College Girl
By poetheather
Chap 19

After everything that had happened so far, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I was a bit nervous about the semi-formal. Alison and I had gotten dropped off at the House with several other girls, maybe twenty in total. We were a bit of a mob and that really didn’t help. I was worried that they might see right through me, even though I had been assured time and again that it wasn’t likely to happen.

There was no formal introduction, just mingling. There was a nice light buffet of appetizers to graze on, which was a nice thing. Alison got pulled into a conversation before we made it to the table. I was alone, but thankfully it was mostly around the women of the House.

“So, Caitlin, having fun?” Of course this was asked as I had a bite of cucumber sandwich.

I swallowed and replied, “Yes, so far.”

It was one of the girls of the House that I really didn’t know all that well. I realized that I only really knew a small number of the sisters of the House. Maybe this would be a good chance to get to know more of the girls. “I’m sorry, I can’t seem to recall your name.”

She smiled, amused. “I’m Rachel, a Junior here.”

“Thanks. Some of this is sort of overwhelming.”

“Yeah, but there’s a reason for it. If things are overwhelming we might get a better idea of who the people are. It’s like their too stressed or excited to really put their masks on.” explained Rachel.

“That makes sense. You know…in a way I am glad that I didn’t have to go through this for real. Knowing that I have been already accepted has taken a lot of stress off of the whole thing.” I said, and then took a sip of my punch. “I think I would have chickened out without all the help the House has given me.”

“Well, you have done well and I think none of the others think you are anything but the girl you project. Everything should be fine. Well, if you would excuse me I am going to go back and talk to some of the others. Nice talking to you Caitlin.” said Rachel.

“Nice talking to you.” She left and I was alone again with the cucumber sandwiches. They were tasty. Trying to be nice I got a plate and collected some appetizers and headed over to a table.

I sat down, remembering to sort of sweep my hand under my butt to keep the skirt form getting overly wrinkled. That had taken me a few tries to get when I was first taught how to do that. It was sort of foreign for guys, unless they wore kilts.

It was interesting to watch the interactions of the girls, the way the moved through the various groups, talking to everyone. It reminded me of butterflies and how they flitted about. I just watched everyone and smiled to myself. I was in a place where I could look at girls all the time and not get in trouble for it.

Girls had always seemed to me like they lived in a different world than me and I had come to realize that the world they lived in was different. Similar to be sure, but different. With all the things that girls had to have in their heads, like makeup and at least the basics of fashion and color, it was little wonder that their perception of the world was not what a guy’s perception was.

Guy’s didn’t have to learn anything like that, but then they were not being judged based off of their appearance as much. Sure there was some bias given because of muscles or things like that, but it was only girls who seemed to be held up to a higher standard of appearance. It really wasn’t fair. And sadly, I had to admit, it was something I really hadn’t been aware of until I had come to live a female life.

I know knew all sorts of information that is considered foreign to guys, like designers, how to tell someone’s colors, how to wear heels, how to wear makeup and the like. All the other guys I knew would rebel at the thought of going through this. Maybe I was transgendered? Maybe I wasn’t a guy after all, since I kind of like this feminine world.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I looked over and saw Meredith taking a seat. I smiled at her. “Not much. Just thinking about how men and women live in different worlds.”

“Well, duh…but then again, like you would have known. It’s not like you had to grow up as a second class citizen, or to be judged by your appearance. Your intelligence wasn’t slighted because of hair color or how you dressed determined how loose you were.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. On behalf of my side of the fence, I’m sorry.”

Meredith smiled, “No worries. It’s not like you were the one who started it or were one of the people contributing to things. I mean you are here trying to fight for equality.”

I shrugged, “Yeah, but I wished I could do more.”

“Well, become a lawyer or something and try to fight against this sort of thing. You are at least doing something about it instead of most boys who stay on their side of the fence and pretend that they are top dogs because they have muscles different from ours.” Meredith seemed to really have similar feelings about this sort of inequality. I was so proud to have her as my girlfriend. “So, why are you just sitting here watching the world go by?”

“Well, I like to do this. I like watching people. The girls of the House know me and with all the stress of the last few days I think I might not really be good company.” I admitted.

“Okay. I understand. But maybe you should mingle a little. I mean, you look really good and it would be a shame for people not to see that.” I could tell she really was trying to get me more involved.

“Okay.” I stood and headed towards a group of people that included Alley. She was busy talking to a number of people, including Nadia. That made me happy. I was hoping that her preconceptions of Sorority girls was fading. I had learned the truth the hard way and I really hoped she learned it in a much easier way.

