Tuesday, November 27, 2007

OCTOBER... (Part 28a)

With all the pressure from the fraternity and classes, my days were full. Seldom did Bob and I get back to our room during the day and when we did it was just for a brief moment to get something we needed. On one of those days I had to run (literally) back to the room to get a “prop” needed for a skit that some other pledges and I were doing for the supper entertainment. After retrieving what I was after I started down the hall to the bathroom and as I did I heard the front door slam. As I continued down the hall I saw Julie running up the stairs. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit and had one hand between her legs. I stopped and watched her go directly into the bathroom. As you can imagine I was intrigued. Even though I had to get right back to the fraternity I really did need to use the toilet. I stood there for a few minutes just to see what she did. I was about to move on when the door opened and she ran down the other hall to her room. I waited a few seconds and then went into the bathroom. The toilet was on the left as you walked in. When sitting there you were facing the window and as I did I saw something shiny on the floor. I looked closely and saw it was a trail of liquid. That immediately told me that she hadn’t made it to the toilet. Even though there was absolutely nothing about Julie that attracted me to her I found myself getting hard when I realized what she'd done. When I finished my “business” I went over to the sink and washed my hands. Lying on the sink by the cold water tap was a pair of what had to have been the “bloomers” to her outfit. They were red and I gently picked them up. As I shook them out I could see the wetness in the crotch area. But reality struck quickly when I looked at my watch. I really had to run to make it back to the fraternity on time. But my thoughts the whole way back were on Julie, wondering if this was a common ocurrance or not.

Elle’s college didn’t have a designated “Fall Weekend” like mine did. Their big Fall shindig was what they called “Homecoming” which was geared to their alumni. However, all the fraternities and sororities participated in the celebration by creating decorated floats for a big parade. It went through the downtown area ending up at the football field just before the game. The “brother” who had offered to drive me to Elle’s chose that weekend for his visit. It didn’t matter at first when we went but it turned out that this was a good choice.

By the time we got there the parade had already begun. I had him let me off downtown and I chased the parade to find Elle and her sorority’s float. She had told me that, as a pledge, she had to walk along side it with the full “sisters” getting to ride. When I got her attention I could see her smile light up her whole face. I couldn’t really talk to her but she was able to let me know where she’d be sitting at the stadium. When she finally reached me there she gave me one of the most emotional hugs I’d ever gotten from her. Usually it was me leading the way but not so this time. When she finally let me go she told me she really needed to get to a bathroom. (Remember, this was in the time before porta potties.) There were only two ladies bathrooms with a limited number of stalls at the stadium. (It was small) The closest real facilities were back at the Student Union. We’d made this same trek a few times in her Freshman year. But, as a pledge, she had to be excused by the pledge mistress first. It became obvious that Elle had developed a rapport with her, somewhat like the one I had with my “big brother”. With me standing by her side, Elle was told to just be back at the sorority by 5pm and she waved us off with a wink.

I was surprised that while we walked towards the SU Elle volunteered she was “soaked”. She would usually answer specific questions I might ask her but never volunteered any of that type of information. Taking her lead I asked her just what she was wearing. We’d come up with the code word “package” together quite a while back and it signified that she was wearing a sanitary pad with a pair of the heavy cotton Carter’s Spanky pants holding it and then another pad and another pair of panties over that. The last time I’d actually seen her wearing that combination she wore a pair of the sanitary panties with the plastic crotch to, hopefully, prevent any small leaks from getting into her clothes. She told me she had on a “package” but there was something new. She’d told me a while back that she now had full plastic panties to wear at night and she was wearing one. I knew that she'd told me that she’d begun to see the positive results of the operation so I was puzzled as to why. She then told me that all the pledges had to go to the farm where the float had been decorated at 9am to finish it up and there were no facilities. She said she just knew that by the time they made it to the staging area that she’d be wet and, even if she brought replacement “supplies”, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get changed so decided to wear the full plastic panties just to be safe. I’d never seen them and as she talked about them I found myself starting a “bulge“.

