Karen – Company Picnic

by MonsterP63 (monsterp63)

Karen – Company Picnic

Tags: Tight Jeans, High Heels, Spandex

The jeans were so tight that the stitching was almost being pulled apart, revealing the darker denim underneath the seams. With each step, the denim was pulled apart by the flesh of the buns trying to find a place to go. She had to rock her hips from side to side, because her legs were pretty much held rigid by the tight denim, from the high waist down to the knee.

But the denim on the knee was barely visible. It was covered by the white leather of thigh high, high heels boots.

Each step was a challenge, having to keep her balance on the 5 inches high stiletto heel, and with her movements limited by the tight denim.

Her upper body was wrapped in a stretchy but tight white T-shirt, moulding her ample breasts, and showing just enough cleavage. A black leather jacket was the finishing touch. The jacket was also tight, almost too tight to close the front zipper, but she wasn’t to close it anyway.

She was dressed to draw attention, and she knew it. And she liked it.

Her heels clicking on the concrete sidewalk, she slowly walked toward the nearby park where her co-workers had gathered for the annual company picnic. She had brought nothing. She didn’t want to have to carry any kind of annoying bag. There were hot-dog counters all around. That’s where she will get her snack.

When she reached the park, the dozen or so of fellow employees were there, sitting around, their backpacks on the ground. The company was making sporting goods, so she was not surprised that everybody had the same brand of bags. She spotted her workgroup, and headed toward them leaving the relative stability of the concrete for the grass, where her heels sank. She was looking like a ballet dancer on the verge of falling off the stage, her hands whipping the air impaired by that tight overall clothing. Many laughed at her predicaments and she heard comments at how stupid she looked. She laughed. Yes, she was sure she was looking quite stupid but once she would reach her group, everything would settle down.

Lynda, her best friend, walks in her direction, wearing “comfort fit” jeans, a loose T-shirt and hiking boots.

“Hi Karen. You’re not coming with us?” asked Lynda.

“What do you… mean?” said Karen, panting. “I’m here. I came.”

Lynda looked puzzled.

“And what about you?” asked Karen in return. “Why all the baggy clothes? I thought we agreed on tight jeans.”

“Yeah, but… Did you get the last memo about the picnic?”

“What do you mean the last memo? I got only one, stating that the picnic was held here…. What’s going on?”

Lynda’s eyes became very dark and angry as she turned around. Behind her, 2 girls were laughing their heads off.

“Sorry Karen,” said a tall blonde one, laughing very hard “I guess I forgot to include you on the distribution list.” She said laughing louder, accompanied by her friend.

“Suzy! That was not very nice of you.” Said Lynda.

“Hey, if the bitch wants to come, all she has to do is follow.”

Karen was seeing red.

“You can’t come for a hike in the mountains dressed like that.” Said Lynda. “You will have to stay back.”

“I don’t have any choice. The President is going to be there, and he’s supposed to name the new director, and I’m one of the finalists. I can’t miss it.”

“In that case” said Lynda “run to the nearest clothes store, and get yourself a new outfit.”

“That’s the best solution.” Answered Karen.

“I think… well, it’s too late, the minibus picking us up just arrived.” She said as a minibus parked nearby.

Karen thought for a few seconds.

“Where are we heading?”

“The Old Oak Lodge. Why?”

“You’ll see.” She said picking up her cell phone.

Lynda left her as she had to hand over her backpack and get on board the minibus. A few minutes later, Karen was back with the group, and struggling to get on the bus. Lynda helped her while the other repressed a laugh, especially Suzy.

The two hours ride was less than comfortable. Her tight jeans were biting painfully on her waist as she was more or less sitting on the square seats of the minibus, but she was acting as if everything was normal, chatting of everything but her situation with Lynda and Christine, another good friend.

Finally they were at the Old Oak Lodge and they disembark off the minibus. Karen drew the attention of the other clients of the lodge with her tight jeans and high heels boots. After the check-in, it was the rush in the hot spring water pool at the back of the lodge. Everyone jumped in, except for Karen, who waited inside, at the bar.

A tall man in a business suit approached her.

“Hello miss” he said from a strong voice “let me guess. You’re Karen, right?”

Karen turned around, surprised and almost shocked. It was the company president.

