I had paced around that room in the library for about fifteen minutes before a janitor stopped by to tell me that they were closing. So I’d gone home. Mason was there, lost in his own little world as he grinded mobs on Dark Pantheon; he’d barely even acknowledged my presence as I stepped through the door. I’d said hi to him and he just sort of grunted. I went to sleep. I woke up at 4 the next morning and stared at the ceiling as I tried to decide whether any of the last few days had been real. I had to go over the facts in my head. Fact 1: I’d broken into a sorority house and played dress up. Fact 2: I’d been caught and somehow didn’t go to jail. Fact 3: I was at home right now and they wanted me to come back in a few hours. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what forced fem story I’d read this in and how I’d somehow managed to create such a realistic fantasy. Eventually the clock beside me read 6:15. I had to get up. If any of this was real, I probably didn’t want to miss my opportunity – whatever the hell my opportunity was. Honestly, I didn’t know what they wanted but I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

I don’t know how much time I spent pacing around outside, trying to make what had to be the toughest decision of my life, but here I was, at 6:58, standing in front of the GAT house. I took a deep breath and considered turning around three times before I finally pushed through the white picket gate and took step after agonizing step toward the house. I reached the front steps and through force of sheer will, I propelled myself onto the porch.

“Just keep going,” I muttered to myself. I wasn’t sure why I was here, I just knew that I didn’t want to lose contact with Aleah. I didn’t want this to be over. Didn’t want what to be over though?

“Who are you?” A male voice came from behind me. I spun around as if I’d been shot. It was Mike Jones, probably the most intimidating person who could have shown up right now. He was walking toward me, up the stairs, his hulking frame hugged loosely by his red and white letter jacket. As he mounted the summit of the steps, his hand brushed his blonde hair, and I couldn’t help but think that he was a perfect stereotype.

“I’m uh…” I stuttered. What could I even say to this guy?

“Do you have any reason to be here?” He demanded. “If not, scram.”

“I…okay,” I said, starting to turn away, wondering who said ‘scram’ anymore. Was I in a 90’s movie? As I moved toward the steps, the front door opened.

“Todd?” A new voice said. I turned to see a girl I hadn’t met yet, she was olive skinned with dark hair, very slim. “Hey, I’m Isabella, we’ve been expect—well, I mean, hoping you’d come.”

“You know this guy?” Mike demanded. “Looks like a pervert hanging around the house.”

“Mike, please don’t start, okay? Olivia’s not here, and tonight’s a girl’s night, you can come back tomorrow.”

“If it’s a girl thing then why is HE here?” Mike pointed a finger at me, which I’m pretty sure could have bored through my skull if he put enough effort into it. For some reason I flinched when he referred to me as ‘he’. I knew why but somehow it was starting to hurt more than usual.

“Todd’s here to see me,” Isabella said firmly, and with that she reached out, took my arm and gently pulled me toward the door.
“Well if he can come in, so can I!” Mike began to push his way past me.

“Mike, get lost,” Aleah appeared in the doorway as Isabella pulled me through the threshold.

“If it’s for girls only then he needs to get out,” Todd said, still pointing at me from the porch.

“What are you, ten years old?” Aleah demanded. “Don’t set foot in this house unless you’re invited, or I call the dean. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

She closed the door softly, showing no signs of aggression, but I could tell she was angry.

“Are you okay?” Aleah asked, studying me for a moment.

“I…well yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I shrugged. Aleah snorted.

“You’re going to have to drop that macho act,” She said, brushing past me. I felt Isabella’s hand on my shoulder, guiding me in the direction Aleah was walking. I felt so stiff, I didn’t dare look around; I kept my gaze straight ahead on Aleah’s back. This wasn’t right. I didn’t belong here.

We emerged from the foyer into the living room, it was the first time I’d seen it, really; it’d been dark the last time I came through here. It was a huge open space – I wasn’t really expecting that. A massive gray sectional couch dominated the area, directly across from a huge flat screen television that I could never afford, even if managed to sell both of my kidneys. Aleah snapped her fingers in front of my face, I guess I’d gotten lost in thought staring at the television.