The rest rooms were on the lower floor of the SU. As Elle went to clean up I went into the cafeteria which, because of the special nature of the weekend, was open to the public. I got a snack and then waited and waited for Elle. It seemed like forever. When she finally came up the stairs she had what looked like a ball of paper in one hand. I asked her what it was and she laughed and told me it was the remains of her ”package“, or, at least, her washed out wet panties. We headed for the lounge. I was surprised at just how many people were in there what with the football game going on. But one thing I noticed was that the door to the little room to the left of the fireplace was ajar. I led Elle over to it, knocked and not getting a reply, walked in. The blinds were down and the lights were off . It didn’t take much to figure out what the previous occupants had been doing in there.

We took off our coats and this time I took the lead and hugged and kissed Elle, As was my usual way, my two hands cupped her butt cheeks. To my pleasant surprise, she wasn’t wearing a ”package”. I wanted to sit on the love seat with her lying across my lap but she resisted. After the greeting I’d received at the stadium and the willing way she'd just returned my hug and kiss I was surprised. But, she said there was so much to talk about that she felt that we should do that first. (You have to realize that I’d asked her a lot of questions when I wrote or did get her on the phone and she hadn't been comfortable answering any of them on the phone at the sorority) Somewhat disappointed, I sat back and let her start talking.

To be continued...

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

SEPTEMBER... On into the Fall... (Part 27e)

Even though the lady was as nice as she could be my heart was pounding when I slipped in behind the wheel of my car. I wanted to get away from there and in my haste I forgot about the overheating problem. I made it halfway home before I had to stop and and wait for it to cool down so I could add more water. While waiting, I couldn’t believe how late it had gotten. I was supposed to be home to have dinner with my grandparents by 5PM and was also supposed to leave the car at the gas station. My father had arranged for one of the mechanics who worked on the racecar to fix it so I’d have it available when I got home at Thanksgiving. When I got there I saw that the racecar had some damage to it. I found out that the motor problems had actually been junk in the gas line and filter and that they’d raced the car a few times and done fairly well. They were racing it the next afternoon and asked if I was going with them. I told them I wished that I could but, no, I couldn't. I got a ride home from there but, because I’d gotten caught up with stuff about the racecar I realized that, much to my dismay, I’d left the panties in my car. I didn’t want to bring attention the bag on the seat so didn’t call the station and hoped I’d be able to borrow my father’s car after supper to go get them. Long story short... the answer was ”no”.

The “new” plan was to leave around 6am. I knew the station wouldn’t be open then so I had to find the spare set of keys. I was in a panic because the last thing I wanted was for Cliff or one of the other mechanics at the station to find the panties. It took a while but I finally located them. That let me get a little sleep but I needed to get the bag with the panties in my hands to feel safe. I persuaded my father to stop at the station telling him that I might’ve left something in my car. When I looked in the window the bag wasn’t there. Now it was total panic. I opened the door and slid in under the steering wheel. When I did I looked down to my right and saw the bag had slid partway down between the top and bottom of the seat. I remember pulling it out and just sitting there trying to catch my breath. When I got back in my father’s car he wanted to know what was in the bag. I didn’t lie. I told him it was a present for Elle. I’m glad he didn’t go any further with it as I knew my mother would have made me show her what it was.

I haven’t mentioned anything about my grandfather’s race horses since the time they were shipped from the track near the city. They’d spent the summer racing at tracks in New England and had a fair amount of success. After labor Day they were shipped to a track not that far from my college. Mt father’s original plan had been to drive to the track and see them and go to the races before delivering me to school. Back in those days they didn’t race on Sundays so the “new” plan was to go straight to the college. I had to be back at the fraternity by 5pm and by leaving so early we hadn’t run into much traffic. I calculated that we had about 2 hours to spare so pleaded with my father to still go to the track. We stopped for gas and my father was able to contact the trainer and arranged for us to meet him. I got to walk a couple of the horses while my father chatted with the trainer. What he found out was that one of my grandfather’s horses was racing the next night. Immediately, my father aid he stay over another day. I knew there was no way I’d be able to attend so, selfishly was disappointed knowing I was so close physically and yet still so far away.

I got what I expected back at the fraternity house. I was the “featured” performer for the evening meal. The only good thing was that, being a Sunday, a goodly number of the “brothers” weren't there. I took a lot of crap from those that were plus some “asides” from my fellow pledges who thought I was getting away with something by the fact that I’d pretty much missed weekend activities for the past few weeks. After the meal was over I ended up meeting with my “big brother“. He wanted to know how the trip went and when I mentioned my grandfathers’ race horses his face lit up. He asked if I knew Bobby, the only varsity football player in the house. Everybody knew who he was but I didn’t ”know“ him. I was literally dragged down the hall to Bobby’s room. I introduced myself and told him about the horses. I really don’t know how to describe his reaction but it did strike a chord. He had spent the past three Summers working at the track and really enjoyed himself. Before I knew it he was asking if I wanted to go to see my grandfather’s horse race the next night. I thought he was kidding... but he wasn’t. As a senior and a varsity athlete he could pretty much ”call the shots” as far as what went on in the house. He told me “not to sweat it” and to be ready to go at a time that I don’t remember. My only concern was how my fellow pledges would handle it.

My father had contacted his friends who ran the clothing store in town and was staying with them for the night. I let them know I’d be there but didn’t know if I could join them. I figured that I’d best stay with Bobby and the others he’d invited. It turned out to be like a grade B Hollywood movie as the horse won in the last strides. I got to meet up with my father in the winners circle where we had our picture taken with the horse and the trainer accepting the trophy. The guys from the fraternity were impressed so let me go join my father in the clubhouse with his friends. The only reason to mention this is that the girl who was waiting on them does show up again in the future. As I sat down this really pretty girl with strawberry blond hair came up and asked if there was anything I’d like to eat or drink. I passed on the offer but, as she walked away, I noticed a very noticeable panty line on the uniform pants she was wearing. It reminded me of the one I’d seen on Carol, my friend Buddy’s girlfriend during the Summer. I didn’t stay long with them but the memory of the VPL did.

I knew I was on “thin ice” for taking time away from the fraternity on the weekends. As much as I wanted to see Elle I didn’t have the nerve to even bring her up with my “big brother”. I don’t remember when it came up but one of the “brothers” polled the pledges about having a date for Fall Weekend. I’d discussed it with Elle and she’d indicated that her pledging activities would be over by them so she could. When I told the “brother” he asked where she went to school. When I told him he, without asking, offered to take me there on one of the upcoming weekends. His best friend was a varsity football player for Elle’s college and he wanted to see him play. I said I was interested but expressed concern about missing the weekend activities and he said he’d ‘take care of it“. There was nothing I could say or do but to excitedly wait for the day.

To be continued...

Sunday, November 18, 2007

SEPTEMBER... On into the Fall... (Part 27d)

I walked into a discussion of the situation we found ourselves in by living in this house. The landlord, A German professor and his wife, had a list of rules that was onerous plus the fact that the bathroom didn’t have a shower. The conversation was on the latter. The three of us had to share it with the landlords 16 year old daughter, Julia. After a week it was obvious that she was what John called a ”bathroom hog“. A short trip for her was at least 20 minutes and when she took a bath it was over an hour. The daily problem was in the morning where we all (4) had to be out of the house by 7:30am. In her mind it was her house so she deserved to have a priority when it came to use of the bathroom. We decided to confront her mother to see what could be done. The meeting didn’t accomplish much other that that Julia would be told that her time in the morning would be the same every day and that she had (I think) 15 minutes to be in and out. It wasn’t much but it was something.

As expected I was the target of much abuse by the "brothers" for the whole week. The worst and, as it turned out, best part of the week was that I got called to the Administration building. I was supposed to have turned in the plates to my car and hadn’t. They were following up on it and I, ever the honest one, admitted that the car hadn’t been returned to my home. I was told to get the plates to them that day which, based upon my schedule, was a real hardship. Walking to the farm was around a half hour and I only had a little over an hour of free time. I jogged out and saved some time but once there found I didn’t have a screw driver to unscrew the plates. I went to the house and was greeted by Joanne. That was the good part. She found me what I needed and, much to my surprise, followed me out to the car. As much as I would have liked to pay attention to her I knew I had to get the plates off and back to campus. The rear plate was on the trunk of the car and after removing it I went to the front with Joanne following me. I had to squat down to get to the plate off the bumper and as I did Joanne did the same. I was surprised by that and looked right at her. As I did I got a straight line view right up her skirt. Oh my heart! I was the one who was embarrassed and quickly looked back at the plate. I only had a few seconds peek but I can still envision it. Once I was done I gave Joanne the screwdriver and took off with the plates. The jog back was much easier as I had the visage of those panties on my mind.

