Chapter 39: Acting Pledge Mistress

The atmosphere in the sitting room completely changed within minutes of the completion of the swearing-in ceremony, when the lights were turned on and the candles put out.

Shannon had a camera set up on a tripod so she could take several group pictures of the new members. Lisa and her companions started by standing at attention; then took a second picture with their membership certificates. After that they posed for several casual pictures, smiling with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and finally posed for individual shots with each woman holding her certificate. The better pictures would go into the new members’ section of the Four-Beta yearbook, along with pictures taken in December of the fall pledge group.

The seniors took turns congratulating Tracy on her successful summer of pledging, while the younger women clustered to congratulate Lisa and her companions for successfully passing all the requirements to join. Elaine approached Lisa to ask her a practical question, what she planned to do about her living arrangements in the fall.

Lisa realized that because of her pending status as Acting Pledge Mistress, she would have to take a room in the Four-Beta house and would not be able to return to her dorm room in Huntington Hall. Watching over Brittany and Erin would not be possible if she were not in the sorority house at night, so it was obvious that she would have to notify the director at Huntington Hall and vacate her room. To that Elaine commented:

“Don’t just give up your old room. Dorm rooms are hard to come by and right now there’s a waiting list. How about having Bernadette or Cherine take it?”

When Lisa offered her fellow pledges her spot in Huntington Hall, they quickly decided to move in together as roommates. They had become close friends during pledging and already were used to living together, so having them take Lisa’s dorm room made perfect sense. The following week President Alexandra, Lisa, Bernadette, and Cherine would need to visit the university housing office to transfer the room. Alexandra would accompany the group to use a contact she had in the campus housing-department to ensure that Lisa’s room was actually transferred to the two freshmen.

That resolved the housing status of Bernadette and Cherine. Elaine knew that Lisa would need a room in the sorority house, but as a sophomore, she did not have the right to take a room by herself. To that Lisa quickly replied:

“I don’t want to take a room by myself. I want to room with Kathleen.”

“Alright. If you two are doubling-up, then I suppose I can give you the small room near the second floor broom closet. Would that work for you?”

“That’d be perfect.”

Perfect indeed, because the room Elaine was offering was at the far end of the hallway. On one side was an outer wall, and on the other side the broom closet. No other bedroom shared a wall with the vacant room, which meant that it would be much harder for anyone to hear what Lisa and Kathleen were doing inside. Perfect.

By 2:00 a.m. everyone was tired enough to be ready to go to sleep. Tracy returned to her room and slept in her own bed for the first time in more than a month. Lisa and her companions returned to the basement to find that Tracy had taken the locks off their lockers so they could have access to their personal items. The women now had the option of getting dressed. Another change was that they no longer would be sleeping in the locker room on cots. That night they would sleep in the guest room with the two pledge prospects.

The following morning Lisa woke on her own at 8:00. She woke up startled by her surroundings and the fact she was lying in a comfortable bed with Kathleen, instead of her usual cot in the locker room. There was no “OK sleeping beauties! UP-UP-UP! Let’s go! ... Let’s go! ... Let’s go!... “ and no morning slap on the butt. The pain in her shoulder reminded her why ... she no longer was a pledge.

Lisa was the first member of her group to wake up. She looked at her companions and realized that probably they had slept together for the very last time. That night she and Kathleen would be sleeping in their room upstairs, and probably on Tuesday or Wednesday Bernadette and Cherine would move into Huntington Hall. After moving into Lisa’s old room, both freshmen planned to be gone over the following week, visiting their parents, so she really wouldn’t see very much of them until the week before Labor Day.

Lisa studied her lover’s face, which looked very different when she was asleep and not tensed up. Starting that night Lisa and Kathleen would have much more time to develop their relationship, now that the restrictions of life as pledges no longer existed.

How different everything would be...

Without bothering to get dressed, Lisa went upstairs to get breakfast. She sat with six sophomores and juniors. Four of her dining companions were wearing casual clothing, while the other two had not yet gotten dressed. Fortunately for Lisa, there were other nudists in the house and the lifestyle was perfectly accepted. When Lisa sat down, no one cared that she was not dressed. Over the next three years, perhaps more if she chose to go to graduate school, Lisa would make it a point not to wear clothing whenever she was in the sorority house.

