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 ï>¿The Pledge Mistress by EC

   Chapter 11 - A very serious commitment

   Lisa decided to rinse off and brush her teeth before settling on her cot
for the night.  She showered as quietly as possible to avoid waking the
other pledges, shaved her armpits, legs, and pelvis, and finally brushed
her teeth as she looked at herself in the mirror.  Her face was tired, but
apart from that she felt that she looked pretty good considering everything
she had been through over the past four days.

   She took a closer look at her cheeks to check for signs of blemishes. 
She was very mindful of blackheads, because she had endured a rather severe
period of acne during her first years in high school.  Sure enough, after
nearly a week of not having time to attend to her face, she found several
sizable ones that needed to be pinched out of her cheeks.  Once that task
was completed, Lisa soaped her face and rinsed off.  She looked at her
reflection again.  The pinch marks would fade in a couple of minutes and
her appearance would return to normal, minus the offending blackheads.

   Lisa was quite attractive, but that had not always been true.  As a
teenager she had been too tall and too skinny, her teeth covered in braces,
and her face and shoulders covered with painful pimples.  As she thought
about her previous appearance, her thoughts returned to Mike, her old
boyfriend from high school.  When she contemplated her past she always
thought about him, because in Lisa's life her time in high school and her
time with Mike went together.  He was the one person in high school who was
nice to her before her appearance blossomed, her only source of fun and
social interaction for nearly four years.  Yes, it was true that he was a
bit controlling and way too serious, but he was kind to her most of the
time and, anyhow, her appearance denied her any other options.  When her
braces came off, her figure filled out, and her acne receded, Mike
continued to be constantly at her side during her senior year in school. 
It seemed that he was destined to reap the benefits of his kindness and
patience and stay with her.

   That certainty came to an abrupt end with the young couple failed to get
into the university they wanted and decided to study out of state.  They
left California to study in Chicago, which at the time seemed a very
logical thing for them to do.  However, they could not have foreseen that
the change of environment and personal circumstances very quickly would
force them apart.

   Lisa's exposure to a new city and new people began making her less
interested in her boyfriend.  Her tense relationship with Cecilia Sanchez,
who was simultaneously a friend and a rival, forced Lisa to become much
more assertive in her own personality and actions.  Lisa's relationships
with the other residents of her dorm floor also forced her to be more
assertive, because Cecilia drafted her to tutor several freshmen who were
struggling in their classes.  Lisa became used to giving instructions and
orders.  Over time she was much less willing to take orders herself.

   Another part of her life that brought about a change in her personality
was Lisa's relationship with the other two members of her small social
group, Jason and Ken.  Cecilia's dominance of her boyfriend Jason
fascinated Lisa, as did the apparent willingness of Ken to experiment with
his sexuality.  Seeing the other two guys close-up made Lisa aware of other
sexual possibilities besides Mike.

   Lisa's feelings towards her former boyfriend and what she wanted in her
sexual life began to change as the result of a single incident, a game of
strip Poker that she played back in September with Mike, Jason, and Ken. 
Lisa easily won and ended up in a dorm room with three naked guys.  That
night her imagination ran wild as she made Jason and Ken submit to
penalties; forcing them to pose for pictures, then ordering them go
streaking across the university to the Student Center and back.  The real
fun, however, was when she made Ken do an extra penalty.  She put her nude
friend over her lap and gave him a spanking.  She completely enjoyed the
experience, having a naked guy over her lap while she slapped the hell out
of him.  Lisa was having some real fun as she punished Ken, more naughty
fun than she ever had enjoyed in her life.  What was interesting was that
Ken enjoyed the spanking as well.  Lisa discovered something sexual that
she really enjoyed doing.

   What ruined the evening for Lisa was Mike.  While she was cavorting with
Ken and Jason, Mike was becoming increasingly jealous and pissed-off.  At
the time she felt bad and was desperate to make it up to him, but deep
inside she resented not being able to pursue her fantasies because of her
damn boyfriend.  That seed of resentment, planted that night following the
Poker game, secretly grew inside Lisa's soul as the semester progressed.

   Mike is so fucking serious and boring.  He's got no imagination at all.
He doesn't have a clue about having any fun...

   Shortly after the first Poker game there was another event that changed
Lisa's personality and made her feel even more restricted by her
relationship with Mike, her participation in the Tri-Alpha nude 10-K campus
run.  The run was the result of a second strip-Poker game, one set up by
Cecilia for a specific purpose.  Cecilia wanted to get some residents from
her floor to participate in the race, and decided to use a Poker game to
recruit her friends into running.  In playing Cecilia was taking a risk,
because she was no better at Poker than Lisa and the two women stayed tied
almost right up to the end.  However, ultimately Lisa made a couple of
mistakes as the game was about to wrap up and it was she, not Cecilia, who
lost and had to join the guys in the running event.

   At first Lisa and Mike were mortified at the thought of running naked
for 10 kilometers in front of 50,000 university students, professors, and
alumni.  However, Lisa's attitude completely changed when she actually
managed to win the women's division of the race.  She cheerfully posed nude
for hundreds of pictures and realized that she enjoyed being naked in
public.  Just as the first Poker game unlocked Lisa's secret sexual
desires; the 10-K race unlocked her exhibitionist personality.  From that
point forward she changed her wardrobe and dressed very provocatively,
always wearing as little as she could without risking arrest for indecent
exposure.  Lisa's new manner of dressing made Mike very uncomfortable,
because her attractive and mostly uncovered body got plenty of attention
from everyone on campus.

