Chapter 2
by Jessica Michallet-Romero
Copyright © July 2003 Jessica Michallet-Romero
All Rights Reserved
any copyright. No reproduction of this story, whole or in part, can be made without my permission. This story contains sexual
relationships between two adult women.
Special thanks:
To my beta reader Prof, your support and friendship mean the entire world to me.
To my beloved life partner and Native American goddess, L. Crystal Michallet, one of the most gifted and talented artists of this
century, you are such an inspiration to me ? My Tekihila ? Thank you for your unconditional love and devotion.
Arabic
Inch?Allah = God willing
Salam Alikoum = May peace be on you
Lakota Sioux
Ate = Father
Canku Luta = Red Road
Cunksi = Daughter
Ikche Wichasha = Born on a reservation
Ivan?ka = Precious one
Iyeska = Mixed blood
Berkeley, 1990
Alessandra sat in the auditorium waiting for the lecture to begin. She was drawing a palm tree and needed a cigarette badly.
Next to her, a young man listened to his Walkman while pretending that his desk was a set of drums. The student turned her
head and stared at him with such annoyance that he stopped banging, but then started wiggling like an earthworm in a mad
rhythm instead. Alessandra shook her head in frustration.
?Damn you Max, you owe me big time,? she mumbled.
Maxwell Washington, her best friend had been out sick and could not attend his first class of the semester. Although she had no
interested in Native American studies, Alessandra had volunteered to attend and take notes for him. Of course, she felt sympathy
for the Indian cause, but that was the extent of her interest. Times had changed the old ways were gone. They could not live
off the land and in teepees any longer and had to assimilate like everyone else. At this thought, she resumed her drawing, trying
to ignore the pest next to her, when suddenly the room grew quiet. Glancing up, she watched as the professor entered the
auditorium. From her vantage point, Alessandra gazed at the young Native American woman, and judged her to be in her late
twenties. As the students were riveted to the professor, the Indian beauty scanned the room while putting her briefcase on the
desk and removed her intricate beadwork adorned tan deerskin jacket. With only a momentary glance at the clock, she turned
and started writing her name on the blackboard.
?My name is Justine Wolfrider, but you may address me as Dr. Wolfrider, Professor Wolfrider or simply Justine. I am an Ikche
Wichasha. For those not familiar with that term, it means that I was born on a reservation in the western portion of South
Dakota. I am a Lakota. I will introduce you to Native American cultural practices, art and identity and will explore written and
oral traditions in literature, art, dance, songs, theater and ceremonies,? Justine paused for a moment, observing her audience,
then resumed her monologue. ?I will also emphasize the place of those traditions in contemporary times as well as the creative
struggles for maintaining an Indian Identity.?
The Indian woman was tall, clad in blue jeans, a tight fitted short sleeve black top and cowboy boots. She had pulled back her
ebony hair in a single braid and she wore long turquoise earrings and silver bracelets, showing her great pride in her heritage.
When Justine?s gaze lingered on Alessandra, the young student experienced an intense attraction instantly. As if hypnotized by
the dark pools, the student felt her pulse quicken. Before she could even fathom her reaction, the professor turned her gaze
away.
From this point forward, Alessandra continued to audit Justine WolfRider?s lectures without being registered; her passion for the
young professor grew with each class. Throughout the semester, they barely spoke to each other. The Anthropology Doctor
would answer her questions in a detached manner, then immediately move on to another student, or would simply nod when they
would encounter each other on the grounds of the faculty and continue on. Alessandra grew increasingly confused, as the
professor was friendly with the rest of her students. She had never given Justine any inclination of her attraction and could not
understand her aloofness. They did speak once briefly at a party given by one of her classmates who happened to be the
professor?s cousin. At the gathering, Justine was so cold and distant that Alessandra left the party furious.
From this day forward, Alessandra resumed her normal life and stopped going to the lectures. She spent the next few weeks
desperately trying to concentrate on her studies and fell into a state of deep depression, which culminated in ending her two-year
relationship with Brad Nielsen, the captain of Berkeley?s rowing team. No matter how hard she tried to purge the images from
her mind, Justine WolfRider was in her every thought. Without realizing it, the assertive woman had taken control of her soul.
