Chapter 30: Two Days in the Forest

Thursday and Friday passed uneventfully as the pledges went to class, did their chores, and attended their evening training seminars. Lisa continued to wear her thong on campus, but by Friday the novelty was wearing off. The stares and whistling had from her onlookers had diminished considerably. By the following week she would be continue to be the object of curiosity and of the numerous men who enjoyed looking at her, but within a few days everyone on campus had seen her at least once.

The planned camping trip had to be postponed for a second time because a severe weather front moved across the Mid-West over the weekend. The first thunderstorm caught the pledges Friday afternoon as they were returning to the sorority house, drenching them and pasting their skimpy clothing to their bodies. Upon getting out of the rain they opened their backpacks to see how badly damaged their books were, only to discover that everything was perfectly dry. Tracy had the foresight to provide them with waterproof book bags.

For three days thunderstorms dumped rain on the city, but that did not deter the Four-Betas and Tri-Alphas from exercising outside. As cold rain poured down on their bodies, the sophomores and pledges spent a very unpleasant hour doing calisthenics Saturday morning. They were ordered to go outside completely naked and used shower mats instead of the usual exercise mats. On Sunday the weather eased just enough to give the first and second year students a chance to get to the stadium and do their normal stair run. Bernadette continued to struggle, but she already had broken the psychological barrier of passing the stair challenge. With difficulty she was able to finish the run for the second time.

Because they were confined to the sorority house, the pledges were prohibited from getting dressed during the entire weekend. Tracy constantly stayed with the group, sleeping with them, bathing with them, and eating with them. Whenever her pledges were undressed, she was undressed with them. The other members of the sorority gossiped and wondered why on earth Tracy suddenly had decided to live like a pledge. Oh well, if that’s what she wanted to do, that was her business, but it was something no other Pledge Mistress had ever done. Maybe she wanted to establish a new tradition...

The fact that Tracy had quit wearing clothing and had given up the rights of a senior was a source of gossip and speculation among the members of the Tri-Alpha Fraternity as well. Not knowing about the intensified rivalry between Tracy and Heather, most of the Triple A’s assumed the Pledge Mistress was being punished. Anyhow, over the weekend nearly all of the fraternity members paid visits to the sorority to satisfy their curiosity about seeing Tracy without her clothes.

Tracy ignored her notoriety and spent every spare moment forcing her group to read ahead for their classes. Apart from the readings and assignments, there were house chores and constant “exercise breaks”. She carefully watched her pledges’ faces: the moment she noticed one of them appearing bored or sleepy, she shouted at everyone to do 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, and run in place for several minutes. The constant threat of impromptu exercising did wonders to focus the pledges’ attention on their work.

Tracy also was on the lookout for what she called “bad attitude”. She kept a small leather paddle with her to punish minor infractions ranging from complaints and disgusted sighs to eye-rolling. The punishments were very quick. Tracy ordered the offending pledge to stand up and bend over the table and delivered 10 hard swats. Upon finishing, she ordered the pledge to sit back down and continue studying. The pledges were not allowed to rub their bottoms or spend more than a few seconds recovering from their spankings. Kathleen was paddled once and Bernadette, the most rebellious member of the group, received the paddle twice. On Saturday afternoon Tracy also paddled Lisa, mostly to demonstrate to the other pledges she was not playing favorites.

The pledge who was punished the most that weekend was Cherine. She received the paddle four times because Tracy was determined to break her annoying habit of eye-rolling once and for all. After the fourth paddling on Sunday she had taken 40 hard swats and gingerly rubbed her bottom as she stood up and bit her lip. Tracy was unsympathetic.

“You get your hands off your butt and get studying ... now! Or maybe, if you want, I can give you a really good reason to rub your butt!”

The Pledge Mistress punctuated her statement with a hard slap of the paddle against the palm of her hand. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was perfectly ready to give Cherine another 10 swats.