“Oh, hi mister President.” She said, shaking his hand. “Yes, I’m Karen. How did you know?”

“I heard about your dressing habits.” He said with a smile. “Seems that some people do not agree. Frankly, it’s your own business but I never thought that you would dress like that today, especially for what’s ahead.”

“No, no. That’s not what you think. Yes, I do dress like that in my leisure time, but for today, I’m a victim of a practical joke. You see, one person forgot to give me the real memo about today’s company picnic. Having known that we were heading for a mountain hike, I would have dress-up differently. But don’t worry, everything is under control. I’m waiting for a package. I had time before getting on the bus to read the real memo and to call in to have proper attire shipped. It should be here any minute now.”

“Good. Quick decision making. And what are your intentions about whoever did that… joke on you?”

“Well, I don’t know. Yes I’d like to get back on that person, but I don’t believe it’s the right place nor the right moment, I mean, not in front of the suits of the company.”

“Let me tell you a story, Karen.” He said while taking the bar stool besides her. “When I was at the university, there was this guy that was jealous of me because I always had better grades than he had. Oh, I was not that smart, it’s just that he was a moron. So, I had an interview one day, and not suspecting him, I followed his advice when he gave me directions to go tosaid interview. Needless to say that he had led me to the wrong place and that I was late at that interview, which he got in place of me, saying to the interviewer that I had switch places with him. I explained the situation to the interviewer and although at the end I didn’t get the job, neither him by the way, I was not to let him get off that easy.”

“So you did the same to him?” asked Karen.

“No.” he said, laughing. “That would have been boring. What I did is that I put laxative on his morning coffee, the day of the graduation. You know how important that day is. Well, he spent most of his time sitting on the throne, so he’s not on most of the pictures and on the ones that he’s in, he’s blemish, and grimacing, fighting to hold it on while the picture was taken before rushing to the toilet. At the end, he has absolutely no good enough picture of his graduation to display anywhere. The bottom line is: don’t let whoever did this to you get off easily.” He said with a wink. “Now, in the meantime, I need your help.”

“Anything, sir.”

The president instructed Karen to go through all the bags of the employees, and take out all electronic gadgets, whether it was palms, cell phones, portable games, etc, and leave only the clothes and personal stuff. She prepared her revenge at the same time. In the meantime, she had received a package, which she had put aside.

Then it was lunchtime. Everybody was enjoying the sun in his or her swimsuits, except of course Karen. At one point, she was called at the entrance desk. She came back twenty minutes later, to leave again shortly after, just after the President had a little private chat with her. Then he addressed the group.

“Dear fellow employees. Today is an important day. As you all know, the nomination for the new director of operations will be announced. But in the meantime, I feel that we should forget about the big city, the stress of the fast lane, and the buzzing of technology. That’s why we are all embarking for the mountain hike. In a few minutes, you will be invited to embark on a bus that will drive us to the top of the mountain. From there, we’ll get down back here on foot, taking the time to admire the scenery, and listen to the sounds of nature. We will make a stop for the night at Round Rock falls, take a swim in that wonderful blue lake at the foot of the falls, watch the night sky and get a good night rest.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue our trip, stopping for lunch at the Great View belvedere, and finally returning at this place by the end of the afternoon. You will have time to shower and change before the banquet and the official announcement.

Your belongings have been screened to remove any electronic gadgets, so you will have to connect with nature. Everything is already loaded in the bus. Please get on it. I’ll be with you in a few minutes, the time needed to get out of that suit and tie and to wear something… more appropriate. Thank you.”

Everybody got up. Lynda was looking for Karen. She was definitely not dressed for that kind of exercise. Still in their swimsuits, they all embarked on the bus. Karen surprised everybody, especially Suzy and her good pal Brenda who never thought that she could find a way out that easily. She was wearing the sexiest bikini of the whole bunch! She sat besides Lynda.

“Have you seen their face? I don’t think they have thought about this possibility.”

“Nope.” Said Karen, with a low voice “and that’s only the top of the iceberg.” She said with a wink.

The president entered the bus, wearing shorts, t-shirt and hiking boots.

“Ok, let’s go.” He said to the driver.

It was a small bus, and the passengers quickly understood why they had been made to keep their swimsuits: it was a furnace. There was no air conditioning, and although all the windows were open, the harsh sun was heating it like a tin can. They were glad to disembark after the 3 hours ride uphill, and breathe some fresh air. 