Lisa spent a very long time in conversation with her breakfast companions. Finally Bernadette, Kathleen, and Cherine came upstairs, all of them dressed in casual clothing. It was strange to see them wearing clothing in the house, stranger still that what they were wearing was not their Four-Beta pledge uniforms.

Following breakfast Cherine and Bernadette planned to enjoy their first day of post-pledge liberty by going over to the Tri-Alpha house. Cherine had a date with Jacob, while Bernadette ... well ... at the very least the Triple-A’s owed her some quality time in the shower, a massage or two, and then after that ... she’d have to see. There was plenty of sexual tension built up in her body that morning. Now that she was officially a Four-Beta and no longer restricted by the rule prohibiting sex between fraternity members and sorority pledges, she had every intention of celebrating her first day of freedom with the guys.

Lisa took Kathleen upstairs to see their new room. It had two single beds, a dresser, a large bookshelf, and two wardrobes. It was obvious the room had only two purposes: a place to sleep and a place to keep personal items. Then Lisa noticed something very interesting. There were two sturdy metal hooks drilled into the ceiling. Lisa wondered when those had been put in, and why. Whatever their original purpose, Lisa knew that she would have a use for them, whenever Kathleen misbehaved.

Lisa and Kathleen kissed passionately for several minutes, but then Lisa put her finger on her lover’s lips.

“Sweetie, I need you to bring our things up from the basement and get the room set up. OK?”

“Sure, Lisa.”

“And there’s something else. I want you to get your clothes off. I didn’t give you permission to get dressed.”

“I’m sorry. I thought...”

“That’s OK. I’m not mad about it. Just don’t let it happen again.”

Very quickly Kathleen got out of her clothes.

“I gotta go deal with Erin and Brittany. Now you make the room nice for us, so we can have some fun tonight.”

As Kathleen began making trips up and down the stairs with armloads of personal items and linens, Lisa found Brittany and Erin in the sorority library, reading the Four-Beta Pledge Manual. They still were dressed in their borrowed shorts and T-shirts, but that was about to change.

Lisa entered the library and the two newcomers immediately snapped to attention.

“Good morning Pledge Prospect Brittany and Pledge Prospect Erin.”

“Good morning, Lisa.”

“I want you to go to the basement and make sure your lockers are straightened and all your stuff put away. While you’re doing that I’m gonna talk to President Alexandra, and I’ll be down in a few minutes. Make sure you have everything put away, because when I come down, I’m gonna have to close up your lockers.”

The two younger women looked at each other nervously as they left the library. They knew this was it, their relatively relaxed time in the Four-Beta House was about to come to an end.

After telling Tracy and Alexandra that she would have Erin and Brittany ready to sign their pledge contracts within an hour, Lisa returned to the basement. Shortly she would have to play the fierce role of Pledge Mistress, which meant that her relationship with her two charges would change radically. That would not be a surprise to the two freshmen, because they had seen Tracy interact with the summer pledge group and had familiarized themselves with the Pledge Manual. Still, the transition would be difficult and very scary at the beginning.

Lisa explained that she had been appointed Acting Pledge Mistress:

“What that means is that, once those contracts are signed, I’m gonna be yelling at you, constantly smacking your butts, and wearing you out. I’m gonna be doing all that because it’s gonna be my job. Whatever you think of me right now won’t matter once we go upstairs. What’ll matter is my title of Acting Pledge Mistress. That title requires unquestioning obedience. Your counselor’s gonna be Elaine. You need a shoulder to cry on, go to her. You follow me?”

“Yes, Lisa.”

“After we go upstairs, you’ll have to start addressing me as ‘ma’am’. Whenever you talk to me you’ll have to get on your knees before we converse. Whenever you want to initiate a conversation, you need to ask for permission to speak. Don’t even think about doing that before you’re on your knees.”

Lisa glanced at the worried expressions on the faces of her companions and continued:

“And there’s something else. I’m gonna take advantage of having you with me a few weeks before the others in your pledge group come in. By Labor Day you’ll already know the Four-Beta rules and protocol by heart, so you’ll be able to help the others. I’m gonna authorize my roommate Kathleen to handle your Four-Beta rules and history training. She knows those topics better than any of the rest of us, so I’m gonna delegate that portion of your training to her. When she speaks to you, you will treat her exactly like you’d treat me. If you dare show her any disrespect, I will discipline you in a big way. You follow me?”