The fifth week of her internment as a pledge seemed to fly by for Lisa, with her time completely taken up by studying, exercising and working. The weather cleared on Monday and the pledges spent several hours washing mud off the patio and raking leaves and storm debris from the back yard. The rest of their afternoons were filled with studying and training seminars, including several that focused on physical self-defense. In addition to house cleaning, morning PT, and the nightly seminars was Tracy’s constant exhortation to study. At the end of the week her efforts paid off: the three freshmen took exams in two classes on Friday and all scored in the mid ‘90’s.

Lisa continued wearing her thong on campus, but it didn’t matter very much because on a typical weekday she only wore clothing for approximately four hours anyway. She was dressed for attending class and for walking back and forth to the sorority, but that was it. As soon as she entered Burnside’s office she stripped, and as soon as she entered the sorority she stripped. By the end of June she was so used to being nude that she felt much more at ease being out of her clothes than being dressed. It no longer bothered her in the least to be naked in front of Ruth Burnside and Jim Halsey. In fact, whenever she entered either of their offices, she automatically took off her clothing with as much ease as an ordinary person would take off a coat upon entering a hot room.

After the Sergeant-at-Arms’ thong-buying excursion, Tracy never let Lisa out of her sight while in the house. Lisa might have resented the complete loss of any independence, but was perfectly happy not to repeat her unpleasant outing with Heather. Because the control over their lives was tightened, her sexual affair with Kathleen had to be suspended. Lisa could tell that Kathleen was deeply upset by not being able to make love and further develop the relationship. The unhappy girl cast longing glances at her and resentful looks at the Pledge Mistress for not letting them have any time alone. What made matters worse was that neither Lisa nor the Tracy felt they could explain why it was imperative that she always stay with her group and the group always stay together.

In contrast with her lover, Lisa welcomed the break from the relationship and the chance to think about topics other than her romantic problems and complicated personal responsibilities. She came to enjoy the regimented routine and the opportunity to improve her health and move ahead in her studies. She also realized the relationship had moved way too fast and was relieved that Tracy’s constant presence allowed her to slow down with Kathleen without having to risk hurting her feelings. Yes, she was in very deep with her troubled lover, but at least during the fifth week she didn’t get in any deeper.

Friday evening the sorority held its weekly meeting, which included the annual birthday spanking for a sophomore and various announcements about the house. There was a small piece of bad news; water had leaked into the dining room and the next week all of the dining room furniture would have to be moved so the room could be re-carpeted. Several members glanced at the pledges, because the burden would fall on the newcomers to move the furniture.

The meeting concluded with the announcement that the summer camping trip, after having been postponed twice, finally would take place. The Tri-Alphas had rented several SUV’s for an expedition that would last about 36 hours. There would be a three-hour drive to a remote forest location in southern Illinois followed by a nine-mile hike to an isolated camping spot. The fraternity and sorority members would camp overnight and hike back the following afternoon. The main purpose of the excursion was physical fitness, but it also gave fraternity and sorority members a chance to spend two days doing an activity that was not related to their studies. There would be several stops for swimming, some wilderness training and plenty of opportunities for nature photography for the camera enthusiasts among the group. Upon reaching the destination, a large campsite would be set up and there would be a series of group activities.

The camping trip was a favorite event for many of the members of the sorority and fraternity. People in sexual relationships were encouraged to take advantage of the natural setting to enjoy each other’s company, since the normal restrictions against public displays of affection were suspended in the forest. Couples could sleep together in the same tent, go skinny-dipping alone, or make love in the open air in one of the numerous clearings near the stream that flowed near the campsite. There were organized games such as volleyball and naked twister. The hike was entirely clothing optional, although normally only a few of the Tri-Alphas chose to do the entire hike in the nude. Once the group arrived at the campsite everyone was required to be fully naked, weather permitting.

