College Girl
By poetheather
Chap 14

The alarm rang and I got up, still a little groggy. Rush was going to be starting today and I did want to get a good idea of what this whole Sorority thing was all about. The first meeting was at noon, some sort of lunch meeting that would explain the whole Rush process and get us started on our ways to the first activities at 6 tonight. What was I going to wear?

I got up and looked at the activity sheet and saw that the meeting was listed as casual. Okay. So maybe a nice skirt and blouse would be good. Or there was one of the sundresses that I had gotten that were really cute? That would be good. I had some nice sandals that would look good with that. Sundress it was.

I paused and looked down at myself and then over towards the mirror. I met my eyes and took a deep breath. Okay, I just was excited about what I was going to wear…this was not the end of the world nor a sign that I was going insane. I have spent weeks living like a girl. There should be no reason why I shouldn't be expecting to start to think like a girl. Mr. Watson in French class said that when you get good at a language you start thinking in it. Same thing here. I was just really starting to get the language and culture down. That's all. Immersion learning at its finest.

The shower helped me relax. I washed up and the warm water helped to loosen my back muscles. I shaved my legs and whatever else needed shaving since I wanted to look good for this and I was nervous. I would be going out, alone and had to pass utterly. I tried not to think about it. What little bit I did made my stomach flop.

I headed back to my room and looked at the clock. I still had a few hours until I had to go and that meant that I could eat breakfast if my stomach could take it. I decided on the sundress, because I really liked it even though the skirt I had in mind was really cute. I dried my hair and gave it a slight curl with the curling iron. Regular daytime makeup and I was ready to face the day.

All that was left for breakfast were English Muffins so I toasted one and enjoyed it with some juice. The crunch when you bite into them is nice. Relaxing was definitely the order of the day. I had one of the books I had been given and I went into the sitting room after breakfast to read. I did get absorbed into the book. I really enjoyed Fantasy books and the mix of fantasy and romance in Rhapsody really drew me into the book. I loved the characters and Hayden managed to create a great deal of tension throughout the book. I loved it and I was looking forward to borrowing the next book in the series. I really got into the characters and it was easy to fall in love with the main character, Rhapsody.

Rhapsody seemed to be everything: a good fighter, a feminine woman, a tremendous Bard, competent and loving. She was the kind of woman that should be around more. I realized that I was using her as a model for myself in a way and that was fun. If only I knew how to use a sword or could actually write poetry. I knew where my weak spots were and those were definitely holes in my education. Maybe I should try to write some poetry. That’s something girls do…right?

After making it through a chapter I looked up and checked out the time. I still had some time before I had to go but I wanted to get everything ready before hand. I headed upstairs to grab my purse and to see if my makeup needed a touch up. It didn't and I got my purse and headed out. Everyone in the house was getting ready for tonight and I wasn't expecting to see anyone. So I was quite surprised when Nadia came up and hugged me. "Have fun, Caitlin."

I smiled and headed to my car. That really was odd and completely unexpected. I dismissed it as yet another odd thing to happen to me while playing a girl. The list was getting huge. Life was really different on the other side and I kind of liked it.

The meeting was being held on campus at the Student Union Building and I made my way over there easily enough. I managed to find a nearby parking place and got out of the car. I followed the stream of girls into the building, figuring that they might know where this was being held. Amazingly, I somehow thought that real girls would just sort of magically know this.

I got into the room and was surprised at how many girls were in there. There were a lot who seemed like the usual sorority girls that you see in the movies but there were also a lot of girls who looked perfectly normal and quite unlike anything I was expecting. The two Goth girls really threw me as well. I was starting to realize even more that I had been screwing with a world I hadn't known enough about. Maybe this division made some sort of sense. I really wasn't sure. It certainly made me realize how little I knew about things. No wonder the tables got turned.

There was some mingling going on, but I really felt out of my depths. I hung against a wall trying not to panic and hide, which was actually difficult. Meredith would be disappointed if I didn't experience all of this. But I have to admit I was scared. Here I was a guy in girl's clothes surrounded by a huge number of girls who I knew nothing about. I didn't want to think about what would happen if these girls found out who I really was, under these clothes.