“Yes, Lisa.”

“I know it’s gonna be rough and there will be some times that you’ll totally hate me. But I want you to understand two things. The sorority has been doing things the same way since 1946, since we started using Pledge Mistresses. I’m doing my job, and everything will have its reason. If I’m doing something you don’t think complies with your Pledge Manual; you have the right to take it up with Pledge Mistress Tracy or President Alexandra. That’s your chain of command until the fall election. That’s item number-one. Item number two is... “ Lisa tapped the swollen patch of skin on her chest, “ ... that I just completed what you guys are starting. Don’t think that I won’t know what you’re feeling, because I went through what you’ll be going through. Don’t think I don’t understand, because I do. But at the same time, don’t think you’ll be getting any sympathy from me. You want sympathy, go to Elaine. You get it?”

“Yes, Lisa.”

“A final thing. When I’m in the house, most of the time I won’t be wearing any clothing. I want you to understand that doesn’t have anything to do with my status in the sorority. I’m a nudist and it’s my lifestyle choice to stay naked. That’s why I’m a Four-Beta, so I can live my life according to the values that are most important to me. The fact that I’m naked has nothing to do with the authority I’ll hold over you.”

Lisa took a breath, marveling at the sudden change in her own role in the sorority and the confidence with which she was speaking.

“OK, ladies. This is it. You’ll need to decide if you want to go upstairs and sign those contracts. You already know what to expect, because I’ve just told you. The moment your signatures go on those sheets of paper, you’ll be pledges. You ready to head upstairs?”

The two young women, scared but determined, nodded.

“Yes. We’re ready.”

“OK, take off your clothes and put them in the laundry basket. As of right now you’ll have to comply with the pledge uniform rules. No clothes allowed when you’re in the house.”

Lisa’s charges took deep breaths and trembled as they stripped off their borrowed clothing. They faced four months of enforced nudity.

“OK, you two! Ready to begin your journey with the Four-Beta Sorority?”

“Yes, Lisa!”

“PLEDGES, STAND UP!”

The two naked women snapped to attention.

“Up the stairs to the sitting room! Double-time ... move out!”

Lisa followed her companions as they ran up the stairs. Erin and Brittany were very nervous, but at least this time they knew what to expect upon signing their pledging contracts.

Two months before, when their internment with their previous sorority began, they had no clue what was going to happen to them. Their pledging experience started when they were taken into the back yard and pelted with rotten vegetables and eggs. They were forced to drink several beer bongs each. When they had to go to the bathroom, the seniors forced them to piss in their pants, wildly insulted them, and continued hurling eggs. That was only the beginning, and every week their ordeal got worse.

They knew that the experience they faced now would be very harsh, but harsh in a very different way. In exchange for the hardship they were about to endure, they would get into top physical shape and end the semester with very good grades. And, as Lisa pointed out, they would have at least some fun along the way.

The sitting room was empty except a large table where the Four-Beta officers were sitting. In front of the table were three chairs. The officers, including Tracy, were dressed in formal gowns. Lisa led her companions into the room. The two freshmen took their positions standing behind the chairs. Lisa moved to the front.

Tracy stood up and her voice bellowed out:

“State your purpose, Lisa Campbell!”

“Pledge Mistress Tracy, I’m here to present Pledge Prospect Brittany and Pledge Prospect Erin to the sorority directorate. They have expressed their desire to share the journey of life with us and to undergo the hardships of pledging.”

“Very well, Lisa. Please instruct your guests to take their seats.”

“Pledge Prospect Brittany and Pledge Prospect Erin, please join me in sitting down.”

The two freshmen were very nervous as they sat down with their mentor. However, it helped tremendously that Lisa was naked along with them. In spite of its very intimidating introduction, the session itself was more of a two-way conversation than a formal interview. The officers already knew most of the details surrounding the decisions of Brittany and Erin to join the Four-Beta Sorority, so they delved more into their high school years, how the newcomers defined duty and friendship, and their personal interests. Each officer introduced herself and described her responsibilities within the sorority, supplementing what Lisa had told them to give the prospects a clear understanding of the sorority’s chain of command. Finally Alexandra stood up: