Chapter 1: Campus Angel

Feeling nervous and a touch scared, I got out of the taxi. The driver retrieved my two large suitcases from the trunk and set them on the curb as I looked around. The dull red-brick buildings looked bigger than in the brochure and the university's web site pictures. They had sent a welcome package along with my letter of acceptance in early summer, but the map that was included didn't do justice to the hulking buildings before me.

"Hey buddy, that'll be $35.50 for the fare," said the cabbie with some impatience. Returning to the present, I pulled out two twenties and a couple of singles. The cabbie snatched the bills from my hand. With a tire squeal, and a few thrown bits of road gravel spattering my feet, the cab sped off. I really didn't feel any pity for the driver or his impatience to get back to DFW for another fare.

Even though the flights from Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia to DFW in Dallas were only across a single time zone, it had been a trying trip as I had to change planes in Nashville, Tennessee. One redeeming part of the trip was that the flight attendants were very nice and made me feel welcome, thus reinforcing my decision to leave home for a university hundreds of miles away.

Standing there on the curbside with flashing headlights from the heavy traffic, I was beginning to have second thoughts. Looking at the minuscule map and trying to relate to where I was on campus was disconcerting. The nearest street sign read "S. Cooper St.", and I soon oriented myself and saw that I was on the north edge of campus. I needed to walk south and west to get to my assigned dorm. Both my bags had wheels so it wasn't too much of a hassle to drag them after as I made my way past Nedderman Hall and up and over the elevated crosswalk that got me across Cooper without being run over.

The covered concrete footbridge was painted the same faded beige as the trim on the buildings. Cracks ran along the length of it, but I didn't feel any bounce or other indicators that it might not be safe, unlike some of the rusted-out relics in my hometown. The one thing that was different was the amount of graffiti on the inside of the walkway. Some of it was very colorful, but the tagging only made me wonder if I should be on the alert for gang activity, not something that I had to contemplate in West Virginia.

Once across Cooper, I cut between the Fine Arts building and the School of Architecture building. The mid-August heat of North Texas had sweat running in my eyes and I had to stop often to wipe them so I wouldn't trip over the broken portions of concrete walkway. I had just finished one of those stops when I heard something from off to my left. The darkness of the barely-lit alley helped to hide most of the details, but I could see several people in an archway of the Architecture building. I realized that it could have been other students, but my recent thoughts about gangs fed my suspicions and persuaded me to give it a moment just in case.

The sounds continued, but weren't getting any closer. I stepped away from my bags and peered as best as I could into the deep shadows next to the building. Then I heard giggling. Okay, it's not a gang, I thought to myself and went back to my bags and began walking again.

I slowly moved toward the shadows and once I left the last streetlight I saw the source of the sounds. Three women were grouped closely together in the darkness. Two of them had their backs to me; even in the dark, I could tell they were both blonde. My eyes adjusted to the darkness more and I could discern more details. The taller blonde had long straight hair almost to her waist. She wore a pair of dark shorts that not only hugged her like second skin, but barely covered the curve of her shapely bottom. I couldn't tell if she even had a top on until a shake of her head moved her hair and revealed a single white strap across her back. The other blonde also wore a similar top. I was guessing it was a tube top since there were no shoulder straps. I could see her back clearly since her curly hair stopped at her shoulders. Her shorts were light denim and cutoff in a "Daisy Dukes" fashion. The third woman was facing my direction but seemed too preoccupied to notice me. Her hair was long and dark. Her face was soft and very pretty. In the low light, I couldn't see her eyes or any other defining features very well. She wore a light floral dress that was open but didn't reveal anything.

I started to leave, to give them some privacy, but after the brunette's dress fell to the ground I was rooted to the spot. Her unabashed display drew my gaze along her body. She was trim with a fantastic figure the likes of which I had only seen in swimsuit magazines. Her skin seemed tanned and her navel was adorned with a small ring. I only noticed it because of its occasional reflection of what little light was around. She moaned aloud as the two blondes moved in to fondle and kiss her exposed skin. The tall blonde knelt to pull the brunette's panties from her glistening crotch and the curly blonde released the bra to suck on a hard nipple. The brunette held them to her as they made her writhe.