Finally, after what seemed like thirty minutes a voice called out for us to be seated. This really cute woman with red hair stepped up in front of everyone. She was wearing her letters and smiled happily. "Hello everyone and welcome to this years Fall Rush. My name is Teresa Goodwin and I work for Greek Life. I am here to explain to you all the process of Rush so you won't be confused and will understand what is expected of you."

The lights dimmed and a projector turned on. An image of the words Rush surrounded by the Greek letters of all the Sororities at the school came up on the screen. The image changed to a picture of girls in a group filling out different forms. "When we are done here you will be divided into groups of ten people each. You will be given name tags and these forms to fill out. Please list the houses you are most interested in on that sheet. This information will be made available to the membership directors of each house. That will let them know who is interested enough in the house for them to try and get to know you."

The image changed again. This time the same group was showing up at a house. It wasn’t our House. Wait…our House? "This group is who you will be with for the first two days, while you visit all of the houses. The third and fourth day you will be moved into a different group and you will again visit the houses you are interested in and the ones that asked to see you again."

The image shifted to one where a smaller group of girls were at one house. "Days three and four are there so that the houses where you are interested or are interested in you can get to know you better. You will be spending more time at those houses. The Fourth night is semi formal as well. So, make sure you dress appropriately."

Again the picture changed. There were large groups of girls each wearing different colored t-shirts with letters on them. "Friday Morning is Bid day. That is when one or maybe more sororities will be giving you a bid, which means they would like you to join their house. If you have more than one you have to choose which it will be. That evening is a formal party in recognition of those who have accepted bids. Each party will be at the house in question. It will be formal dress. Saturday will be your orientation into the pledge program in the house that chose you. If you are not chosen, please try again next semester. Any questions?"

No one seemed to have any questions about the process and I was sure I had none. The process seemed easy enough. All I would have to do would be to list the House as my first choice and I knew that they would choose me. But I figured I needed to play along in order to make sure that I wouldn't get caught. The woman up front began to call names out and giving groups of ten directions. When my name was called I ended up in a group with one of the Goth girls. She reminded me a bit of Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanesence. I thought she was hot.

I walked up to her and smiled . "Hi…my name is Caitlin. What's yours?"

"Alison. But people usually call me Alley." She was very pale and her black hair shone it the light. It was almost blue black and looked natural and not dyed. It also fell to the small of her back.

"Pleased to meet you." She seemed nice, though I really had no idea since I had just met her. But hopefully she would like me. I kind of liked the Goth culture but never personally got into it. The Goths back at my High School were fun to hang with.

"Thanks. I'm just here because I want to test the level of hypocrisy in this system. I seriously doubt that this snooty girl club will let in anyone like me. I'll be impressed if that does happen but I doubt it." I completely knew where she was coming from. I learned this wasn't quite what I thought it was and I hoped Alley would be able to figure that out as well. I would try to put in a good word with Meredith and Nadia.

"Well, as long as you give them the chance to surprise you, you won't make that a self-fulfilling prophesy." I smiled at her, really hoping she could get in somewhere. That would make one less person to misunderstand sororities like I had.

"I'm just going to be myself and as friendly to them as they are to me." she challenged.

I liked her. I would definitely put in a good word for her with the others. We all filled out our preference sheets, handing them into the girl who was collecting them and acting as our guide. The other girls in the group split after we were done, except Alley who waited for me.

"So, you think that there is a chance for me?" she asked, really seeming interested.

I nodded. "I think this whole thing is really different from what any of us think. Personally I expect to be pleasantly surprised by all of this."

She smirked. "That would be nice. I just hope that most of them aren't like some of those bitches back in high school. They really pissed me off."

"Trust me; some of them aren't like that. Some may be, but not all of them are." I replied. "Besides, this should be fun, even if you don't get in."

"True enough. Hey, do you want to go get some lunch?" asked Alley.