“…is why I think Creed may be one of the worst bands ever.” finished Alison as I walked up.

“So what do you think of My Chemical Romance?” asked one of the other girls trying to get into the House.

“Not too bad, but a little too emo for my taste. I still prefer The Cure. Their a bit old but their music is still really good.” It looked like she was in the middle of explaining the whole Goth thing.

“Uhm…do you, like, do any dark rituals or stuff? Cause I heard that Goths were like into that whole demon worshiping thing?” I blinked, was this girl for real?

Alison actually grinned. True it was more of a feral grin, but still. “Well, I am pagan but no, I haven’t done a ‘dark ritual’. I mean why would anybody risk summoning something like that? And no, Goths are not into that. At least none of the Goths that I know.”

“So you’re not Christian?” asked another girl, quite surprised by that bit of information.

“Nope. I haven’t been a Christian since I was thirteen. Paganism is more of an Earth based religion than anything else. It sees the earth as sacred and holds that any spiritual path that makes you a better person is valid. It has both male and female deities, because there is balance in the world.” She explained.

Conversation turned as some people drifted away. Alison smiled at me. “Thanks for helping me to stay in this. I am having fun, despite what I thought and the girls of this House are really nice. Maybe I might actually get a chance to stay. I think I would like that.”

“Maybe. The girls here do seem nice and aren’t as stuck up as some of the girls at the other Houses.” I said, thinking back to my visits to those Houses.

“True. These girls feel more…open, like they could accept anything. I like that.”

If only she knew how true those words were, I thought. They really were accepting since they accepted me. “Yeah. It’s nice.”

The evening ended and we all were taken back to the meeting room. We had to wait back at the UC for everyone to get back. Once the last van load of girls arrived the girl in charge of things addressed us. “Okay everyone. Tomorrow at noon is the bid acceptance. We have the bids for everyone right now and they will be handed out. The formal tomorrow is the last chance for the Houses to get a feel for you. The next day we will all meet out in front of Watson Hall, in that big field, for the Houses to call out who they have accepted. If you didn’t make it this time don’t worry, you can try again next semester. Okay, now there are tables set up in the other room to hand out your bids. They are arranged according to the alphabet. Find the sign that has your last name on it and get your bid. See you here tomorrow at noon.”

The hordes descended on the tables. I hung back. There were just too many girls vying for the front of the tables. I just found my table and waited for the sea of crazed women to fade. I got up there, said my name and waited while she dug out my one bid. I really hadn’t expected more but it would have been nice.

It was in a nice envelope and the card itself was really cool. It had calligraphy and a cool border. I liked how fancy it was. It invited me to the formal dance they were holding at the House. I smiled; this was going to be fun.

I drove back to the House and came in the back way. Everything looked like it had been cleaned up, which was kind of cool. I had planned on helping out but the work was already done. I chatted with a few of the girls and then headed upstairs. I was tired from all the emotional ups and downs as well as just the fact of spending that time in heels.

While I was changing Meredith came in. “Hey there sweetie, have a good evening?”

I smiled at her and sighed after she kissed me. “Yes. And the bid card is beautiful. And those cucumber sandwiches were very tasty.”

Merri chuckled at that. “Everyone did notice that. It almost seemed like you took the whole plate of them.”

“I did not.” I had to defend myself against this vicious slander.

She just smiled. “So, want to come spent the night with me?”

I felt a warmth inside and a tingly feeling of happiness roll through me. I smiled happily. I was so glad to see that we had survived the chaos. “Yes please.”

I put on slippers and I headed to her room dressed in my nightgown. A couple of the other girls gave us knowing smiles. I was glad that I didn’t have to sneak around anymore, or hope that we weren’t caught. To be accepted like this was a new and wonderful thing for me.

In high school I was basically ignored, by almost everyone. And of the few friends I had I was never sure how much any of them accepted me. Becca did and she was my best friend. I was coming to discover just how much she was my friend though. She accepted me still, even with all this girl stuff. I loved her for that.

When we got to her room Merri closed the door and hugged me tight. I felt so happy there in her arms. I kissed her and it felt good to melt in her arms. Soon we were on the bed kissing and snuggling. Neither of us seemed to be in the mood for much else, which was fine by me. We both apparently needed simply to feel loved and secure. The way we held each other made that happen.

I was nestled in my favorite spot, head resting on her shoulder, mouth just barely out of reach of her breast. She had her arm around me and I felt safe. I drifted away knowing that she loved me.