The camping trip was somewhat more demanding on pledges than on members-in-full-standing. To begin with, pledges were required to be naked during the hike as well as at the campsite. The only articles of clothing they were allowed to take were their hiking shoes and several changes of socks. Everything else needed to stay behind in their lockers. Also, pledges were required to pose for anyone who wanted to photograph them. Following the excursion there would be a figure photography competition followed by a public exhibition and fund-raising art auction of the better pictures. Many other photos were posted on the official Four-Beta website, which helped boost web traffic and advertising revenue. The pledges, since they had to be naked anyway, provided very convenient models for the upperclassmen and their cameras.

There was a final detail about the trip. All participants, both men and women, were expected to carry their own items and water. To that rule there was one exception. The Four-Beta pledges were not allowed to cover themselves at any time during the hike, which meant they could not carry backpacks. The solution was for the Tri-Alpha pledges to carry supplies for both themselves and a female counterpart. To prevent chafing on their shoulders, the male pledges wore special T-shirts for the trek that were cut off just below the chest. From their ankles to their mid-sections the males were as naked as the females.

Everyone in both the fraternity and sorority wondered what Pledge Mistress Tracy would wear on the hike. Since she was committed to living with them, the pledges expected she would go on the hike naked. However, because she was not a pledge, she had to carry her own camping supplies. Her solution was to find an old T-shirt that had become too tight and shorten it to match the shirts the male pledges had to wear. Like the male pledges, she would hike totally bottomless.

The trip started on Saturday at 4:30 when Tracy woke up her group and told them to put on their hiking shoes and grab extra pairs of socks. Tracy picked up her backpack and led her group outside, where the Tri-Alphas’ line of rented SUV’s was waiting. Each SUV was half-filled with fraternity members, with the remaining seats left open for members of the sorority. The vehicles’ occupants would be balanced by sex to encourage more interaction between the men and women.

The pledges had expected to ride down together, but Tracy ordered them to split up. Only one pledge was allowed in each vehicle, to force her to converse with upperclassmen and get to know them better.

Lisa started towards the SUV at the end of the group, but Tracy stopped her.

“I want you in the third one, over there.”

When Lisa obeyed the Pledge Mistress and entered the vehicle, she saw Ken in the back, and an empty seat next to him. She realized that Tracy had wanted to give her and Ken the opportunity to ride down together and the chance to talk. There conversation would not be private, but still, they could converse about mundane topics and at least get caught up on each other’s lives. It turned out they would have a small amount of privacy, because no one else would be sharing the back seat with them. Tracy dragged her backpack to the back of the SUV and put it on the floor next to Lisa. She then ordered a Tri-Alpha to move two more backpacks to the back, effectively blocking access to the seat occupied by Lisa and Ken.

As she sat next to her former boyfriend, several thoughts ran through Lisa’s mind. It was strange, and also very tempting, to be sitting right next to him with neither of them wearing any clothing. Lisa also was surprised that she was happy at the thought of sharing the trip with him. She realized that while she might have thought her relationship with Ken had ended, apparently Tracy did not agree, because she had carefully set up an opportunity for them to spend three hours sitting by themselves. It was obvious that the Pledge Mistress was convinced that Ken and Lisa needed to share as much time together as possible, because this was not the first time she had arranged for them to be together. Lisa wondered what Tracy expected, apart from encouraging her to come to terms with Ken. Did she want Lisa to renew her relationship with him and break off her relationship with Kathleen?

The convoy pulled away from the Four-Beta house and within a few minutes was headed south on an Interstate. The sky already was getting light as the vehicles passed out of the suburbs and into the open countryside of central Illinois. Although most of the vehicles had a naked occupant, there would be no problems with other drivers because the windows in the back were tinted. It was very strange to ride along the freeway, totally naked, and watch trucks, busses, and minivans full of unsuspecting families pass by.

Lisa took advantage of her situation to talk to Ken about what he had done over the past two weeks. She always had enjoyed talking to him and was genuinely concerned about how he was coping with his sexual confusion and struggles. She also wondered how the Tri-Alpha pledge group was doing, given that she had only seen them from a distance since their week at the sorority house.