There were a couple of small cabins, where the employees could change. Like many of her fellows, Karen kept her swimsuit on and simply opened her bag, got out her hiking boots and a pair of shorts. Then she heard a scream. Well, two screams. She turned around, smiling. Suzy was walking as fast as walking barefoot on a rocky soil would allow, toward her, looking quite pissed-off, with Brenda short on her tail.

“What the hell is this?” she said getting a pair of black knee high, lace-up, platform boots with a six inches spiky heel. Then dropping them on the ground, she produced a pair of faded blue jeans and hot pink, long sleeves, high neck, wet-look spandex leotard. Brenda had the same thing in her bag except for the leotard that was bright yellow.

“Gee, I don’t know.” She said, repressing a laugh. “They’re not mine. Is this really your bag?”

Suzy was ready to fight, but Karen made a step backward, raising her hands.

“Calm down, Suzy.”

“You bitch…”

The president cut in.

“What’s going on here? Fighting is not showing good sportsmanship. What’s the matter?”

“It’s her.” Yelled Suzy pointing at Karen. “She changed our clothes for this… bitch stuff. I want my clothes back.”

“Why was it fun, Suzy, to put me in this same situation, but the reverse isn’t?”

“That… that’s not the same. I don’t like to look like a bitch.”

“No, no. Wait a minute. Stop the name calling. Whether you like or not the way other people dress themselves is a personal opinion. That does not remove any quality that the other person might have, and is not worth any name calling.”

“Someone like her should not get any promotion. And worse of all, she replaced my…”

“And what did you do to deserve that?” asked the president. “Didn’t you omit to tell her the agenda for the weekend, so she would end-up in an embarrassing situation?”

She was stuck. If she was answering no, she was lying. If she was answering yes, she was admitting that she had deliberately tried to put Karen out of the race for the new director job.

“It… it wasn’t my idea.” She said, turning toward Brenda.

“What?? You trash…” answered Brenda while taking a large swing to slap Suzy, but was stopped by Lynda who grabbed her arm.

“Well, I think I got here a good idea of your personality. Thank you for that nice demonstration. Karen, I’m sure that their real clothes are nearby somewhere?”

“Yes mister president.” She said with a smile “I put it in a bag under the bus driver’s seat.”

“I’ll get it. In the meantime, I want all of you to shake hands and I want Suzy and Brenda to offer excuses to Karen.”

The president watched from the distance as handshakes were exchanged. It was obvious that Karen was sincere, but neither Suzy nor Brenda, who were doing it because, ordered to. They were pissed off of having been pranked.

The president came back, empty handed. As Suzy was about to spit on Karen, the president said:

“I’m sorry, girls, but it seems that the driver noticed that bag just prior leaving, and thinking that it had been forgotten there from the previous ride, took it out and handed it over to the receptionist. It’s too late for him to go make a round trip, and the trails we’re gonna take to walk back are rather far from the bus road. The nearest spot for him is the Great View belvedere. He will leave the bag there tomorrow. So at least, you will have your stuff for the last third of the hike.”

“You mean…” began to say Brenda.

“… That you’re stuck with that for most of the weekend.” He said, pointing at the pile of high heels and jeans.

“It’s your fault.” Yelled Suzy at Karen. “I’m not wearing any of this.” She said.

“As I recall, you’re the one who started it.” Calmly answered Karen. “As for wearing it or not, it’s your call. I hadn’t planned that the driver would take the bag out of the bus.”

They left, heading for a cabin. They were the only ones still not wearing any kind of footwear. When they were far enough, Karen left Lynda and approached the president, and whispered in his ear.

“We were the last two to board the bus. I was right in front of you, and the bag was there when I got in, and the driver never left the bus afterwards. I don’t get it.” 

“It was very kind of you, Karen, to have thought of bringing their good clothes, but honestly, I don’t think they got the message, so I left the bag there. The true part is that he’s going to leave the bag at the Great View belvedere, but on his way down, so we’ll have it for sure tomorrow. 

“I understand sir, but those boots are $200 a pair. I have them on loan. I never thought they were going to wear them. Now I’ll have to pay for them, and that’s not including the jeans and spandex leotard. The bill will reach close to $700. Now I feel I’m the fool.”

“Just put it on your expense report.”

“But I don’t have an expe…”

She stopped there, as the president was looking with a smile. She was right, she didn’t have an expenses account. But she would. Every director does.

“You’re a little devil, you know that?” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, I know.” He said with a laconic tone. “And you’re a close runner up.” He said, turning around, trying not to look suspicious.”

“What were you chatting about?” asked Lynda coming up to Karen?

“I will tell you but later. If you see anything suspicious, just act… normally.”

Lynda looked at her, raising her eyebrows.

“Tell me, what size of jeans did you get them?”

“Well, I checked the label of their jeans for their actual size. Since they were relax fit jeans, I went for 2 sizes smaller, and about three sizes smaller for the leotard.” She said with a smile.

“I can’t wait to see that.” Answered Lynda at the same time a scream came out from one of the cabins. A few minutes later, a really pissed off Suzan walked out, still in her bikini, but wearing the platform boots, holding a pair of jeans in her hands.

“Do you really expect me to wear this?” she said waving the jeans. “This thing is about 2 sizes too small.”

“To be honest, Suzan,” said Karen “I didn’t expect you to wear any of this, that’s why I had left your good clothes on the bus.”

At about the same time, Brenda walked out. She had put on everything. She was walking slowly, gently rubbing her hands on her tightly encased hips, feeling the tightness of the jeans, discovering new sensations. She looked stunning with her bright yellow wet-look spandex shirt and the tight jeans. She had put the legs of the jeans over the boots. She was looking in amazement at Karen. Walking slowly, to keep her balance, the spiky heel not well conceived for walking on rocky soil, she headed toward Karen. Her hands were running along her body, feeling her buns, and putting her finger into the crease the tight jeans were making with each step. Needless to say that she was the main attraction to the male employees who had stopped whatever they were doing to witness the event.

“How… how can you… walk with… that?” she managed to say when she was close enough.

“It’s all a question of getting used to.” Answered Karen.

“No, I mean the… stimulation…” she said lowering her voice so much that Karen almost didn’t hear. “I think I’m going to climax every few steps.”

“Well, now you know why I wear that as often as I can.” Answered Karen with a wink. “It takes control, pure and simple. In time, you’ll be able to control yourself, and even let it go when the timing and the place is right.”

They started on the trail. The pack was pretty much in this order: The women had the lead, then a long space followed by a slowly walking Brenda, on each side of her Karen and Lynda, behind them, all the men, then the rest of the women, and finally, trailing the pack, Suzy, complaining, and alone.

The hike proved to be difficult for Brenda. The high heels boots were not made for that kind of use, and Karen and Lynda had to support her on more that one occasion. Of course, they perfectly realized that a couple of those times, it was not because she had problems with her heels, but rather because she was climaxing. 

She could feel the tight denim massage her legs, the way she had to walk her hips being stiff, the high heels, forcing her to lean forward a little, forcing her breasts out, pushing them against the tight spandex. Everything was arousing. Everything was a sexual stimulation.

They reached a small plateau, at Round Rock Falls about an hour later. The camp was setup. Brenda was happy to take a rest. Her feet were aching, her legs were aching, and her crotch was hot as hell. 

Suzy?  She was pissed off and still complaining, alone. No one was offering her any help. She had pretty much already trashed the boots, and the jeans, which she held in her hands, were stained as they were being used as some kind of cushion each time she fell, which she did quite often. Her legs were scorched by the branches she rubbed on, and the numerous falls. She had some relief with a dip in the lake. Brenda didn’t go swimming. She was about the only one. She was keeping her outfit on. 

Then it was dinner time. Brenda ate little. Her stomach was so compressed that she couldn’t eat much.

“Why don’t you get rid of the jeans, Brenda?” asked Karen. “Go put on your swimsuit and have a dip. The water is awesome.”

Brenda blushed.

“I… I like it that way.” She whispered. Karen winked at her. They began to chat about the subject. 

Suddenly, Brenda was interested in Karen. She wanted to know more, how she started, how often she was doing it, how she managed to do it, etc. By the campfire, the discussion continued. Suzy tried to approach Brenda, hoping to take her away, to take her with herself, so she wouldn’t feel left out, but Brenda sent her away.

“Hey Brenda. Why don’t you leave these morons and come join me for some fun.”

“Err, sorry Suzy, but for now I prefer staying with them. It’s nice for a change not to talk down someone. Maybe I’ll see you later.”

Suzy left, pissed off.

“That’s it. Join them. Join the losers. When I’ll be the director, don’t come crying to me.”

“Whatever,” answered Brenda, barely looking at her. 

That rendered her furious, and she left in such a hurry that she forgot she was still wearing the boots, and ended up face first on the ground, her hairs inches from the campfire. Humiliated, the staff laughing, she retired to her tent. She never showed up for the rest of the evening.

All this time, all the time she was talking with Karen and Lynda, she couldn’t stop gently rubbing her thighs, sliding her hands along her tightly encased legs, feeling how tight her buns were squeezed, and she couldn’t ignore the hard stimulation she got. All the men were looking at her. Some directly, some from the corner of their eyes. Some women seemed disturbed, others were curious and were asking her questions mainly why she hadn’t taken them off. The answer always surprised them:

“Try it first, then come see me with the answer.”

It was time to go to bed. The camp had been setup so there was a tent for every 2 persons. Of course, Karen went with Lynda and Brenda with Suzy. 

Karen and Lynda were comfy in their sleeping bags, when they heard someone approaching.

“Psst… Karen. Are you awake?”

“Brenda? Something wrong?” she said, opening the flap of the door.

“Well, Suzy is wrong. She won’t stop complaining and calling me names because I wore the jeans and stuff. I can’t stand it. Do… do you have enough space so one more girl can… tightly fit in?”

Karen looked at Lynda and repressed a laugh. Suzy was really isolating herself. Even her best friend was leaving her!

“I’m sure we can manage. Come in… You haven’t taken them off yet?”

Brenda was suddenly blushing.

“I… I’d like to keep ’em for sleeping.”

“Wow! You’re really hooked on. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Hey, don’t worry, I have no problem with that, I sleep in tight jeans at home. Nothing new here.”

Brenda squeezed in. She had a rather agitated sleep, and she moaned quite a few times.

In the morning, Brenda had surprised everybody by showing up already dressed in jeans and boots. Suzy, alone, was still pissed off. She happened to walk by Karen.

“The first thing I’ll do will be to fire you, brat!”

“She really believes she’ll have the job, doesn’t she.” Said Lynda.

“If she only knew…” said Karen, trailing off the end of her phrase. Lynda looked puzzled.

“Do you know something I don’t know?”

“Just… just act normally… Ah, breakfast. Thanks Phil.” She said to the good looking guy that had brought them their plates. He had three. One for Karen, one for Lynda and one for Brenda, with whom he spent quite a long time, just to put the plate down.

“I guess she got noticed.” Said Karen, teasing Lynda with her elbow.

Finally, the camp was all packed up, and the people were ready to go. A two hours walk should get them to the Great View Belvedere. This time, Brenda walked faster. She was able to control the urges more and more. Suzy, well, no change, except that now, she was also including Brenda, who was her best friend 24 hours earlier, in her insults and threats of firing.

When they reached the belvedere, Brenda was in need of some place to hide and have a good one. She was hot. Very hot. A small wet stain could be seen between her legs. When the wooden platform of the belvedere was visible, Suzy ran toward it, and looked frantically everywhere, searching for the bag with her good clothes. She found it, under a bench. She took it and rose in the air.

“Finally got it!” she yelled, but she had pulled it up very fast, and with force. Once her arm was extended, the plastic bag… slipped off her fingers, and flew in the air a few seconds before starting to fall down. 

She let out a scream. She tried to catch it, but it was too far. She almost flipped over the handrail to get it, and was caught in time by one of the men getting on the observation deck. She watched, crying, as the bag fell down the cliff, going down, down, down 300 feet. There was no way she could get it back. Now, she was stuck, and it was all HER fault! She had no one to blame for it, but herself.

Brenda raised her shoulders.

“Oh well. I doubt that I would have taken off what I have anyway.”

Suzy was devastated. But she had one last hope. She knew she was getting the director job.

The Announcement.

Everybody had changed, including Brenda, with an evening dress. Karen had a shiny metallic blue spandex cocktail dress, thigh length, with bright red platform shoes. Lynda had a long satin black dress, and Brenda a knee length red dress with flat comfy shoes. She seemed sad.

“Something wrong?” asked Karen.

“I… I miss the tight jeans and high heels.”

“That was to be expected, after the day you had.” Answered Karen with a wink.

Suzy came in, wearing a very long black velvet dress, with gold trimming. She came in, her head high, sure to be the one. The President went to the microphone.

“Well, it was quite a weekend and not exactly as I had expected. It had the goal of bringing the real self in you, to show you and the other, who you really are. People did stand out of the crowd. Some for good reasons, some for other reasons. I know you’re all here for the announcement of the new Director of Products Development. The choice had not been difficult. I had a feeling that this woman was the right choice, but this weekend, with her exemplary sportsmanship, her attitude toward adversity, and her imagination, she proved that I had planned the right decision. This is a new department, so she will have to build her staff in the coming weeks.

So, please welcome the new Director of Edge Products Development…”

Suzy got up, and stopped dead.

“…Karen.”

There was a big round of applause. Everybody seemed to agree with the president’s decision. All but one. Suzy was frozen, not believing it.

“What the hell did this bitch to you to get it? A blow job?” she yelled.

The applause stopped and a low hum filled the room. Karen, who was reaching the microphone, coughs to get the attention back on her.

“Thank you mister president. It is an honour and absolutely unexpected. All I can say is that I’m just doing my job the best I can, and I will try my best to carry on the responsibilities of the challenge you’re offering me. Yes I will definitely have to build up my team and don’t worry, wearing tight jeans is not a prerequisite. Just the will to do a good job is sufficient. Thank you all.”

She left the stand under the applause, and another yelling from Suzan.

“Hey, the bitch! Don’t think about me for your team! Go suck-up someone else.”

The president didn’t say anything. The evening went on.

The Team.

Three weeks had passed. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” said Karen, sitting behind her desk. 

The door opened, and three people came in: Lynda, Brenda and Phil.

“Hi folks. Please, sit down. As you probably know, this new department has to develop cutting edge equipment, that’s why it’s called the Edge Product. So, I need a team that thinks differently. The choice was rather difficult, since it’s a new department, with a whole bunch of new challenges that will need a bunch of knowledge and ingenuity. We will have to work in close relationship, so my choices didn’t stop with competences, but also with character and personality. In consequences, I’m offering all three of you to be part of my team. Interested?”

There were general smiles.

“Well, of course. I’m in.”

“It means long days, and long hours. We may work late at night, at least for the first couple of months.”

“I have no problem with that.” Said Phil, “I’m single.”

“That’s another reason why I chose you three: you’re all single, so no family ties.”

“How… it’s so silly… how do we have to dress for the job?”

“Well, it’s lab work, with a bunch of different equipment and ingredients. A cashmere shirt is rather out of the question. We will all have lab coats. For all I care, come to work in jeans.”

“Any kind of jeans?” asked Brenda, who by then, was a constant wearer. Karen even detected that, once, under a floor length skirt, she was wearing tight jeans.

“Any kind of jeans, as long as it doesn’t impair your work.”

“Great! Now, what is the first cutting edge product you want to develop? High heels ski boots?”

“Although it’s a novel idea, no. I have a request though, from the president to develop a denim snowsuit.”

“You mean something in the order of a tight denim undersuit, a layer of insulation, a top layer of thick and tight denim, covered with clear PVC to waterproof it?” asked Lynda

“Something along those lines, yes.” Said Karen, already liking the clear PVC idea.

“I think I’m gonna just love this new job.” Said Phil.

“You’ll sure get a lot of things to watch.” Said Brenda with a smile. “Doing something special for dinner?” she asked with a large smile.

“Yes,” answered Phil, “I’ll pick you up at 8… Wear something… tight.”

“I will.”

“Oh, Brenda.” Said Karen, “Say, I haven’t heard from Suzy for quite some time. Do you know what happened to her?”

“We barely spoke since the mountain hike, Karen, but the president was really not impressed with her attitude at that dinner, but I heard that since she had so minimum PR skills she got muted where she belong: the operation of a forklift at the warehouse, night shift.”

“Wow… I don’t say she doesn’t deserve it, but ouch. That must have been quite a slap in the face.”

“Hum… ” said Lynda. “I wonder what it would be like to operate a forklift in tight jeans…”

© Pete April 9, 2004