The sight of the three enjoying each other had me hard in a second and I had to make adjustments for comfort. This seemed like something some guy in a movie might walk in on, not me. Talking about a guy's dream come true!

It didn't register at first, but the two blondes continued to remove everything from the brunette: shoes, socks, glasses and her watch. They piled all of it off to the side. When the final piece was set down, the two blondes stepped back into the alley, pulling the brunette with them. She seemed a touch resistant, but at their insistence she followed.

I didn't know whether to follow or not. I watched as they moved further into the alley and then disappeared around the corner of the Fine Arts building. None of them ever gave any indication that they knew I was present. Still shocked from the encounter, I finally shifted my feet and stepped over to the pile of the brunette's belongings.

I wondered briefly if I had witnessed some kind of sorority initiation, but if so, why did the brunette leave her glasses? She would still need them to see. I wore glasses myself and couldn't see very well without them. Hers could have been ordinary reading glasses or an extra pair. Knowing how much glasses cost, I couldn't conceive the idea of leaving them anywhere outside like that. It didn't make any sense.

The evening heat was worse than the afternoon heat back home, so instead of standing around rationalizing what I had seen, I grabbed my bags and trudged toward my dorm, Trinity House.

I stumbled into the cold air-conditioned main lounge of Trinity House on the campus of University of Texas at Arlington. It felt great to get out of the late evening heat. If this is what the nights are like then I'm going to hate days, I thought as I wiped the sweat from my eyes. Even though the scene I just happened across made me feel better about my choice in schools, I was still worn out from the heat and the trip.

I noticed the supervisor's window and wearily made my way over. Pulling out my West Virginia state ID, I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Ral Setton. You're supposed to have a room for me."

The guy behind the counter looked up with a bored expression as he took my proffered ID. Leafing through a stack of papers he found my name on one and pushed it across the counter toward me. "Look it over and if the information is correct, sign the bottom," he said in a dispassionate voice. I looked the form over and all the information was correct. As I signed it he pulled out a key for me. "Third floor, second door on the left," was all he said as he took back the form and handed me the key.

I mumbled "Thanks" as I grabbed my bags and watched the only elevator close with two other guys in it. I wanted to keep moving until I made it to my bed, so I dragged my bags up the stairs from landing to landing. I finally made it to the third floor just as the elevator opened with the same two guys. I knew that I would get plenty of exercise not waiting for that crawler as I found my door and got it unlocked. Pulling my bags inside, I somehow closed the door and made it to the unmade bed before collapsing onto the mattress. I was exhausted, but the sight of the naked brunette still lingered in my thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.

After a fitful night, I dragged myself out of bed and went into the bathroom for a nice hot shower. I took my time because I didn't have to share with my older sisters. Of course eventually I would have to share, but for the time being the bathroom was all mine.

Trinity House was an all-male dormitory for students attending UTA. I had hoped for a co-ed dorm, but being a freshman, I didn't have the opportunity to choose one. The room I would be living in for my first semester was just a plain college dorm room, but perfect for a student too intent on studying to mind the lack of décor. After I finished my shower, I dressed in some shorts and a tee shirt and then put away the rest of my clothes. I adorned my side of the room with what meager possessions I owned (primarily a couple of movie posters: The Matrix and Dark City). My pride and joy was a miniature stereo system that I bought on my sixteenth birthday. I had spent countless hours poring over catalogs and specification sheets to find the perfect stereo system. The Akai system was a marvel of electronic and acoustic engineering. It sounded like a full-sized system, yet it easily packed into half of a suitcase.

After getting my clothes and possessions squared away, I went out to explore the campus. My first priority was something to eat and I found that the dining hall was in the University Center on the east side of the campus. I went there and got my first taste of campus food. I was surprised to find a small Pizza Hut and McDonald's built into the cafeteria. It was more expensive than the campus meals and though the university-prepared food was better than being hungry, it wasn't much better.

After eating, I wanted to get a feel for running from one building to the next as I kept up with my classes. It was still early and, as there weren't many people about, I tried to find the location of the previous late night's spectacle. I didn't find the pile of clothes anywhere and concluded that it must have been just what I thought: a sorority initiation.

Chapter 2 »