lay down a few ground rules for the upcoming nut-kicking sessions. “Now honey, you realize your brother is going beyond what is expected from any brother. I know your uncle Jim and uncle Joe would never agree to anything like this for me.”

“I know mom,” Leah said, “It’s just, this play means so much to me and to get to practice this at home will help me so much.”

“That’s true, but, even with a jockstrap on, you could do some serious damage to your brother’s testicles and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to him, like a rupture.”

“A rupture? What’s that?”

“Didn’t you take health class in high school?”

“Yes, but I don’t remember anything about ruptures. What is that?”

“It’s when the outer shell of the testicle is put under too much pressure and it basically tears open, it rips, you know, it, like, pops.” Sarah was struggling to get the words out.

“Ohhhhh, wow! They can pop?!!!” Leah said with a bit too much excitement.

“Yes, dear, they can pop. So you have to promise me that if you suspect you may be causing any damage, that we shut it down for the night and maybe try it again the next day, okay?”

“Well, of course. I don’t want to hurt him. He’s being so sweet just helping me out, that’s the last thing I want to do.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I raised the both of you right.” Sarah said as she started to contemplate the thought of possible rupture. “That would be wild if she actually popped one,” she thought to herself. “Now that is something I’ve never seen before. I wonder if it makes a sound? I mean, other than the guy screaming.”

She was jolted out of her daydream when they came upon the sporting goods store. “I’m serious,” Sarah said, turning to face her daughter in the car. “You were a cheerleader for four years. I’ve seen your kicks.” She paused. Then she pointed at Leah and shook her finger. “No ruptures.”

“No ruptures,” Leah said with a little smirk. “Let’s go buy this jockstrap, already! I’m excited to get started!!”

“I can see that,” Sarah said, looking at her daughter’s jutting nipples under her white shirt. “What did I tell about wearing a bra in public?”

Leah looked down at her chest. “Oops, I forgot to put it back on, mom. Honest.”

“What am I ever going to do with you? Just don’t poke an eye out with those things!"

The two ladies entered the sporting goods store. They were amazed at how large it was. With Leah in cheerleading, they just ordered all of her gear through the team and since Cory stopped playing sports in 3th grade, neither one had set foot in a sporting goods store in several years.

“Hi, how can I help you?” A beautiful red-headed female said as they entered.

“Yes, I’m looking for a — a — um” Sarah was surprised at her sudden embarrassment. She tried to show the shape of the item she was looking for with her hands but was failing miserably. “I’m looking for a thing…for…ya know.”

“A jockstrap!” Leah finally shouted, rescuing her stammering mother.

“Oh, yes, we sell plenty of those,” the pretty salesperson said. “We can go right over to the measuring room once your son arrives. Did he come with you or are you meeting him here?”

The two ladies looked at each other. Under her breath and with a clenched mouth Leah whispered, “I told you we should have measured him!”

“Oh, sorry, he’s not coming,” Sarah said. “We figured we could just buy it for him and take it home. He’s writing a paper and…oh, never mind.”

The salesperson’s face dropped a bit, hearing he wasn’t coming. She loved the measuring part.

“Well, we prefer to get an exact measurement of all of our clients, especially when it comes to this piece of equipment,” then she lowered her voice and whispered to the ladies, “if you know what I mean?”

“Oh, are you talking about a rupture?!!” Leah said excitedly and a little too loudly. “I totally know what that is!”

“Well, I wasn’t thinking anything that extreme, but yes, because of ruptures or frankly, any other blows to the groin. I understand that is not a pleasant thing.”

“Do you think we could still get one for him tonight and just have him try it on at home?” Sarah asked.

“We don’t recommend doing it that way, but if you’re in a hurry, I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”

“What’s going on over there?” Leah asked, seeing a bunch of women soccer players lining up.

“Oh, they’re here,” the salesperson said. “Perfect timing. If you guys have a minute, that’s the college women’s soccer team getting ready to test one of our products on that young man standing on the platform over there.”

“Testing?” Leah said.

“Yes, this is one of my favorite things about working here. Just about every night, when a gentleman purchases a protective device, we offer free testing right here in the store. And most mothers are happy to take us up on it.”

“That’s amazing,” Leah said with a grin.

“How can you afford to pay all of those women?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, they all volunteer for this. We actually have a waiting list of volunteers. Next week, the cheerleaders from the high school are going to help out.”

“What?!!” Leah screeched. “Why didn’t they do that last year? That would have been so cool!”

“Relax, honey, you’ll get your chance soon enough. And, hey, maybe you could volunteer here when you’re not rehearsing.”

“We have volunteer forms right over there,” the salesgirl said with a smile. “Would you like to go over and watch the demonstration?”

“Can we?!” Leah said, looking to her mother...

*

Chapter 2

The College Thespian - Chapter Two - The Sporting Goods Store

“We have volunteer forms right over there,” the salesgirl said with a smile. “Would you like to go over and watch the demonstration?”

“Can we?!” Leah said, looking to her mother.

“I guess, but don’t we have someone waiting for us at home?”

“Yeah, but he’s working on his paper anyway, so we don’t have to get back right away.”

“I suppose you’re right. We can stay and watch.”

“Yes!! Maybe I can get some ideas for the play?!” Leah screeched.

“If you follow me, we have a couple sets of bleachers over this way,” the salesgirl said.

“You have bleachers just for this?” Sarah asked.

“Isn’t it great? Originally, we had a small set-up just as a prop for the store, but these testing events got so large we had to bring in a couple of real sets. People love it. Looks like they’re about to start.”

The three ladies took a seat in the front row of the bleachers and sat in anticipation of what was about to transpire in front of them.

Another salesgirl, also drop-dead gorgeous, stepped in front of the gathering audience, a microphone in hand who appeared to be the emcee for the event.

“Welcome everyone! We are glad to have you here for another evening of our most popular event, the personal protection testing series!" The crowd of mostly ladies cheered with glee. "Today, our subject is William from the high school football team, whose mother so graciously signed him up, allowing us to ensure he is properly protected for this football season! Thank you for volunteering your son."

“You can’t be too careful,” the mother said into the mic. “I just think it’s so wonderful that you offer this service. Now I will know for sure my son is going to be protected. Especially after what happened last week.”

“Oh, and what happened last week?”

“Is it okay if I tell them?” The mother asked her son, who was now restrained to a vertical device, holding his hands back and feet spread fairly far apart. The son was far too distracted by the attractive ladies securing him down to even really notice what his mother was saying.

Pulling the mic closer to her mouth, the mother now stood up and turned to face the audience. “See, my son thought it would be okay to play football without proper protection at last week’s game and, well, he went to block a punt and he blocked it alright, but unfortunately, the punter’s foot lodged right between my poor baby’s legs and he had to be carried off the field.” There was an audible gasp heard throughout the crowd, which now seemed to be at full capacity.

“As you could imagine, as his mother, I was shocked that he wasn’t wearing any protection. I wanted to bring him here five days ago, but the swelling was so bad, he couldn’t even walk. But we’re here tonight and I’m eager to get him fitted with proper protection.”

The sales girl took the mic back. “Ouch! That had to hurt!” She said with a laugh, causing most of the crowd to follow suit. “Let’s hear it for this brave mother! We’re so glad you came. Now how about we start the demonstration!”

The crowd roared its approval. The emcee walked over to the test subject who was standing there in only the jockstrap and a half-cut T-shirt, showing off his ripped abs, “How you feeling?” She asked.

“Okay, I guess. This jock seems a little tight, though.” He said with a little worry in his voice.

“That’s what they all say, am I right?” The salesgirl said with a wink to the crowd. “I’m sure it fits just fine.” Then she turned to the soccer players. “Are you ladies ready to work your magic?”

They all screamed out in unison their readiness.

“Let the kicking begin!”

Leah grabbed a hold of her mother’s arm, “This is so exciting.” Sarah couldn’t disagree. She was a little worried about how both of them were perhaps a bit too excited about this event. Then the kicking started.