“Focus,” She said. “We’re having an event here today, we’re welcoming the new pledges into our organization, and you’re going to make sure their cups stay full, so to speak.”

“I’m…sorry….” I said, “You’re going to use me as some kind of servant?”

“Pretty much,” Aleah shrugged. “Unless you have somewhere else you’d rather be.”
I didn’t.

“Okay then,” She took my silence as acceptance. “Isabella, all yours. Make sure he eats.”

Isabella turned and smiled widely, taking both of my hands in hers.

“Hey,” She said. “I know you’re nervous but it’s going to be okay, okay?”

I nodded. She turned, letting go of one hand but keeping the other firmly within her grasp as she walked briskly toward the stairs leading up to the second floor of the house. As we walked onto the landing and into the hallways where the bedrooms were, a blonde haired girl pushed past us and said ‘excuse me’ as she walked into a bathroom. I felt so nervous; there were so many other people here and I felt out of place. Thankfully, we were out of the hallway within a few seconds and inside a familiar bedroom – the one where I’d been tied up, on the floor a little over 24 hours ago. She led me over to one of the beds where a plaid, long sleeved dress with a belt lay draped over the comforter.

“We got you your own underwear and a bra,” She said. “There are some prosthetic breasts here, they were pretty easy to get because Lauren's mother had a mas—”

“You want me to wear this?” I said, suddenly starting to feel incredibly uneasy. If I could assign a number to my anxiety level it probably would have been a fifteen out of ten.

“You’ve worn a dress before, dear,” She said, shaking her head. “Believe me, it’s all I’ve heard about for the last day.

I gulped. They’d been talking about me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

“I know, I just…never…”

“Never in front of other people?” She finished the sentence that I was struggling to get out. I nodded.

“Well I would say no one is judging you here, but they are. Not because of what you’re going to wear, but because you’re kind of an idiot.”

I blushed again. I’d been doing that a lot lately. I looked toward the door, I wanted to bolt. I needed to get out of here. I felt like I was suffocating.

“Hey,” She said, putting a hand on my cheek and pushing my gaze toward her instead. “We both know why you’re here. If you walk out, you’re going to regret it. You know I’m right.”

She was right. She handed me a pack of plastic wrapped panties and a loose bra.

“We had to guess your size, figured you were about a 30 because you fit into Aleah’s dress so well. Once you get dressed, we’ll go ahead and do your makeup. Tiffany is better at makeup but I have a better bedside manner and we didn’t want to scare you off.”

“Are you…do you want me to undress in front of you?”

She nodded. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

I sighed, resigned to my fate, and began to get undressed. I noticed that she kept an eye on me the entire time, standing just a few feet away. As I dropped my clothes, she pointed to them and told me to fold them. I did, and she took them to the nearby closet. While she was there, I simply stood beside the bed, staring at the dress. I wanted to wear it, but I was frozen in place. It wasn’t until she came back and handed me the bra that I started to change. She helped me clasp it and inserted the silicone breasts into the cups. The first thing I noticed was that they were heavy. They immediately put a lot of weight onto my chest, and they were cold. The second thing I noticed, looking down, was that they didn’t look real. They didn’t match my skin color, and you could tell that they weren’t a part of my body, even with the bra squishing them tightly against my skin. I stared at them, a feeling of loss creeping into my subconscious until Isabella noticed and placed her hand gently under my chin, lifting my head and my gaze away from my chest.

“You’re really smooth,” She said to me. “Do you wax?”

I nodded, thinking about the spa wax kit I kept hidden at the dorm room. It was shoved in one of my under-bed drawers, sitting beneath an old t-shirt where I was sure Mason would never look. Not that he went through my drawers. Not that anyone went through my drawers. God why was I so paranoid?

“You’re doing a good job of it,” She nodded. “Okay, panties, come on hon, we’re on a schedule.”