I was hungry and lunch did sound good. Maybe I could call Meredith and have her meet us somewhere. That way she could meet Alison and that might help her in getting in. "Sure. Just let me call someone and we can go."

With that I got out my cell phone and gave my sweetie a call. I told her about lunch and she agreed that it would be a good thing. We all headed for this place that had great salads, soups and the like. Alley and I separated and headed there in our own cars, since neither of us wanted to leave them there. I was feeling good so I was singing along with a CD and even dancing a little as I drove. Thankfully, I didn't swerve too much and made it to the restaurant in one piece. But the songs were fun and I found I liked singing and dancing.

Alley had beaten me there and was standing outside waiting. A couple of people were staring at her and she was ignoring them with practiced disdain. I couldn't see why people were staring. She was a cute Goth and not even all that weird looking. No multi colored hair, no spikes or chains, nothing odd except a cute black Goth style dress. Well, maybe the pale make up was a factor. We chatted while we waited for Meredith.

She finally arrived, looking cute and artsy in her long gauze skirt and peasant blouse. How she looked made me smile. My girlfriend was really beautiful and that made my heart beat faster. She came over and gave me a hug and then turned to Alley. "Hi, my name is Meredith. What's your's?"

"Alley. Nice to meet you. Shall we go in and eat. I'm hungry." Alley turned and headed into the place. Meredith held me back.

"Where did you meet her?" she asked.

"At the Rush thing. She seems really nice and I thought she might have a chance of getting if you got to know her." I blushed a little. "I hope I didn't do anything wrong."

Meredith looked thoughtful. "Did you tell her I am in the Sorority?"

"No. I just said I wanted to call someone to join us." I wondered what all this was about. What was the problem?

"Good. Don't say anything about that. I can't talk to people about Sorority stuff officially. But we can chat and the like. They're rules that the Greek Council enforces during Rush week. It is to make the playing field fair." explained Meredith. “If she is nice enough to join then I can meet her at the House.”

I guess that made some sort of sense. A fair playing field was a good thing. We went in and got our food. It was an amazing salad bar, with all sorts of good things to eat. I loaded my plate up with as much goodness that I could. My plate was mounded and I drizzled a low fat Italian dressing onto the whole thing. I also grabbed a bowl of some sort of vegetable soup. This would be tasty.

We ate and talked about all sorts of things. It turned out that Alley and Meredith both shared a love for Joss Whedon and several bands and some horror movies. That was cool. I did like Buffy and Firefly but I had never watched much Angel. I got some horrified looks at that confession and they both vowed to correct that gap in my education. I sighed, knowing that I was going to end up watching lots of videos again. At least it would be interesting, I hoped. Certainly couldn’t be worse than some of the bad chick flicks I had to endure or Becca’s foreign films.

Alley headed off to get ready for tonight and Meredith and I headed back to the House to relax for a while. My group was going to be visiting the house the next day so that would be fun. It did mean that I would be missing the ice cream social they were doing tonight. Maybe when I got home after all of the traipsing about I could get some leftovers? I really hoped so, as I did love ice cream. And if they had hot fudge I would be utterly happy. That was a sweet yummy I could not pass up. It was my Doom.

I ended up reading again. It was fun and I got through a lot more of what was going on with Rhapsody and company. I had figured out she was the girl from the prologue but it really was sad that she wouldn't find her love from then. Sam was gone and there was no way that they would ever be reunited. Or was there? I didn't know as I was still in the first book. I really wanted to get through this before I went to the Rush event. I would have sat there in the comfy chair reading if Nadia hadn't come in and taken the book out of my hands. I was nudged out of the house and I grumbled as I headed to the car. I really wanted to keep reading. The story was picking up pace as they were hunting the F’dor.

I reached the designated meeting place and found my group. Alley was there and that was good. Part of me had been afraid that she would chicken out. We talked about fantasy novels to kill some time before we would be getting into the vans to travel to the different houses to be welcomed. I told her all about Rhapsody and she raved about Grania by Morgan Llywelyn. It sounded interesting and I mentally added it to the list of books I wanted to read. It kept growing and growing. If that kept up I wouldn’t have time to do anything else but read.

