Chapter 33: Kathleen’s hard lesson

After breakfast, Burnside officially transferred custody of the pledges back to Pledge Mistress Tracy. Along with the pledges she handed over a diskette describing the women’s training schedule and her own observations about the pledges’ health, study habits, openness for sexual adventure, and what they did during the three days they spent at her house.

Tracy passed out the pledges’ uniforms that she had brought with her from the sorority house and ordered her group to get ready to depart for the university. Each pledge had to get on her knees and thank Ruth Burnside for letting her stay at the house before going out the front door. Tracy drove the freshmen to campus, while Lisa went with Burnside and Halsey.

Burnside said nothing about what had happened the night before, but Lisa did notice a subtle difference in her behavior. For the first time Lisa had held power over her professor, which somewhat changed how the two women would relate to each other. The professor would not say anything openly, but Lisa could tell that she was very grateful for her student’s quick and tactful response to what had happened when she was over the younger woman’s lap. Lisa had been astute and observant enough to understand the professor was sexually aroused, and gracious enough to let her escape before anyone else in the room realized what was going on.

The problem for Burnside was that Lisa’s knowledge about her vulnerability gave the girl some power in their relationship. Allowing Lisa to have any influence on what happened in their interaction with each other was not what Burnside had wanted. She had hoped to exert absolute authority over Lisa similar to what she held over Mark, but felt that she no longer could do that if Lisa knew her secret. There would have to be an unspoken agreement of trust between the professor and the student, an uneasy partnership that would tie the two women’s fates together over the next several years. Lisa was not Mark, and Burnside would have to treat her very differently.

The professor’ personality made it very hard for her to express emotions that conveyed vulnerability. She did not feel comfortable talking to Lisa about what had happened, but at the same time trusted that her student would not tell anyone what she had discovered. Fortunately, the way she handled the spanking the previous night demonstrated that Lisa could keep a secret. It also was obvious that Lisa cared about Burnside’s reputation in the fetish community. Yes, she had wanted to turn the tables on Burnside by putting her over her lap, but what mattered was that she knew when to stop. Burnside also realized that Lisa Campbell was a person with whom she could have a personal relationship that would start out as mentoring, but over several years could develop into a real friendship.

That morning, after Lisa had stripped and was standing with her legs spread and her hands behind her head, Burnside went over her plans for that week. Then she surprised Lisa with some news about a couple of Four-Beta juniors who were taking one of her summer classes:

“Seems there’s a bit of a problem with their midterms. It looks like they tried, but they’re just not getting the material. They’ll get the bad news in class, but I figured you’d want to know about it first, in case the sorority has anything to say to you about it. If they don’t shape up real fast, I can tell you they won’t be passing.”

While Lisa continued to work in Burnside’s office in the afternoon, Pledge Mistress Tracy and Junior class leader Shannon entered her office with the two unhappy juniors. Burnside repeated what she had told Lisa, that unless the two students could score at least 90 percent on the final exam, there was no way the professor could let them pass the class. The two sorority women turned white, because getting 90 percent on one of Burnside’s tests was very difficult. The professor snapped:

“Well, I hope you don’t expect me to pass you if you don’t perform, because I won’t. It’s a numbers game around here, and right now your numbers don’t add up. The final is in four weeks, so I’d suggest you use that time wisely and learn the course material, instead of just looking at me with those sad eyes.”

Tracy and her pledges walked back to the sorority with Shannon and the two juniors. The situation for the sorority was dire, because both juniors already had taken Burnside’s class and had flunked out. If they flunked a second time, they would go on academic probation, which in turn would be a huge embarrassment for the entire sorority and for President Alexandra in particular. As Tracy always quoted from the military “shit rolls downhill”, because Alexandra in turn, would blame Shannon for not making sure her two class members had properly studied. If Alexandra was pissed at Shannon, she had the authority to blackball her from participating in any future sorority elections.

As they walked across Old Campus, Shannon began questioning Lisa about what she knew about Burnside’s classes and the course material. It turned out that the pledge’s knowledge was quite comprehensive, which gave the three juniors an idea. Why couldn’t Lisa tutor the juniors and get them ready to pass the final? In fact, what was to prevent her from setting up a study group to help everyone taking economics classes? Lisa knew the material, so what right did she have to not share her knowledge with the rest of the sorority?