She indicated the dress on the bed. It was beautiful, deep red with plaid strips and a long U-shaped neckline.

“So….” She said as she picked up the dress and showed it to me. “This is pretty well fitted so it doesn’t hang like a sack or anything. Most girl clothes are fitted so it shows off the curves. You don’t have too many curves, so I picked one where most of the stripes run vertically, it draws the eye away from your…width…if you know what I mean. It makes you look slimmer?”

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I stared at her and nodded. I’m sure she picked up on how stupid I was.

“So…another thing we can do is add a belt, it looks cute and it’ll bring more attention to your boobs.” I said nothing. The weight in the pit of my stomach was reaching upward, through my esophagus and holding my jaw tightly shut. “Come on, I’m gonna need some input.”

“Whatever…you want is fine,” I croaked. She rolled her eyes.

“Put your arms up.”

I did, and she slid the dress over my head. It hung effortlessly on my body, and as I looked down, I saw it completely concealed the silicone breasts. I couldn’t believe how well it fit or how amazing it felt. It was like…I didn’t want to wear anything else, ever again. I felt free, but at the same time, I was so afraid. She snapped a black belt around my waist; I looked down, but couldn’t see past ‘my’ boobs. I think I may have smiled a little.

“Sit down over here,” Isabella guided me to a makeup vanity where she styled my hair with a straightener and a few clips. “We thought about getting a wig but your hair is already long enough. Once we do your makeup you’ll be pretty passable.”

Passable as what? I watched, fascinated as she pulled a few items from the vanity and arranged them in front of me. She explained liquid foundation, eye shadow, eyeliner, and all kinds of things that I couldn’t remember if I tried. I just nodded along as if I understood while she applied them expertly to my face. I had just gotten accustomed to sitting still like a statue when Tiffany burst through the door.

“Are you two about done?” She demanded. “We need to set up.”

“Calm your tits,” Isabella responded. “I just need to do the setting powder.

I saw Tiffany peer over her shoulder at me. A chill went down my spine.

“Okay,” She said finally. “Someone needs to make a run to the store for chips and stuff.”

“I don’t think Aleah wants Todd leaving the house, so I’ll probably have to go. I have a car,” Isabella said as she brushed powder onto my face.

“You know I have a car too, right?” Tiffany put her hands on her hips.

“We both know you don’t want to go.”

I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a battlefield and I was about to catch a bullet.

“Okay, you look good enough,” Tiffany said coldly, pushing Isabella away and pulling me from the chair. She had such a strong grip. “Go downstairs, take the party stuff out of the fridge, put it on the table, we’re starting at noon and it’s almost nine now.”

“Wait!” Isabella said. I turned back to her, thankful that she was intervening. “Shoes, you need shoes.”

She walked to the closet and brought back a pair of simple black pumps. I put them on, surprisingly, they fit, though they were a little bit tight. She told me to take a few steps. I wobbled a bit but I got the hang of it.

“Okay, great,” Tiffany said, taking me by the arm and guiding me out of the room. “If you’re going to be here then you’re going to work.”
We reached the landing, and as we were about to walk down, my hand instinctively grabbed the railing, white knuckles denied me any further progress.

“I can’t go down there like this,” I suddenly said. I felt exposed. I could feel the air rushing between my legs, I could feel the weight of the makeup against my skin. I felt ridiculous.

“Are you kidding me?” Tiffany’s irate tone made her agitation clear. From her voice I knew one thing: I was going down those stairs one way or another. “Okay, I don’t have time for this.”

She grabbed my elbow and yanked me away from the bannister but didn’t force me down the stairs. Instead, she marched me down the hallway, took a left into a bathroom where another girl was moisturizing her face in front of the mirror.

“Beat it Olivia,” Tiffany growled as she pushed her out of the way and shoved me in front of the mirror. “Look.”