“Do you have your cleats on?” The emcee asked. All of the soccer players nodded and showed their shoes. “Are you ready, William?” The young man nodded a nervous nod. “Start the kicking!”

A cheer came from the audience as the first soccer player approached the football player. Without breaking eye contact, the girl took two deliberate steps toward her target and launched a lethal kick into the groin of the now-sweating young man.

“Ohhhh!!” The crowd yelled.

“Great job! I could feel that one from here! Next!" The emcee said with a laugh.

The next young lady didn’t waste any time either. With a large grin on her face she too, swept her foot rapidly upward, making direct contact with the cup inside the jockstrap. It made a fairly loud sound and the crowd was once again, enthusiastic.

“Wonderful kick!” The emcee inserted as she walked over to the boy. “How you feeling?”

The young man glanced at his mother, knowing how important this was to her. “Ummm, pretty good I guess. I definitely felt that last one.” That elicited a cheer from the crowd.

“Well, these are designed to take most of the blow, but there will always be some, ahh, discomfort with any direct hit. No ruptures yet, though right?” The boy’s face dropped. “I’m kidding! It’s been weeks since we’ve had a rupture here at The Platform. Shall we continue?”

The crowd cheered loudly and William swallowed hard as the next girl approached.

This girl had a little something different up her sleeve. She walked very slowly to the awaiting target, placed both of her hands on his shoulders and thrust her knee up with wicked force, causing him to bend over as much as he could within his restraints.

“Oh!! The knee thrust! That was a good one, Candy!!” The emcee praised. “Only two more to go. William, are you ready, or do you need time to catch your breath after that one?” The crowd chuckled, heck, even William’s mother laughed at the joke.

The next soccer player took a running start and slammed her cleat into the awaiting cup. It almost sounded like it cracked. Again, William bent forward and gasped for air.

“Damn!! That one had to hurt!!” The crowd cheered with approval. “How you feeling, Willy?”

The boy looked over at his mother, his eyes pleading to end this. “Mom,” he said, simply ignoring the emcee and the crowd, “they’re starting to swell again. Can we be done?”

“You only have one more soccer player to go, then, of course, we let one lucky audience member take a turn. Can you handle two more kicks?”

She put the mic in front of his mouth. “They’re really sore and I think I feel the right one slipping out.”

“The right what?” The emcee asked, teasing the poor boy.

“My right nut.”

“Oh, your right nut is slipping out? That can't be good! Do you want me to tuck it back in?” His face dropped yet again. “Or perhaps we could have your mother help you with that, since you're a little tied at the moment? What do you say mom? Can you help him out?”

William’s mom slowly got up from the bleachers and whispered to her son, “which nut is it, honey?”

“My rrr, rr, right one. I can feel it coming out of the cup.”

So his mother crouched down in front of him, “Oh, yeah, I can see the nut peeking out, right here.” She said, gently poking at the nut. Her long fingernails sent a shiver all through his body, causing him to wince in pain.

“Careful, we’d hate to have your own mother partially castrate you, am I right people?”

That sent the crowd into hysterics, even Sarah and Leah laughed, with Leah turning to her saying, “could you imagine if you ruptured your own son’s nut? That would be something, wouldn’t it?” Sarah returned a smile when William cried out again.

“Mom!!” He said, “that really hurts.”

“Well, I have to get it in there! You don't want to be kicked in this state do?!! Here, let just give it one more good push and get it back into the cup.” As she did, William clenched his teeth. She pushed the nut hard with her fingers, holding her breath as she did. “There!” She said. “It’s back in the cup!”

“Wonderful! Great job mom. We might have to hire you, haha!”

What William’s mother didn’t realize was she had pushed the right nut so hard that it caused the left one to shift just to the edge of the cup. William was in such pain at this point that he couldn’t even tell.

“Our last soccer player is Mindy. Mindy are you ready?” She gave a thumbs up and sauntered over to the young man. When she got to him, she turned around so her back was facing him.

“Oh, are you doing what I think you’re doing?” The emcee asked.

Mindy nodded.

“You are in for a treat, folks. Miss Mindy has a lethal back kick and you’re all about to experience it. Well, William is more than most of you. Let’s see it, Min!” A huge cheer came from the crowd.

Mindy bent forward a touch, slowly brought her right heel up to William’s crotch until it made contact with the cup. His heart began to race. And before he could take another breath, Mindy sent her right heel slamming into the cup.

The crowd gasped at the speed and force of the blow. William let out a huge burst of breath, like he just got the wind knocked out of him. Then applause.

“Mindy, that was wonderful!!!” the emcee praised, walking over to William. “How was that, Willy?”

“It was hard, really hard,” William said, his voice two octaves higher, sending the audience into fits of laughter. “Well, you survived in tact, so that’s great. Would you recommend this cup to other boys?”

“Yes. Yes, I would,” he said even more squeak in his voice.

“Glad to hear it, Mickey Mouse, ha!! Just kidding, just kidding. Well, we have one more kick to go, who would like to do the honors?”

As enthusiastic as the crowd was, no one was volunteering. Seems they loved watching the carnage, but none of them wanted to participate. Then Sarah elbowed Leah in the ribs. “Really?” Leah whispered, “Do you think I should?”

“Why not? It would be great practice for you before we head home to kick your brother.”

Seeing the two speaking, the emcee worked her way over to their end of the bleachers. “Was someone contemplating helping us out?” Sarah then put her hand on her daughter’s back, “I think you found yourself a volunteer.”

“That’s wonderful, and what’s your name?”

“Leah.”

“Leah, do you have any experience kicking boys?”

“Well, I was a cheerleader all through high school.” This drew hearty laughter and applause from the audience.

“Sounds qualified to me! Do you want to help us out?”

“Sure!” Leah said, not hiding the huge grin on her face.

“Why don’t you step over here with me?” The two made their way towards William and stopped a few feet in front of him. Leah’s nipples were thrusting obscenely upward, she was so excited. She looked like a Playboy model with her platinum-blonde hair cascading to her shoulders. William could clearly see her nipples through the nearly transparent top. It was a momentary delightful respite from the carnage he had suffered up to that point.

“Now, before we start, do you have any questions?” The emcee asked.

Leah meekly pulled at the mic and said, “Do guys really rupture their nuts during these demonstrations?”

“Whoa! Heading right the the “R” word with your question. I like this girl!” The emcee chuckled. “Well, we haven’t had any guys rupture both nuts, so when you use the plural, I’d say no. But, have we had guys lose one nut during our testing? Sure. We have. We’re not proud of it, but it happens. But I’m proud to say it has never been from a defective product. We sell only the finest in men’s groin protection, just like the one William has on here. Any other questions?”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Leah asked innocently.

That sent the crowd into a fit of laughter, Leah looking around not knowing what she said that was so funny.

“I’m not a guy, but from what I’ve observed, it would seem that it is quite painful, yes. Now any other questions?"

“When can we start?!!”

“Ahhh, that’s more like it. You can kick whenever you’re ready. What type of kick would you like to administer? Or do you want it to be a surprise?”

“I really liked that back kick?”

“The one that Mindy just did?” Leah nodded her head. “Wonderful choice! Although, this one is a little trickier. Perhaps we could have Mindy come back out here and give you some pointers? Mindy come on out! Let’s hear it for Mindy everyone!” The crowd responded with roaring enthusiasm as Mindy joined them.

“So Mindy, Leah here would like some pointers on executing the back kick, can you help her out?”

“Sure, let’s get set in front of him.” They positioned themselves in front of William and turned their backs. “First, you want to line up your foot with the target, like this.” She said as she slowly brought her right heel up to his groin. “Then once you have a feel for where the target is, bring your foot forward to here, and then, WHAM! Send it back into his nuts," as she said this she slammed her hell back into William's groin, catching everyone off-guard - mostly William.

"Whoa!!" The emcee shouted. "I did NOT see that one coming!" The audience was whooping it up for Mindy. Leah looked longingly at her new hero and said under her breath, "that was amazing."