Tracy drew a deep breath, not at all happy about the turn of events. Lisa was still a pledge, and under the pledge program rules she was not authorized to lead anything, let alone a study group. Furthermore, she had not completed her Four-Beta training, nor passed all of her pledge challenges. Now, on top of everything else she had to accomplish over the next month, she was being tapped to run a study group for two women who were in trouble due to their own stupidity. Tracy was very irritated with Shannon, because the junior class leader was pushing her problem off on a pledge instead of trying to take care of it herself. If it wasn’t Pledge Lisa’s fault those two juniors were failing, why was she the one who had to fix their situation?

Lisa’s obligations only became even more complicated when the pledges dined with the sophomores. The conversation focused on her position as Burnside’s student aide and the fact that she had tutored dorm residents in Huntington Hall during the spring semester. Already a rumor had spread among the younger women that Pledge Lisa was going to tutor everyone taking Burnside’s classes. That was great! One of the sophomores became especially interested in Lisa’s knowledge about the material presented in Burnside’s Theory of Economics course, because the previous year she had flunked out and was eager to get help from the sorority’s new pledge. She was not yet on the verge of failing, but was determined to get a better grade on the final than she got on the midterm. Suddenly Lisa was faced with several excited sophomores beseeching her with questions about economics.

Finally Lisa held up her hands:

“Look ma’am, I can’t do anything for you unless it’s cleared through Pledge Mistress Tracy! She’s got the final word on this, not me. If she asks me to help you, then yes, I’ll do what I can. But, she’s got to approve any study group!”

Her companions quickly volunteered to talk to Tracy, but again Lisa held up her hands.

“I need to ask about this, not you. I’m under her orders right now, so I’ll talk to her.”

Following dinner Lisa found Tracy, who, as usual, was sitting in the sorority library with her textbooks. She knelt and explained what the sophomores wanted from her, which added to the expectations Shannon had for her two failing class members.

Tracy was tempted to tell both Shannon and the sophomores to forget about exploiting her pledge, but the truth was the tutoring frenzy had taken on a life of its own and backing out no longer was possible. Besides, Lisa did not have any objections to tutoring her fellow sorority members. However, she would have to set some restrictions. She knew from experience that unless she controlled the study sessions, the arrangement very quickly would degenerate into her being on-call to provide assistance at the convenience of the other Four-Beta members. Even though she was just a pledge, Lisa needed to establish her own rules and remain in control of any tutoring arrangements in which she was providing help to others.

There was one other condition Lisa wanted:

“Ma’am, since I’m a pledge and I can’t wear anything in the house, then can I make my study group strip down too? I mean ... I think it’s important because if I’m naked and they’re not, I’m worried they’re not gonna take me seriously.”

Tracy thought for a moment, and finally nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that. I agree that if you’re gonna lead a study group you ought to be in charge, and I see your point on the clothing issue. I guess that’ll also separate who’s really interested in your tutoring and who just wants to get her questions answered and not work. All right, when I make the announcement about the study group I’ll explain there’s gonna be a nudity requirement and that you’re the one running the show. If there’s any other conditions you want, let me know, and I’ll add those to my announcement.”

A few minutes later the members of the Four-Beta Sorority gathered in the sitting room for an emergency meeting called by Shannon. The junior class leader ceded the podium to the Pledge Mistress, who ordered Pledge Lisa to stand up and join her. Tracy announced that Lisa had taken and passed Ruth Burnside’s dreaded “Theory of Economics” course and was proctoring the same class during the summer semester. Therefore, she would set up a study group that would meet for an hour each week on Tuesday nights and Thursday nights, and spend part of each Sunday night reviewing assignments and answering questions. The Pledge Mistress added that because Lisa was a pledge and prohibited from wearing any clothing in the sorority house, anyone joining her study group would have to obey the rules of the pledge uniform by attending the sessions in the nude. During the meetings Lisa’s subservient status as a pledge would be suspended and she would be completely in charge of anyone seeking her help.

Lisa was very nervous as she stood beside the Pledge Mistress and listened to the formal announcement about the study group. Then she noticed something that made her much more nervous, the look on the face of the Sergeant-at-Arms. Heather was not pleased at all by what was going on and was watching the Pledge Mistress with a very disapproving expression. Obviously there was going to be a problem between Heather and Tracy over the study group idea.

Lisa spent a busy week as she pursued her numerous academic responsibilities. Besides dealing with her own classes, she proctored Ruth Burnside’s exams, helped grade papers, and assisted her mentor in her office in many other ways. Time became a very scarce resource in the professor’s office as the stress of coursework overrode the developing personal relationship between Burnside and Lisa. The pressure was on to cram as much material as possible into the few weeks of classes that remained.

No sooner did Lisa get back to the sorority and have dinner than came her second round of academic responsibilities. Tuesday and Thursday nights she led a total of seven naked sorority members at a table in the sitting room, going over assignments and making sure her companions understood the basic formulas and theories presented by Burnside. The problems of Lisa’s study group varied, but it seemed that the women who were good in math and understood the formulas couldn’t apply them to theory, while the women who could grasp the theory couldn’t deal with the math.

Lisa competently addressed her group’s concerns and felt real satisfaction as the material and its application began to make sense to her companions. As they began to get caught up and feel more confident about learning, Lisa’s study group members began accepting her leadership and often totally forgot that she still was just a pledge. Already the study group saw Lisa as one of their equals and a person with huge leadership potential for the sorority.

While Lisa was working with her study group, Tracy was with the three freshmen, exhorting them to study, forcing them to constantly exercise, and leading them in house chores. Because Lisa was tied up with her study group, Tracy took her place working around the house. She led by example, frenetically cleaning and challenging her charges to keep up.

Pledge Mistress Tracy’s behavior became more and more of an enigma for the other members of the sorority. By the middle of July she had become little more than a pledge herself, spending all of her time with the newcomers and ignoring the other seniors. Her behavior confirmed her odd reputation in the sorority and her status as an outsider. However, her actions were ensuring that the current group of pledges was completely ready to join the sorority. On top of everything else was Pledge Lisa Campbell’s study group, which held out hope to several sophomores and juniors that they could avoid failing Burnside’s classes and keep themselves and the sorority out of trouble.

By the middle of July, both Elaine, the leader of the sophomores, and Shannon, the leader of the juniors, had decided that they would support Tracy for the presidency of the sorority. Elaine and Shannon agreed that if Tracy were elected chapter president, she would be a nice change from Alexandra, who was a good public speaker, but somewhat self-centered and not a very dynamic or imaginative leader. They both decided that, unless there were any changes between July and the August election, they would formally back Tracy for chapter president and vote to keep Heather in her current position of Sergeant-at-Arms. Neither much cared for Tracy as a person, but it was obvious that she was driven and her harsh no-nonsense attitude was what was needed to “get things done”. Above everything else, Tracy was much more concerned about the well-being of the people around her than herself. She was totally fair and even-handed in her dealings with other people, and willing to make sacrifices for other women in the sorority.

The second Saturday of July was a filled with an event that, for 24 hours, took everyone’s mind off academics. It was time for the summer semester’s “Skins and Shirts Ball”, when all members of Tri-Alpha Fraternity would fulfill the previous month’s forfeit by attending the dance in the nude.

Throughout the afternoon the sorority’s women cheerfully got ready for the formal dance as they prepared their hair and makeup and made sure their most elegant gowns and dresses were properly cleaned and pressed. Part of the fun would be the extreme contrast between the formally dressed women and the naked men. The more the women could make that contrast obvious, the better.

While the other women were getting ready, there was a furious debate among the sorority officers concerning what to do about the pledges. Tracy argued that they should be allowed to dress up, given that it was the pledges that had won the scavenger hunt. Sergeant-at-Arms Heather argued the opposite; that because they were still pledges, the newcomers should attend the dance in the nude, regardless of what had happened during the hunt. Finally, disgusted with the conflict, Alexandra issued her decision. The pledges simply would wear their pledge uniforms: no formal dresses, but no total nudity either. As for Pledge Lisa, she would wear her thong, since that was what she was wearing on campus.

Tracy was furious at Heather, but knew better than to argue in front of Alexandra. She felt bad for the pledges, but at least they did not have to attend the ball in the nude. To register her disgust, however, she returned to her room and pulled out her own pledge uniform. If her pledges had to wear their uniforms to the dance, then she would wear hers as well.

The ball itself was held in the Alumni Center on Old Campus. The Alumni Center was an old mansion, the original residence of the university president. A large fancy room used for conferences and social events complete with bathrooms and a restaurant-style kitchen took up the entire first floor, while the upstairs bedrooms had been converted to offices and meeting rooms. A rich benefactor of the university who was a Tri-Alpha alumnus had paid for the renovations and the building’s upkeep, with the understanding that the Tri-Alpha fraternity could use the Alumni Center for its formal social events.

The evening started at 8:00 p.m. when three air-conditioned buses arrived at the sorority to pick up the women. Although the Alumni Center was only a short walk from the Four-Beta house, walking there in formal gowns in the hot weather was not practical. The women were the honored guests and thus would ride to the ball in comfort.