I gazed into the mirror. Behind me I saw Olivia, flustered, and trying to finish her moisturizing routine by ducking around me, but I saw someone else I didn’t recognize. Was that…me? I didn’t recognize myself, I looked…I looked like I always pictured myself. My hair was styled a lot like Aleah’s, but a little more volume, and my face betrayed none of my male features. I wanted to cry in happiness, but Tiffany cut the moment short.

“You done?” She demanded. “Let’s go.”

I couldn’t help but glance in the mirror one last time as she wrapped her fingers around my wrist and dragged me from the bathroom. This time I dutifully followed her down the stairs and felt my anxiety rise as I spotted someone I hadn’t met before standing near the living room couch, sorting through a folder full of papers. She was a bit older than the other girls, maybe in her thirties, but still beautiful.

“Oh, right,” Tiffany said as she led me toward the woman. “Amelie, this is Todd, Todd, Amelie. Amelie is our house mother.”

“Very nice to meet you, Todd,” The woman shot her hand out but maintained a stern look as she studied every inch of me. I felt like I was being auctioned off for some reason.

“I...hi…” I stuttered.

“We don’t normally allow visitors on the second floor,” She said. She reached out and straightened a wrinkle on my dress, and then pulled my left sleeve down; I guess it had been a little crooked. “We made an exception for you at Aleah’s insistence, but you’re going to be on your best behavior here, do you understand?”

“Okay,” I nodded quickly.

“Try again” She said, setting the folder down on the couch end table and crossing her arms. She stared down at me, though she barely had an inch on me. I felt so small.

“Yes Ma’am”, Tiffany whispered into my ear.

“Yes Ma’am,” I said quickly, breaking eye contact and staring down at her feet.

“What do you have him doing?” Amelie asked of Tiffany. I flinched again at the use of the word ‘him’. What was wrong with me? She must have noticed, because I could feel her studying me, even though my eyes were still downcast.

“What do you have her doing?” Amelie corrected herself. I don’t know why it made such a difference, but it did. It was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders and I finally looked up at her for a brief second. I felt like I was on the verge of tears, but somehow, I didn’t want to admit it. I don’t know why.

“I want her to set up the food trays,” Tiffany said. She was much more respectful to Amelie than she had ever been to me. I guess I couldn’t blame her. “We got blocks of cheese this year instead of the trays because it was a little cheaper. “

“Oh right, that’s a start,” Amelie said, still studying me. “Make sure she wears an apron, okay?”

“Definitely,” Tiffany said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away. “Don’t want to ruin that dress.”

“Oh, hey, Tiffany, can you ask Aleah to come see me when you get a chance?” Amelie called after us.

“Sure thing!” Tiffany responded, guiding me toward the open kitchen on the other side of the room. I think my arm was starting to bruise from the way she kept manhandling me. She led me around the long kitchen island and released me only when we’d reached the center. “Go to the fridge and get those blocks of cheese from the middle shelf; I’m going to show you how to cut cheese.

“Tiffany,” I said quietly, practically mumbling.

“What?” She demanded.

“Why…why does Aleah want me here?”
“Get the cheese,” She said after a second of silence, handing me an apron before I turned toward the fridge.

I did as I was told, walking to the refrigerator and bending down to grab a few blocks of cheese from the middle shelf, all wrapped in plastic with ‘Kraft’ on the label. Within a few seconds, Tiffany was at my side with her hand on my shoulder.

“What are you doing” She asked quizzically, as if I should have known.

“I’m getting the cheese,” I said apprehensively, wondering if she was going to hit me again.

“Why are you bending over like that? Put the cheese down,” She took it from me and put it back on the middle shelf. “Put your knees together,”

I looked at her questioningly, she stared at me intently until I pulled my legs together, my knees touching.

“Now, squat down and straighten your dress so you don’t show your butt.”

I did it, bending my knees slowly.

“Keep the knees together!” She said sternly. “Don’t pull them apart, act like a lady.”

This was harder than I thought. I pressed my knees together and tried to keep my balance as I reached toward the center shelf. Suddenly, I wobbled and fell backward, slamming into the tile.