"Aww, thanks girlfriend. You ready to try? You can hold onto my shoulder if it helps you balance better. This can be a tricky kick.” Everyone seemed to be ignoring poor William as he had a coughing fit from the last kick.

Leah put her right hand on Mindy’s shoulder. She brought her foot up to the cup as instructed, then slowly lifted her foot up to her front - paused and looked at Mindy - then whoosh, she sent her heel into William’s groin. But she didn’t quite hit the target, she hit just to the left of the cup, really hitting mostly the inside of his thigh. William drew a breath of relief, thinking he dodged a bullet. “Wait, wait, wait, I didn’t do that right!” Leah pleaded. “Can I do it again?”

The emcee paused, looked around and said with a smile, “I don’t see why not! We don’t really have any hard and fast rules during these demonstrations. Go ahead. Take your time. You can do this!”

What no one really noticed was that the last strike, while not very effective, it caused William’s left nut to slip even more out of the cup.

“I might need to adjust,” William said to deaf ears. “This doesn’t feel right. Anyone?!!”

As Leah brought her foot up to line up the next strike, she could clearly see the nut halfway out of the cup. “Are you sure this is okay?” She asked the emcee, whose view was blocked and couldn’t see the exposed nut.

“Of course, dear.” The emcee said. “His cup has held on thus far, I’m sure he’s still well protected.”

Leah looked over at William’s mother who nodded in approval. The she looked at Mindy. "You got this," Mindy said, stroking her back.

“Okay, here goes!” She said, dropping her foot from the target, gripping Mindy’s shoulder tightly, and thrusting with all her might, her right heel, making direct contact with the exposed nut. “POP!!”

The sound was heard throughout the building. Some who were shopping across the store even looked over at what was happening. The emcee knew right away what happened. She was quite familiar with that sound. Mindy and the soccer players also knew. Most in the audience had no idea. They figured it was the sound of the cup. Even William’s mother didn’t realize what just happened. She was so excited that Leah did the kick correctly, that she quickly stood up and went over to give the girl a hug.

“That was marvelous, dear,” she said, hugging Leah tightly. “After that first kick, I wasn’t sure if you could do it. But that one was right on target, simply perfect!”

Seeing William passed out, Sarah quickly got up and went over to Leah. “Yes, that was wonderful, honey, but we’ve got to get going back home,” she said, grabbing her daughter’s hand.

“Aren’t we going to buy a jockstrap for Cory?”

“Yes, yes, of course, but it’s getting quite late and we really should be going. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Williams. Good luck to your son in football this year.” And they hurried to the jockstrap section of the store. Sarah really wanted to get out of there quickly, before anyone figured out what had happened to William.

“Can I help you?” A striking brunette asked.

“Yes, we need groin protection for my son, can you help me out?”

“Is he here? We have a measuring lab right over there.”

“No, no, he’s at home. But his waist measurement is 32 inches.”

“Okay, what kind of protection do you need exactly?”

“Nut protection,” Leah chimed in, a little miffed at the question.

“Of course, but what kind of activity will he be participating in? Football, basketball?”

“Haha, no, nothing like that,” Sarah chuckled. “He doesn’t do sports. It’s for a play.”

“Oh, a play. I see. I have just the jock for you.” The salesgirl said, grabbing one off the self. “Here, if he’s got a 32-inch waist, you’ll want a medium jockstrap. This is one of our most popular brands.”

Sarah snatched it from the salesgirl, grabbed Leah and pulled her towards the checkout lanes, wanting to get out of their as quickly as possible. When they got to the checkout lane, there were a few mothers and their sons already in line, holding what appeared to be jockstraps as well. But Leah noticed their packaging looked a little different from what they had. Like it was bulkier, larger. She tried craning her neck to see the difference.

“Were you here for the demonstration?” The girl at the checkout counter asked the mother in front of them. (And yes, even the checkout girl was gorgeous - who hires these girls?)

