May was so excited to have made the cut. Now all she had to do was get through the initiation. With the three other initiates, she stood in the front of the meeting listening to Bree Tishler, Chapter President and May’s Big Sister, explain the rules.

“It’s nothing complicated,” Bree said. “Each of you will draw a slip of paper out of this hat. On the paper is the name of your vegetable. All you have to do is go to the store and pick out your vegetable. Easy, huh?”

May found herself nodding along with the other three girls.

“Afterward, of course, we’ll need to see a photograph for verification.”

A photograph of what? May wondered. Verification of what?

“Any questions before we draw?” Bree asked.

May was about to raise her hand when the girl next to her, Tamar, blurted out, “I don’t get it.”

Bree grinned. “Did I leave something out? Oh, yeah. You have to put your vegetable inside you.”

“You mean like in your mouth?” Tamar asked.

May knew that was not what Bree meant.

“In your vagina,” Bree said. “Full penetration, as they say.”

“Oh,” said Tamar. “Now I get it.”

“Good,” said Bree. “Why don’t you draw first?” She held the top hat out to Tamar, who reached her hand in.

“Should I open it?” the girl asked. “Should I read what I got?”

“Sure,” said Bree, as she offered the hat to May. May reached in.

“Cucumber,” Tamar blurted.

May opened up her slip of paper. Squinched her eyes.

“Eggplant,” said the red-headed Julie, to oohs and ahs.

“Carrot,” said Octavia, a petite Asian. “I guess I got the easy one.”

Now everyone was looking at May. She bit her lips.

“Go on, read it out,” Bree said. “We all know what it is anyway. Don’t be shy.”

“Yam,” May mouthed, a scant decibel above silent.

“Right,” Bree announced. “So that’s that. Bring your pictures in for the next meeting, a week from tonight.”

The day before the next meeting, May got a text from Bree asking if she’d gotten her initiation thing taken care of.

“Not yet,” May texted back.

“What u waitn 4?”

“Don’t know.”

“Need a ride to the food store?”

“I guess.”

“Pik u up in 10.”

Half an hour later they were in the grocery’s vegetable aisle. “Yam’s not so bad,” Bree said. “You’ve got some lube, right?”

“Ah, no, not really,” May said.

“Ho, ho, so you’re one of those natural lubers. It takes me a while to get wetted up. Anyway, after you pick your yam we can get some oil. Maybe some extra virgin olive oil, ha ha.”

“Ha ha,” said May.

“First you got to pick out your yam. Obviously you don’t want one too thick. Unless you’re really into thick. I had cucumber, back in the day, and I made sure to choose the skinniest one they had. The trouble with yams is they don’t seem to have too much of a selection.”

It was true. Most of the yams were fairly fat.

“But they do look sexy,” Bree said. “In their own way. How about this one?” She held it up.

“I guess,” said May.

“Think of it this way, it’s smaller than a baby.” She carried the yam toward checkout.

“Wait,” May said. “What about the oil?”

“Oh yeah. Can’t forget that.”

“And maybe we should get some other things.”

“Why?” Bree asked. “What other things?”

“You know.”

“You mean condoms? I think they’re at the back of the next aisle.”

“No. I mean just regular things.”

“Why?”

“So the purchase will look right.”

Bree laughed. “C’mon, silly.” She led the way to checkout. “My treat,” Bree said, as the cash register girl rang up the items.

When Bree parked the car in front of the dorms, May didn’t get out right away. “Do you think you’ll need any help?” Bree asked. “Working the camera or whatever?”

May bit her lip.

“If you don’t have a camera, a cell phone camera is fine,” Bree said.

“It’s not that,” May said. “It’s...”

“What?”

“It’s that ... maybe we should have gotten extra extra virgin olive oil.”

Bree’s brow knitted. After a moment she said, “No kiddin’?”

May nodded glumly.

“Hm,” said Bree.

“What do you think I should do?”

Bree thought. “Let’s go in. I have an idea.”

Inside May’s room, Bree put her hand on May’s shoulder. “I have kind of a delicate question for you. You’re not into girls by any chance? I mean it’s okay if you are, but...”

“But what?” May said.

“You mean you are into girls?”

“I don’t think so,” May said. “I just haven’t met the right guy yet.”

“Good,” said Bree. “ I mean okay. Then this won’t be so embarrassing. You need to take off your clothing.”

“Everything?”

“No sense in getting anything oily.”

May turned her back to Bree and scuffed off her shoes. Then she pulled her polo top over her head and set it carefully on the bed.

“Not there,” Bree said. “That’s where you’re going to be.”

“Oh.” May moved the shirt to the dresser. She unhooked her bra and set it next to the shirt.

“You have really nice breasts,” Bree said, looking at May in the dresser’s mirror. “Not too big and not too small.”

“Um, thanks.”

“And really nice nipples. I wish my buttons were so fat and pink and up-tilted.”

“You’re making me blush,” May said.

“It becomes you. Now quit stalling and take off your jeans and panties.”

While May was removing her jeans she lost her balance and sat on the bed. “Sorry I’m so clumsy,” she said.

“You’re not. Here, lie back and let me help.” May lay back and Bree gripped the denim. “Lift,” she said. May lifted her hips and Bree yanked the jeans down and off and tossed them onto a chair.