“Are you SERIOUS?!” Tiffany hissed before reaching down and helping me to my feet. “Do it again, don’t fall this time.”

It was hard, but somehow, I pulled it off, and we moved back to the counter where she’d already laid out a cutting board and a cheese slicer.

“I was going to make you do this with a knife, but I don’t have all day, just use the slicer to make cubes – don’t make them crooked. Do it for all of the blocks in the fridge on that middle shelf, I’ll be back.”

She watched me for a moment, and then, satisfied that I knew what I was doing, left the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared through a door and into another part of the house. I continued cutting, taking blocks from the refrigerator as needed. I felt horribly apprehensive every time someone walked through the living room. Did they know who I was? What if someone talked to me? I felt so out of place here, even though, honestly, there was no where else I’d rather be. I wondered if Mason had texted me yet, asking where I was. I probably had some raid or quest scheduled with him. Ugh…what would he think if he knew where I was now? I realized that I didn’t have my phone with me. Isabella must have taken it.

The entire time, no one looked at me more than once. Maybe they were glad they didn’t have to spend any time slicing cheese. By the time I was finished I had a mountain of cheese cubes sitting on a tray. I realized that out of habit, I’d arranged the entire thing into a rounded pyramid and sighed – my stupid OCD was showing again.

“Nice arrangement,” Tiffany said as she walked back into the kitchen. You ready to slice apples?”

By the time I was done we had a huge assortment of fruits and vegetables – all of which would have been a lot easier if they’d just spent the money on vegetable trays. My hands felt numb from all the cutting, but Tiffany insisted that I place all of trays on the elevated part of the island – sort of like a buffet.

“We’re starting at noon,” Tiffany said. “You’re going to stand here, in the kitchen. If someone wants something, you bring it to them. You fill drinks, you keep your mouth shut unless someone asks you a question. When you DO answer someone, you answer respectfully, do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Say ‘Yes, Miss Tiffany’”, She said to me.

“Yes Miss Tiffany,” I hated it, but it was her party and from what I knew about GAT, it was how they made their pledges address them. Kind of a power trip but it wasn't unique to me.

“Do you have a problem with that?” She asked “You hesitated a little there.”

“I guess…” I said, not sure if I should really say anything. “It just makes me feel…small.”

“Funny thing about guys,” She said. “You’re all conditioned to treat women like crap, so being respectful doesn’t tend to come naturally. Welcome to hell.”

She left me to speak to Isabella on the other side of the room, but turned to speak to me again.

“Make sure you answer the door if someone knocks!”

“Yes Miss Tiffany,” I muttered.

“Louder!”

“Yes Miss Tiffany!” I curled my fist a bit, a gesture that I thought she wouldn’t notice, but she suddenly crossed the room again, grabbing my wrist and slapping my hand as hard as she could. I couldn’t believe how bad it hurt. Pain immediately radiated across my knuckles and through my hand. I yelped and fell to my knees. She kept a grip on my wrist and stared down at me.

“You can cut that crap out right now,” She said, releasing my wrist and turning to speak to Isabella. As I struggled to pull myself back up, I could hear her and Isabella talking and laughing as if she hadn’t just walked across the room and struck me. It was starting to sink in again that I was nothing here.

Before I’d even had a chance to recover, I heard a knock at the door. I saw Tiffany glance over at me and I quickly moved to answer it.

“Smile,” She said to me with an almost gleeful upward inflection as I walked past her. I opened the door and smiled as widely as I could. There was a girl about my age standing in the doorway dressed in a knee-length lace dress, looking as if she were about to attend a funeral. It matched her jet black hair.

“Hi, I’m Liz?” She said. “I’m here for the party?”

I started to speak, but then realized that I had a male voice. The moment I opened my mouth she would know. I glanced nervously back at Tiffany who mouthed: “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m…” I started to whisper.

“Oh are you a new pledge too?” She grinned as she stepped through the door. “I’m a little nervous too!”

“Nah, not a pledge,” Tiffany said as she stepped in. “She’s just helping us out for today.”