I survived the hazing for the rest of the week and, with the help of my ”big brother“, was excused from the weekend pledge activities so I could take the car home. I was originally going to drive home on Friday night but had to stay through the dinner meal. I didn’t want to drive through the city in the middle of the night for fear of breaking down so stopped at a motel just outside the city limits. I arrived home around noon time and my father had me put the boat away for the winter before doing anything else. His original plan was to drive me back on Saturday but, by the time I finished he felt it was too late. That was fine by me as I’d been thinking about the possibility of checking out the purchase of the same kind of panties that Penny and Pam wore. Since I now knew the source I began to figure how long it would take to get there and back and felt that I could make it in time for supper.

It was normally a 45 minute trip. Concerned about the possibility of the car overheating, I took my time. Even though I had recognized the name of the department store from having gone there with my Grandmother when I was much younger I was surprised what I found. It certainly wasn’t like the multi storied department stores in the city or even in the town where my Grandparents lived. It was all one floor and took up most of one side of the main street. (I subsequently found out that it had started out as a general store and as it grew the owners just kept buying up adjacent stores.) I walked in the main entrance and quickly found the lingerie department. There was a matronly woman behind the counter who, when I asked about Nazareth panties, gave me one of ”those“ looks that asked the question of why was I, a male teenager, asking to buy girls panties. I think this was the most embarrassed I’d ever been when doing this. The only specific thing I really remember is that she emphatically told me that the panties I was requesting were found in the children’s department... and then leading me over to it. Once there I felt like everyone in the area was looking at me. I remember the lady asking me what size I wanted. I knew I’d gotten both size 14 and 16 with Elle when we’d gotten the Carter’s Spanky Pants so I told her size 14. When she pulled the box off the shelf and then pulled a pair out I immediately knew they weren’t the panties I wanted. They had a regular type elastic around the waist and I thought she’d made a mistake. The ones I was looking for had a ”puckered” type waist elastic. That and they looked huge! Or, at least in my nervous state of mind, they appeared to be. The lady’s constant ”look“ had me totally flustered. Right about then I was ready to just turn around and leave. I wanted to buy at least six pair and I was so close but the clerk had me feeling so guilty I was reluctant to open my mouth. Just about then another woman walked up and said she’d take over. I was immenseley relieved. I assumed that she was the regular clerk for the department. The first lady gave me one last ”look“ and walked away. The new lady asked just what it was that I wanted so I described the panties I was looking for. She put the cover back on the box that was on the counter and then pulled another one off the shelf. When she held a pair up I knew I’d hit ”paydirt“. But, like the first one’s, they looked huge. There were only two in the box and I told her I’d take them. The new woman started writing the ticket up and then asked if that was all I needed. I’m sure I took a deep breath before I asked if I could see the size 12’s. She, without giving me a ”look“, reached behind her and pulled another box down. I could see that the box was full so I asked for six pair. I remember that the total for all eight pair was less than $5.

To be continued...

Thursday, November 08, 2007

SEPTEMBER... On into the fall... (Part 27c)

I knew I’d be in trouble for not making the meal (the pledges were the ”entertainment“ at the evening meal) and was set to walk back to town at that point. I stopped at the barn to thank Mr and Mrs T. and to tell them that I hoped I’d be able to get my things out of their way the following weekend. When I did Mrs T. asked if I’d eaten yet and the answer was ”no“. Actually, other than the little bit Elle had gotten for me at lunch I‘d not had anything to eat at all. I think that just the thought of food made me say ”yes“ when she asked if I could hang on for a few more minutes. I did so gladly and proceeded to watch as both she and her husband hooked the mechanical milkers up to the waiting cows. I’d only seen it done by hand by my great aunt when I was a little so this was an interesting thing to watch.

When they were finished they both took off their coveralls and left them in the barn office. They were both wearing regular clothes under them and as we walked to the house I began to wonder why the daughter hadn’t done the same. Inside, we all washed up and then Mrs T. went to find Joanne. She brought her back into the kitchen and reintroduced her to me. Again, no eye contact. It made me feel uncomfortable. The girl now had on a cotton skirt and her hair was no longer in a pony tail. She was prettier than I’d seen her up to that point in time. I just wished she’d say something to me.