Ken related that Pledge Master Arnold had offered his resignation upon returning to the fraternity and the directorate considered his request to be relieved of his duty. In the end the chapter president decided that, if he could draw up a training plan for the pledges and submit it for approval, he would prefer that Arnold continue as Pledge Master. Arnold e-mailed Tracy, who responded by sending him a copy of her own training plan. Arnold made a few modifications and submitted it. The crisis passed, and Arnold returned to his position in the Tri-Alpha directorate.

During the week Bernadette was struggling to overcome the stadium stair challenge, the Tri-Alpha pledges received a series of classes in male sexual awareness. There had been some lessons and practical exercises in masturbation techniques, followed by lessons on anal sex and anal stimulation. The session concluded with two live demonstrations of anal sex. The first one was given by a Tri-Alpha member and his girlfriend. The second demonstration was given by a gay couple, both of whom were Tri-Alpha juniors.

Following the demonstrations, the Tri-Alpha pledges were offered the opportunity to participate in practical exercises. The practical exercises were voluntary, one of the few times the Tri-Alpha pledges had a chance to turn down a portion of their training. Of the five remaining pledges, three, including Ken, decided to participate.

The volunteers were paired off with upperclassmen and were given the choice to experience anal stimulation by hand, anal stimulation with sex toys, and anal intercourse. Ken volunteered for everything, determined once and for all to find out if he was gay or not. He discovered that he liked having his bottom rubbed and his sphincter stimulated by hand. However, he was surprised to find out that he did not enjoy being entered by a male partner. In fact, he found the experience very disappointing, comparing it to feeling badly constipated.

Ken somewhat more enjoyed the experience of entering his practical exercise partner, but had trouble achieving an erection until he fantasized about Jason. Once he was able to focus on that increasingly vague vision of his friend, he was able to push into the other guy’s bottom and enjoy a decent orgasm. He found the experience somewhat similar to his lovemaking with Bernadette. He was able to perform only when he became detached from what he was doing at the moment.

That was it for Ken’s curiosity. After several years of wondering, now he knew what having sex with another man was like from personal experience. He had discovered that, while he found some of what he did pleasurable, his orgasms with his practical exercise partner did not come anywhere close to the orgasms he had enjoyed with Lisa.

“Looks like I’m back to square one,” he noted sadly.

By 7:30 the convoy was passing through forested hills as the trip was nearing it’s destination. Lisa chatted about her own experiences; the story behind her thong, Bernadette’s struggles on the stadium stairs, and the pre-dawn streaking adventures with Tracy. She gave a partial explanation about Tracy’s lack of attire and mentioned that she now was sleeping in the basement with her pledge group.

There were several significant details about her life that Lisa chose to omit, including the impending confrontation between Heather and Tracy. A much more important omission was her sexual relationship with Kathleen. She decided not to bring that up, because she no longer was convinced her relationship with Ken had ended. She thought about his comment “looks like I’m back to square one.” Did that mean “square one” with her? What about Lisa’s thoughts on the matter? Was she willing to go back to “square one” with Ken? If that happened, what would that mean for her relationship with Kathleen?

The trailhead had a small parking lot with 16 spaces. The Tri-Alpha convoy had 16 vehicles, which meant all spaces would be taken over the weekend and no one else would be likely to use the trail. Just to be on the safe side, the fraternity had contacted a forest ranger and had made private arrangements to reserve the entire lot until the fraternity vehicles were parked.

The walk itself was not particularly hard for Lisa and her companions. The group passed through stands of old-growth forest mixed with meadows and open woodland. As the pledges walked, the photography enthusiasts took numerous pictures of both the group and of them individually. Some of the pictures were posed, others were taken while they were walking.