I’m surprised I didn’t collapse from relief as Tiffany took over the conversation and led Liz off toward the other side of the room.

“Wow,” Isabella said as she walked past me. “That was LITERALLY the most awkward display I’ve ever seen.”

For the next hour, several more girls showed up and I put on the exact same awkward display, anxiously waiting for a GAT sister to take over the conversation. They always did, but they seemed to leave me hanging for a minute or two. At some point, Tiffany came over to me and informed me that she was going to be calling me ‘Kelly’ for today because she was tired of skirting around my male name everytime she spoke to me in front of the other girls. It wasn’t the name I would have chosen, but it worked, I guess.

The day started with a meeting where Aleah introduced herself and gave a speech on sorority life, sisterhood, and all the benefits of being a GAT pledge. I listened intently and felt kind of jealous that I wasn’t in on this.

For the most part I was ignored, and surprisingly, I didn’t have to do much. I wondered why I was even here. Aleah introduced them to the house mother, Amelie, and explained that she was there to make sure everything ran smoothly.

“And, finally,” Aleah said, gesturing to me. “This is Kelly, she’s not one of us, but she’s here to make sure all of your needs are met today. You need a drink refilled, or you want a plate, you just flag her down, okay?”

Everyone looked toward me, and I immediately cringed. Could they tell I was a guy? I guess Isabella had done a great job with the makeup because no one seemed to stare or look confused. A few of them waved and smiled, someone said ‘Hi Kelly!’, but I had no idea where it had come from. I smiled nervously and waved back. Tiffany stared hard at me; I was doing something wrong, but that was nothing new.

The meeting continued until Aleah finally dismissed them, and then the event resumed like a normal party. They talked and laughed amongst themselves and I was left to stare at them, wishing I could be a part of it, but my frozen legs wouldn’t allow me to move beyond the kitchen. I gripped the counter; I felt like I was going to pass out as the noise from the crowd buzzed around me. Surprisingly no one asked me for anything, I just made sure that the food trays were filled every once in a while.

“Did you eat today?” Aleah asked me. I jumped. I hadn’t even seen her come over. I stared at her. She was wearing a brief black slink dress that matched her form perfectly – I was overcome with jealousy that she could look like that in a dress. She noticed me staring. I shook my head.

“Okay,” She said. “What did I tell you about that?”

“To…eat,” I mumbled.

“This isn’t healthy,” She remarked with a tone of finality. Make a plate, go sit down at the table and eat it.”

I did as she asked but took as little as possible from the counter.

“More,” Aleah said.

I took a few more pieces of cheese and I felt her eyes follow me as I walked from the counter to the table on the other side of the room, in the open dining room. I nervously sat down and started to pick at the food. I felt like Tiffany would see me sitting down and chew me out for it, but I saw her glance at me once from across the room and then continue her conversation with someone.

“You and I are going to have a talk later,” Aleah said, standing over me with her arms crossed. “This stuff about…not eating, it’s unacceptable. If I have to make you come over here and eat, I will.”

How often was I going to be over here?

I sat silently waiting for her to speak again.

“You’re going to go home tonight, but you’re going to watch your phone. All of the sisters have put themselves in your address book, so you’ll know whose calling. If we text, or call, you show up.”

“I don’t—” I started to say. School was starting soon, and I wasn’t sure if my schedule would allow for it. These are the last few days of summer, and I’d spent a lot of time fooling around, being one of the few students that opted to stay in the dorms.

“Hey!” She said, snapping her fingers to get my attention. I stopped speaking immediately. “You broke into our house, you put my clothes on, which, in itself is a load of bull. I gave you the option to walk away, you didn’t take it, so now you’re going to play along.”

I thought about it. She didn’t have the pictures anymore, so I guess I could have just walked away right now. I could have, but I didn’t want to. This was so uncomfortable, but…I didn’t want it to end. Whether I liked it or not, she had me.

“Okay,” I choked on the words.

She nodded.

“Good.”