“We caught some of it, yes. It was amazing,” the mother said, pulling out her credit card. “It's such a wonderful service that you offer. Although, that poor boy seemed pretty out of it at the end.”

“Yeah,” the checkout girl said nonchalantly. “We had another rupture with that one.”

“Really?" the mother said, “is that what that sound was?”

“I wasn’t there, but if you mean that popping sound everyone heard, then yes, that was what we call an MOR.”

“A MOR?” The woman asked.

“The ‘moment of rupture.’ Happens here a lot. That will be $39.50.”

Leah looked up to her mom. “Mom?”

“It’s our turn honey, here,” Sarah said, handing the jock to the checkout girl.

“Ahh, the old fashioned jockstrap. Not many guys wear these any more,” the checkout girl said. The comment going past Leah and Sarah.

“That will be $15.50.”

“How about that?” Sarah said, “It must be on sale.”

As they were heading toward the exit they heard a shout in their direction. “Wait! Wait!” The young lady yelled. Sarah’s heart dropped. The jig was up. They were caught. Would probably be stuck with a huge medical bill.

“Leah, Leah!” The girl said from about 10 feet away. It was Mindy from the demonstration. “We wanted you to have this,” she said holding up a pin. She took the back of the pin off and reached out to pin it on Leah’s blouse. “You are now part of the club. Well done.”

Leah looked down to see it was a cute pin of two acorns. Then she noticed that Mindy had four of them pinned to her uniform.

“Hope to see you back here again soon,” Mindy said as she gave her a peck on the cheek and ran back to the other soccer players, half of whom also wore the same pin.

Leah looked up at her mother, who was still anxious to leave the store.

“That was weird,” Leah said, following her mother out the door. “But this is cute!”

On the drive home both ladies were pretty quite. Finally, just before they got home, Leah spoke up. “Mom? Did I just rupture that guy’s nut?”

“Now honey, we don’t know that for sure. They do a lot of demonstrations there. They could have been talking about a guy from earlier.”

Leah paused, “Did you hear that sound? It was awful.”

“Yes, I heard it.”

“It sounded like a large balloon popping, didn’t it?”

“Well…”

“I popped that guy’s nut, didn't I?”

“Now honey, we don’t know that for sure. And besides, that’s why guys are born with two. They can lose one and still be fully functional down there.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Goodness, I need to speak to the health teacher at the high school.”

Sarah pulled into the garage and turned to face her daughter. “Now listen, what you did was an accident. It could have been any one of those girls that popped that kid’s nut. It was an accident.” Then she paused, a slight smile growing on her face. “I bet that felt pretty empowering, though, right?”

“It was amazing,” Leah said trying to hold back a smile of her own. “I had no idea I had that in me.”

“Oh, you certainly do, young lady. Just remember that when you’re practicing on your brother. We don’t want any ruptures.”

“I’d be sick to my stomach if I ruptured either of his nuts,” Leah said, pausing in contemplation…”Mom what happens if a guy ruptures both nuts? Can he still, ya know, do stuff?”

“Did you ever even go to health class?” Sarah said incredulously. “If a man loses both balls he goes sterile for life. He can’t have kids, he can’t even get it up.”

“Wow,” Leah said under her breath. “But at least they wouldn’t feel any more pain when they got kicked there again, right? If they were missing both nuts?”

Sarah started chuckling, “I mean…you’re not wrong. I’m not sure if a guy would look at it quite that way. But I like your optimism.”

“What do you suppose this is for?” Leah asked, looking down at her pin.

Sarah had a pretty good idea what it symbolized, but she didn’t have the heart to tell her daughter the truth. She had been through enough already.

As they got out of the car, Leah reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the jockstrap. “These are funny things, aren’t they? This is all that stands between having regular, healthy balls, and getting his balls turned to mush and going sterile. They should cost a lot more than that.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Sarah laughed. “How about you get back on the horse and go get some more practice in with your brother. You are the star of the play, after all!”

“Thanks for cheering me up, mom,” Leah said, leaning over to give her a hug. “I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Maybe no back-kicks for a while.”

“Good idea.”