While the Four-Beta pledges enjoyed their walk totally unencumbered, the same could not be said for their male counterparts. The guys sweat heavily under their backpacks, weighted down with double-loads of camping equipment and water. Nine miles was a long way to go, but fortunately the Tri-Alpha pledges had spent the past month getting into shape and were up to the task being thrust upon them. Even the guy Heather targeted had made remarkable progress shaping up over the past five weeks. He still was slightly overweight, but certainly no one apart from Heather would feel justified calling him “fat bitch” and “blubber boy”.

Tracy led her group stoically carrying her backpack, sticking close to the pledges and keeping an eye on Heather. Hiking with a backpack was nothing new to her, although she felt very uneasy about her lack of attire. She wondered if there really was any point to what she was doing, pursuing her strange idea of living like a pledge because she was so determined to watch over her group. Was all this really necessary? Oh, well, nothing she could do about it now, even if she wanted to. Like the pledges, she had left her clothing behind at the sorority house and was committed to spending the next day and a half wearing nothing but her shoes and cut-off T-shirt.

During the walk, Kathleen’s behavior surprised her companions. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself as the journey progressed. Most of her shyness wore off as she had a chance to show off her physical fitness. For the benefit of the cameras and an approving audience she ran and did summersaults across open meadows, jumped over logs and rocks, climbed several trees, and even scaled a rock-face. Of the four pledges, Kathleen’s athletic abilities made her the favorite subject among the photographers. Lisa noted that her lover liked showing off and the open sunny environment had made her cheerful.

While Kathleen jumped around for the cameras, Bernadette and Cherine walked at a relaxed pace and chatted about their lives. After the first rest break Tri-Alpha Vice President Jacob joined them and began chatting with Cherine. Bernadette realized, as she noted Cherine’s starry-eyed expression, that she should gracefully exit the conversation. She excused herself and moved ahead a few steps to join Tracy.

With Bernadette absent, Cherine and Jacob finally had a few minutes together to start getting to know each other. She was extraordinarily nervous, not only because she finally had the chance to talk to the guy she had been fantasizing about, but also because she was naked. Granted, she had been naked most of the time over the past month and a half and was used to it, but now she was confronted with the presence of a man she badly wanted to impress. How could he take her seriously if she wasn’t even allowed to wear any clothes?

Jacob did take Cherine seriously, very seriously. As June went by and he caught brief glimpses of her, the pledge filled his thoughts and desires. He couldn’t explain, even to himself, why he wanted her so badly. As for her nakedness, seeing her body had the opposite effect on him than she thought. Cherine’s nakedness only enhanced her innocence in his eyes, because in her unadorned body he saw a pure and unencumbered soul. Precisely because she was denied the accessories of modern civilization and was presented to him as God had made her, he was able to idealize her.

It was a strange coincidence that the snack for the pledges for the half-way rest stop was apples. Tracy passed out an apple to each member of her group. Cherine took an extra apple and offered it to Jacob. To see that lovely young woman in her naked innocence offering him an apple made Cherine the true reincarnation of Eve.

Fortunately for the VP’s aspirations, he was good at casual conversation and at getting other people to put themselves at ease by talking about their lives. He used that talent on Cherine and was rewarded with a lot of information about her family, her ambitions, and her reasons for joining the Four-Beta sorority. Cherine talked about her friendship with Bernadette and her changing opinion of her Pledge Mistress. As the miles passed and the day grew hotter the conversation became more two-way, as he talked about his own pledging experience with the Tri-Alphas and his years as an officer in the fraternity. He became class leader when he was a sophomore, then Social Director as a junior, and finally VP as a senior.

Jacob answered one of Cherine’s questions before she had a chance to ask it. As he talked about his studies, he mentioned that he planned to attend graduate school at the same university. He had not yet decided whether he wanted to seek the chapter presidency of the fraternity, although he did want to continue serving in the directorate.

Lisa and Ken continued their conversation as they walked together. She realized that pledging with the fraternity had been an enormously beneficial experience for him, because he had been able to explore some of the questions he had about himself and what he wanted from his life. There were plenty of hints that he wanted to get back together with her, but there also were plenty of hints that something was still missing. He needed something more, but wasn’t sure what.