Finally, the van arrived and we all got in. We headed off to the first Rush event and I was nervous and excited at the same time. It felt to me that this would be another interesting glimpse into the world of girls. So far the trip had been fun. After all, it had already gotten me a girlfriend, so I couldn’t really complain that much.

The van pulled up at one of the houses and we all got out and headed into the House. It was a nice house and the decorations were cute. They were having a country themed thing. Alley and I both grimaced as we heard the strains of country coming out of the speakers. I did not like most country music and they seemed to be playing all the stuff that made my skin crawl. Alison seemed to be in similar pain.

A few of the girls from that House came and talked to us, but not that many. The other girls from our group had quite a few more girls talking to them while I would have to say we were being ignored. I wondered if it was the country thing or the fact that Alley was a Goth. I was sure I was getting shunned by association. We were both happy by the time we left. It was a very long thirty minutes.

Things were moderately better at the next house we visited. Several girls chatted us both up and the Sock Hop theme was pretty cool. Even the music was nice. I did feel out of place since I wasn't in a poodle skirt. But they were all nice girls. This house didn't seem all that bad and there was even a semi-Goth girl in the group. She and Alley talked a good bit before we had to leave and head off to the next house.

This went on for the next hour, visiting two more houses. There were lots of girls I met and things really became a blur in my mind as I thought about things. Maybe there was too much going on and I was overloaded. I couldn't even remember which House was which by the time we got back to the meeting place. When we all arrived, the Rush chairwoman talked a bit about having a successful first night and tried to pump us up and make the whole thing seem even more exciting than it was. I just wanted to go home and eat some ice cream.

Alley and I said goodbye and said that we were looking forward to seeing each other tomorrow. The drive home was thankfully quick. I entered and headed straight for the kitchen, figuring that was where the ice cream was. When I got there I saw that Kerry was there serving herself up some ice cream.

"Hi." I said, hoping it sounded friendly. Since she was the one nervous about me I knew I had to be careful when talking to her to avoid making her twitchy. That unfortunately made me twitchy. Not much I could do about that now.

"Hi." She replied. She held out the scooper. "Want some?"

I smiled and nodded yes, taking the scooper from her. I scooped myself a nice pile of French Vanilla Bean. "Yes. Thank you. I have been looking forward to this all night. Just the thought of all this ice cream made me drool."

Kerry smiled a little. Maybe there was some progress. That would be a good thing. "Oh, that's right you went out to the Rush events. How were they?"

I shrugged. "Okay I guess. It wasn't really all that exciting and some of the Houses seemed pretty boring. Some of them didn't treat a friend of mine and me very well. They were snotty and stand offish. It sucked."

"Some of the Houses are like that. Our House really does try to be friendly and inclusive. It used to be worse but the new president of the Sorority decided that we needed to stop being the stereotype and to become the exception. It has actually been really helpful for the House overall, from what I have heard." stated Kerry. "Taking you in is a bit…odd but given your plan I guess it was for the best."

"Well, I don't know if Nadia mentioned this to anyone, but she told me she had figured it out. I hadn't thought that I would get accepted and I was ready to bring a lawsuit. So I was surprised when I was offered to come into the house. I almost didn't accept, since I hadn't really planned on joining a Sorority." I admitted as I took another spoonful of hot fudgey goodness. "But since I had asked I felt honor bound to accept. Otherwise my asking would seem like some stupid ploy. I didn’t want that so I said yes. So now I'm here and I am actually even enjoying myself."

Kerry looked a little shocked at that. "You mean you decided to join the House despite the fact that you had to dress like this? To be a girl?"

"Well, Nadia asked if I was going to try and bring honor to the House or make it a laughing stock. I didn't want to ridicule anyone, so I agreed to those conditions. I really hate how some people ridicule things. I wanted to do something that I thought would bring more equality but I was wrong. The conditions were fair and I really didn't want to fight if they were going to let me in." I replied, stirring my ice cream into a thick gooey mess. Hot Fudge soup is a great goodness. "I can't say that I am completely enjoying all of this but it has been interesting overall."