When Lisa got on the bus, she was surprised to see that the driver was naked. He was a junior in the fraternity and the bus ride was considered part of the formal event, hence his lack of covering. Lisa later learned that the fraternity members already had ridden over to the Alumni Center in the same buses, leaving their clothing behind at the Tri-Alpha house. According to tradition, the losing side of the “Skins and Shirts Ball” had to travel to the dance naked and be completely cut off from any clothing until the dance was over.

Once the sorority members got off the buses, they filed into the Alumni Center by class, the seniors going first. The only exception was Tracy, who, as Pledge Mistress, had to go in with the pledges so she could formally introduce them. Following the seniors, Shannon and Elaine led their respective groups into the building, followed by Tracy’s group. As they entered the main room, the pledges faced the officers of the fraternity, all of whom were completely naked.

Tracy formally introduced her pledges one by one. As dictated by tradition, each fraternity officer stepped forward to kiss the hand of each pledge. Although the fraternity officer already had interacted with the pledges and had seen plenty of them over the summer, the greeting was an important part of tradition, an official recognition of the pledges by the most important members of the fraternity.

The men and women paired off by class. Each Tri-Alpha presented a corsage to his female counterpart, and then posed for an official dance photo. The photographer was the same student who had taken the official pledge ID pictures back in May, Lisa’s friend Suzanne Foster.

The Tri-Alpha and Four-Beta pledges were not paired with each other, but instead with officers. Of course, Tri-Alpha VP Jacob took Cherine for himself, and Four-Beta Sergeant-at-Arms Heather picked the poor guy she had been tormenting throughout the summer. Tracy paired off with Ken, Lisa got Pledge Master Arnold, and Kathleen got the Tri-Alpha president.

Bernadette was paired off with the Tri-Alpha Sergeant-at-Arms and looked longingly at her partner’s stocky muscular figure. She knew that having sex with him was out of the question because of the prohibition against sex between Four-Beta pledges and Tri-Alpha members.

Lisa noticed the hungry look in her fellow pledge’s eyes and could tell the night was going to be a real torment for Bernadette, being surrounded by all that naked male flesh and not be able to enjoy any of it. All those male organs on display, nearly a hundred of them...

It was at that moment that Bernadette set a goal for herself. She wanted to make love to every man in the fraternity. Her eyes were feasting on all those penises: long-short ... circumcised-not circumcised ... light-dark ... All those penises ... all those variations of male organs ... and she wanted to see what each one felt like inside her.

Apart from the novelty of having all the males spend the night in the nude, the “Skins and Shirts Ball” was not very different from any other formal fraternity-sorority dance event. The evening started with a seven-course meal that included three choices of entrees. The food was extremely good and the pledges totally stuffed themselves. Once the dinner was finished, there was a bathroom break for the sorority women while the fraternity members cleared the room, and finally two hours of slow dancing to music given by live musicians. Throughout the night Suzanne ran about the room taking volumes of pictures, both posed and un-posed. Also, Lisa noticed several couples taking breaks to go upstairs. As always, sex was encouraged for everyone apart from the pledges.

Lisa took advantage of her time alone with Pledge Master Arnold to find out as much as she could about the Tri-Alpha pledge program, partly so she could find out more about what Ken was doing and what he had gone through so far. She never asked Arnold anything specific about Ken, but she knew that at least she could get a general idea about what he was doing. Arnold turned out to be quite chatty, inadvertently giving up a lot of personal information about all five of his pledges. It also turned out that he was gay and had been quite interested in Ken. His voice reflected real disappointment as he reflected about Ken’s situation:

“You know ... he had a lot of fantasies ... came in with a lot of homoerotic thoughts on his mind ... But, I guess one thing that he figured out after he started pledging was that his fantasies and his sexuality were two different things. That’s a real shame, ‘cause I think he’s really cute.”

Lisa got Arnold to talk about the Tri-Alpha sexual training program for pledges and then to talk about what he thought of each of his charges. She was not particularly interested in the others, but she was desperate to get more information about Ken. Arnold opened up, confiding quite a bit about his pledge’s most inner thoughts to his former girlfriend. Among other things, he confirmed Lisa’s suspicion that Ken had enjoyed being her sub, but that she had made a serious mistake in the way she had treated him. Although she constantly savagely punished him, she had considered the punishments as nothing more than sexual play. Lisa had not attempted to take control of Ken’s life outside of their sexual adventures. She considered him her friend and her equal, and it turned out that was not what he really wanted.