At the half-way point there was a pond with a small beach and a couple of picnic tables. It was a good spot to rest, take a short swim, and have a snack and some water. Up until that moment only the pledges had been naked, but most of the fraternity and sorority members stripped to go into the water. The nudity rule about the sorority’s pool applied for the pond; no one was allowed to swim unless completely naked. After swimming many of the members of the expedition sat on towels at the picnic tables, enjoying the sun on their bare bodies and resting up for the final portion of the trip.

When the group started hiking again, the amount of clothing they were wearing had diminished considerably. About half of the Tri-Alphas continued the journey completely naked, along with 9 of the sorority’s members. President Alexandra’s outfit was reduced to a sports bra and panties, while Heather stripped completely. Also completing the trip in the nude were Tri-Alpha Vice-President Jacob and Pledge Master Arnold.

Jacob had decided to complete the trek in the nude partially to put Cherine at ease by making her see him more as an equal. Seeing him wearing nothing but his backpack did not put her at ease, however. Instead, seeing him in his entirety filled Cherine with sexual desire. She very badly wanted to touch him ... and ... give up her virginity. Unfortunately, on that trip a sexual encounter was not to be, because of the prohibition on sex between pledges and fraternity members. No matter what feelings or desires they might have had, they would have to wait another six weeks.

The presence of Cherine complicated Jacob’s life and put his self-control to the test. He couldn’t make love to the pledge, but he was determined not to do anything that would hurt her feelings or jeopardize whatever relationship he had pending with her. That meant he could not risk making love to anyone else on the trip. He worried that various women in the sorority would want to spend some time with him, but he would just have to let them know that he preferred to be with Cherine, and no longer was interested in anyone else.

The group arrived at the overnight campsite at 1:00 in the afternoon. The site was an actual campground that overlooked a small lake and included amenities such as barbeque pits, benches, and a small beach. Upon arriving, everyone who was not yet naked got undressed and stowed their clothing in their backpacks. The hike was clothing optional, but tradition mandated that the overnight camping was a nude event. The fraternity and sorority members spent the next hour setting up several group tents, a volleyball net, and finally, several two-person tents. There was a quick lecture on avoiding hazards such as ticks and poison ivy, with the comment that, because the group was naked, poison ivy was a much worse hazard than ticks.

“If a tick gets on you, you’ll see it and feel it right away. That’s a big advantage about not wearing any clothing out here, there’s nowhere for them to hide. Of course, your skin isn’t protected, either, so be very careful about what you brush up against.”

Once the group was released, most of the fraternity and sorority members headed straight for the water. A few paired off and disappeared into the woods or into one of the tents, and a few others started an impromptu volleyball game.

There was another tradition that was mandatory for anyone who was good at running. Tracy grabbed Kathleen and three sophomores before meeting up with Pledge Master Arnold and four members of his fraternity. There was a race challenge for the best runners; a five-mile path that climbed a hill before circling the lake and returning to the campsite. The runners were expected to complete that challenge, the reward for participating being not having to do any further chores at the campsite. For the winner there was an additional reward, being excused from having to do any chores the following week. Certainly that was motivation for Kathleen, who was thrilled at the prospect of a break from her onerous daily duties as a pledge. Five miles of running in exchange for not having to do any chores for a week? Oh yes!

Tracy had thought about having Lisa participate in the run as well, given that Lisa was the winner of the women’s division of the Tri-Alpha nude 10-K run the previous fall. She’d make a good runner, but there was no way she’d win against Kathleen. Besides, Lisa needed a break and perhaps some additional time to spend with Ken. Tracy decided not to include Lisa in the race, but decided to run herself, to see if she had any hope of keeping up with Kathleen. At 2:30, wearing nothing but cross-country shoes, the runners took off towards the hill and disappeared into the forest.