"So…so you aren't getting your jollies out of this?" she asked, getting to the point of her questioning. This was where everything was focused. I wanted to answer this carefully.

"Well, I can't say I don't peek some when I am in the shower but usually I am too busy getting clean. Just getting ready for a day has changed for me and it is still something I really have to think about. After a while I just stopped looking for the most part. I'm not sure why, but I have. I think it’s weird as there are a lot of really attractive women on that floor but I am too busy to care about looking. I generally don't see anyone…not really. They’re just bodies in there, doing what I’m doing, so I just worry about myself. Am I making any sort of sense?" I replied.

Kerry nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yeah. You are."

"And living and dressing like this, and all the crap that I had to go through to be ready to be a girl has been more work than excitement. Basically, this whole thing hasn't been even remotely sexually exciting. It has actually had more of the opposite effect." I complained some as I had more of my ice cream goop. I really liked this and I had been doing it since I was a little kid. Goop was good.

Kerry seemed to relax some at that. It was clear that she was thinking about what I was saying. That was a good thing. "So you're not going to come into our rooms and sexually molest us?"

"Only if you ask me to." I quipped. "Actually, I was more afraid of you girls getting all evil on me and doing horrible things to me. I had visions of all sort of humiliating acts and a painful transformation to more of a mockery of a girl than a real one. I don't know if I could have stood that for very long before I called the cops. The thought of that really scared me."

Kerry actually looked horrified at the idea. "That…that would be wrong. Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way."

"See, I guess we both had some misconceptions about things. I have certainly learned about being a girl and Sororities." I stated, smiling as I made my point.

"I guess we did. I am sorry for all the trouble I caused. You aren’t what I expected. Well, good night Caitlin. See you in the morning." With that she put her bowl in the sink and headed off to bed.

I sat there and ate my ice cream thinking about everything that had been said. Was I forced into looking like this? No…no…I guess not. I had chosen to do this. Every step of the way Nadia had made it clear that I was doing this because of my choices. I did this to myself.

Kerry's statement about how fun it was being a girl stuck with me. Was I having fun like this? Fun that I wouldn't have had if I had been able to remain Richard? I didn't know. Some of the things I had done had been fun. Sun bathing was actually kind of cool and going to the club had been exciting and different. The spa had been a great goodness and definitely a trip I wanted to do again. I guess by and large I was having a better time as a girl than I had as a guy. Why was that?

I guess part of the reason was definitely all the people in the House who had become my friends and dragged me off to do things. I seemed to have more friends now than before, friends beyond Rebecca. If I had stayed as Richard, what would I have done over the summer? Probably just sit around, read and play video games. So, basically, not a lot of exciting things. Maybe this was good for me? I finished my ice cream and put the bowl in the sink. I was tired and just wanted to sleep. After all, tomorrow was going to be filled with even more exciting Rush stuff and I needed the rest.

I made it too my room and found a note on my pillow. I opened it up and it was a cute card from Meredith. She said she loved me and wanted me to come and stay with her again tonight. I smiled broadly and bounced a little excitedly. I changed into my nightgown and headed over to her room. She kissed me fiercely when the door was closed. I melted into it. "I missed you today. Did you have fun?"

"It was okay. Some of the Houses were really boring and ignored me and Alley." I sounded mostly non-committal.

"Well, tomorrow you get to come to where the fun is. Also, I have talked to Nadia and several other girls about Alley. We are definitely going to see if she fits with the other girls. I like her and it would be a lot of fun to see her face when she would be offered a bid."

"Really? Honest and true?" This was actually kind of exciting. Then I yawned really wide. It almost hurt.

"Honest and true. Come on sleepy head. Get under the covers before you fall over." With that, she dragged me to the bed and we both snuggled in for the night. It was nice being all cuddled up with her and I fell asleep warm and safe in her arms.