Since they had their main meal at noontime on Sundays they ate light at night. I didn’t care as, by then, anything was going to taste good. The only thing I do remember eating was a piece of delicious warm apple pie. I also remember it was the first time I heard Joanne speak. I had complimented Mrs. T on the pie and Joanne spoke up to say she’d made it. I was surprised by both her speaking and that she’d done the baking. Mrs T. then said that Joanne did all the baking in the household. At that point I wished I could have another piece. Mrs T. got the job of driving me back to town and, as it turned out, she gave me the missing information on her daughter.

She apologized for her daughter saying that she had some ”problems“ and because of that was very shy. I didn’t say a word as Mrs T. proceeded to give me Joanne’s history. She was late in learning to walk and talk but she went to kindergarten with kids of her own age. Because of where they lived (on a farm) she really didn’t have any friends her age to play with. Her two sisters were four and six years older than she was and it wasn’t that they shunned her but they were never close. Joanne had a hard time fitting in with the others but made it through the year. It was when Joanne started 1st grade that problems started to arise. Kindergarten was basically unstructured and 1st grade was. Joanne didn’t respond well to it and, when she was scolded for something she’d have a temper tantrum... and would sometimes wet her pants. It surprised me that she would tell me about that but, in a way, I was glad she did. Her social skills did improve but she wasn’t able to keep up with her schoolwork. The school wanted her to stay back and repeat the first grade. Mrs T. said she was concerned what that would do to Joanne's psyche because it would mean she’d be leaving her newly made friends. So, she went on to 2nd grade.

By this time the car was parked in front of the house I was living at. I didn’t want her to stop so I didn’t say anything. She went on to say that by the end of the year it was painfully obvious that Joanne wasn’t capable of keeping up so this time she was left back. Mrs T. said she didn’t take it very well. Mrs T. admitted that she and her husband hadn’t really helped the situation because they’d continuously compared Joanne with their other two girls who were excellent students. The result was that Joanne retreated into a shell. Any time she perceived she was being scolded she’d start to cry and just fall on the floor and have a tantrum. Because the family had friends who worked at the college they were steered to having Joanne evaluated. After testing it was found that her IQ was in the 80’s.

I don’t know why I was so fascinated with the story but I just sat and listened. She went on to say that after the initial disappointment about the results of the test that Joanne was treated differently at home. She and Joanne’s sisters worked with her trying to help her out. It was a struggle and it remained that way right up to the time Joanne was to move up into Junior High School. But with the change came some serious problems. In grade school you had the same teacher for all subjects. Joanne’s parents worked closely with each teacher and it seemed to help, especially in the social aspect. In Junior High it was a totally different school with all new teachers. Each subject was taught by a different one. Mrs T. said that she tried to explain Joanne’s situation to each in the form of a letter. It didn’t work as some of the teachers made fun of Joanne’s shortcomings. It didn’t take long for her new classmates to pick up on it and started teasing her by calling her ”Dummy“. Joanne wasn’t able to handle it and relapsed into the crying and tantrum stage again. She reached a point where she just wouldn’t go to school.

From that time on she pretty much stayed at home with Mrs. T. Even though she didn’t like farm work she was required to do some chores as a compromise to going to school. The rest of her time she spent in the kitchen where Mrs T. taught her how to bake and she seemed to find herself in that element. The first year she entered one of her products in the County Fair she won a ribbon. In fact, as we sat there in the car one of her apple pies was at the State fair being judged. When Mrs T. told me that I was truly impressed. I also noted that she seemed somewhat relieved having told me about her daughter. I didn’t know why that would be but I was glad that she did. I was tempted to ask if Joanne still had temper tantrums but I didn’t.

Somewhere during the telling of the last part of the story I saw my roommate Bob and John, another pledge at the fraternity who had rented the single room, return to the house. From the time we left the farm until I got out of the car well over an hour had passed. I thanked Mrs T. for the ride and for sharing the information about Joanne. I also told her I’d see her the following weekend to pick up my car and boat and then headed into the house. As I walked up the steps I found myself thinking about Joanne and her troubles with school. Something just didn’t seem right. But as soon as I walked into my room I had to change focus.

To be continued...

Saturday, November 03, 2007

SEPTEMBER... On into the Fall... (Part 27b)

I was pretty excited by the time I pulled up in front of the sorority. It’d been almost two weeks since I’d seen her and had only talked to her for a few minutes during that time. The sorority house had originally been the home of a wealthy businessman in the town. With the depression followed by World War II, most of the manufacturing that had driven the town’s economy had closed. The majority of the homes that had housed the wealthy families had been converted into fraternities and sororities as the college became the prime focus for the town. As I walked up the steps I was impressed with the grounds that surrounded the house. The front door was massive. I can still picture it. After ringing the bell the door was opened by a plain looking girl in a bathrobe. I told her I was looking for Elle. The next thing I knew there were a dozen girls in the foyer gawking at me. Talk about being uncomfortable! I don’t know how long it was before I saw Elle coming down the stairs. It was a memorable sight as it was a circular staircase and Elle looked really good... not like she did when I’d last seen her. It was obvious that she was surprised (and happy) to see me as she ran up and threw her arms around me. It didn’t last long as a couple of the girls who were watching us started scolding her about doing something like that in the sorority house. That seemed a little harsh to me but that’s the way it was. Elle grabbed my hand and led me outside to the front porch. There wasn’t any privacy there either as the main living room was right there and the windows were all open. But it wasn’t considered to be ”in the sorority“ so we reconnected. I don’t think we said more than a few words for at least five minutes.

She, of course, wanted to know how I’d gotten permission to drive over. When I told her I didn’t have permission she gave me one of those ”looks“ but then gave me another big hug and kiss. I, on the other hand, had a lot of questions for her. The problem was that we had no privacy there. I suggested that we go down town to the restaurant that we’d spent a lot of time at in her freshman year but she said that she couldn’t. All the pledges had been confined to the house for the weekend because some of them had broken some rule. That and they had to eat all their meals at the house until they became full members (sisters). So, instead of finding out the details of just how she was doing with regards to the operation I had to pretty much limit my questions as to her roommates and the sorority itself. When it came time for lunch, Elle smuggled some things out to me when she finished up. Even though it wasn’t much I was thankful for it.

One thing that stands out in my memory from that day was when she told me about her roommates. There were eight of them in the room. She said she felt like a sardine in there. There were 4 bunk beds and barely enough room for desks and dressers. I knew she was worried about her condition and how it would be accepted by her roommates but I also knew she did not expect to have seven other girls with her. Once I heard that I really wanted to know how that part was working out. Without saying much she indicated that it was OK... so far. One thing she did offer was that one of the girls (Maggie) was even more shy about her body than she was. (Remember, even though we’d had sex I still hadn’t seen her completely naked.) I didn’t know how that played into the situation but for her to tell me about the girl it must’ve had some meaning.

Nancy, one of her roommates from her Freshman year, came out on the porch and sat with us for a while and with her around I managed to find out a little more about the other girls in their room. They actually knew two of them as they had been in the same dorm the year before. Both Elle and Nancy volunteered that the other four seemed nice enough even if the one girl was a bit ”different“. That was about all I got by the time they had to go inside for some sort of function.

I’d made it over without any car problems but the trip took just about twice as much time. My problem had been with overheating which meant I had to wait for the engine to cool down before putting more water on the radiator. Since I had the problem all the way back from Ohio I pretty much knew how long I had to wait to add the water. By the time I got back to the farm I was already late for the meal at the fraternity. The lateness wasn’t all the fault of the car as I arrived at the farm just as they were herding the cows in from the pasture. I had to wait until the last one crossed the road to be able to pull into the driveway. But, as I waited I saw something that I had hoped to see... the daughter, Joanne.

She, like both her mother and father, was wearing coveralls and rubber boots. She kind of lagged behind her parents as they hustled the animals into the milking barn. As I rehitched the boat to the car I kept my eyes on the girl. She walked across in front of the car and even though I said ”hello“ to her she didn’t even acknowledge me. I thought it strange but continued to follow her with my eyes as she approached the house. At the base of the steps up to the porch she stopped and took off her boots and then climbed up to the porch. My guess is that I was about 100 yards away at this point. Then, standing right in front of the door, she took her coveralls off and lay them over a chair that was right there. I couldn’t believe my eyes as she was now standing there in just a sleeveless blouse and her panties. She was only there for a few seconds before disappearing inside but the visage was burned into my brain. I couldn’t understand it as she knew I was there and could see her... but I wasn’t complaining.

To be continued..