   As the fall semester progressed Lisa became more and more impatient with
anything Mike did.  The biggest problem for her was their sexual
relationship.  Mike always made love the exact same way, always between
8:00 p.m.  and 9:00 p.m.  and always took the same amount of time to
climax. Try as she could, Lisa could not get him to experiment with any new
positions, let alone explore foreplay or any variation such as oral sex or
anal intercourse.  Finally, by December boredom set in and Lisa began
fantasizing about having sex with other guys.  She later realized that by
the end of the first semester the breakup with Mike was probably
inevitable.

   Even so, there were plenty of times that Lisa still missed him.  He was
smart, politically aware, and could answer almost any question she had
about the world.  Sometimes she had to keep reminding herself why they had
broken up.  They had gone their separate ways not over jealousy, or
betrayal, or any other dramatic reason, but simply because the time for
their relationship had come and gone.  The first few months of college
changed Lisa, but did not change Mike.  As Lisa became more outgoing and
more confident she got bored.  He was smart enough to see what was
happening, and after just one semester decided to go back to California and
take Lisa with him.  Lisa had no desire to go back, Chicago suited her just
fine.

   They went home together and had a very tense Christmas dinner at her
mother's house in Santa Cruz.  The break-up happened the day after
Christmas.  Mike told Lisa that he had re-applied to study in Berkeley and
this time expected to get in.  In the meantime he would take community
college classes in Santa Cruz.  He told Lisa to resubmit her application as
well, since he knew one of the employees in the admissions office and was
sure it would be accepted.  Lisa responded:

   "That's real nice, except there's one problem.  I don't want to go to
Berkeley.  And I don't want to sit on my ass taking community college
classes until next fall.  Fuck that!"

   "Well, I don't want to go back to Chicago.  I've told you that several
times, and it doesn't seem you're listening."

   "Who said anything about you going back to Chicago?  I never said you
needed to go back there!  You can do whatever you want, but don't you go
making arrangements for my life behind my back!  You can go to Berkeley, or
Santa Cruz, or wherever the fuck else you want to go, but I'm going back to
Chicago!  Tell your friend in the admissions department to take my
application and stick it up his ass!"

   "...  and so you don't give a damn about our future?  About me or
anything I want?  You're telling me that Chicago's more important than I
am?"

   "That's right, Mike.  That's exactly what I'm telling you.  Chicago's
more important to me than you are."

   Mike's expression changed.  He looked dazed, as if he had been hit over
the head with a rock.  He didn't know what how to respond, because he had
not expected Lisa to be so blunt with him.

   One of Mike's good points was that he was never willing to do anything
that he thought would humiliate himself.  He had backed himself into a
corner, leaving only two options.  He could cave in, beg Lisa to forgive
him, and meekly return to Chicago, or get up and leave with the
understanding they were breaking up.  Either way, as far as Lisa was
concerned the relationship had ended.  Mike realized that as well, and did
the one thing he could to salvage what was left of his dignity.  Without
saying another word he walked out, knowing that he was leaving behind the
girl he had dated for the past four years.

   Lisa was relieved to see Mike go.  He would have disappointed her had he
done anything else, because his stubbornness was one part of his character
that she admired.  They had drifted apart and broken up, but in spite of
everything, Mike managed to keep her respect.  She couldn't share her life
with him, but at least she could continue to respect him.

   *****

   Less than two weeks later Ken had replaced Mike as Lisa's sexual
partner. They began as a couple on a bitterly cold January day, after he
picked up her from the airport and listened to her complaints about her
breakup with Mike.  They later went shopping to pick up some textbooks.  A
day that stated out as a simple shopping trip ended with a bet, a strip
Poker game, a spanking, and a night in bed.

   That was the beginning of Lisa's second relationship, one about as
different from her first relationship as possible.  She ended up with a
boyfriend who was totally unsure of himself, could not match her
intellectually, and who she was not particularly proud of.  However he did
the one thing Mike couldn't do; he satisfied her sexual desires. 
Physically she was happy for the entire spring semester, as her body
reveled in one new sexual experience after another.  It was with Ken, not
Mike, that Lisa learned how satisfying, and addictive, good sex truly could
be.

   Now Ken was drifting into Lisa's past as well.  She wondered...  maybe
she had gone to far with the beatings, that maybe she been too rough on him
without realizing it.  Or maybe he just needed a break.  Or maybe he really
was gay.  Anyhow, as Lisa saw it, it really no longer mattered because Ken
wasn't her problem anymore.

   *****

   The front door opened upstairs and Lisa heard multiple pairs of feet
come into the entryway.  Instantly water started running and toilets
started flushing as the sorority members piled into the bathrooms and got
ready for bed.  I guess I'd better get to bed too, thought Lisa to herself.
Stupid me.  The one night I have a chance to get some extra sleep and here
I am looking at myself in the mirror and popping zits instead.

   *****

   The next morning Lisa had two surprises.  First, she was woken by a very
quiet tap on the shoulder.  It was Tracy.  When Lisa saw what Tracy was
wearing she was startled wide awake.  Tracy was dressed in Army BDU's
(Battle Dress Uniform).

   "Don't be so shocked, Pledge.  I'm a Reservist and I got drill today. 
They're picking me up in a few minutes, but before I go, you and me gotta
talk."

   Lisa rolled off her cot and got on her knees.

   "Not here.  Follow me to the library.  And don't make any noise, 'cause
I don't want to wake the others."

   Lisa followed Tracy into the library.  Tracy closed the door and sat
down.  Her normal severe appearance was made even more so by her
no-nonsense uniform.  Her BDU's were immaculate and her boots perfectly
shined.  Lisa noticed three stripes on her collar, indicating she already
was a sergeant.  There were several patches on her shoulders and chest, but
not being familiar with the military, Lisa didn't know their meaning.

   Lisa knelt, already concerned that the topic of the conversation was not
going to be pleasant.  The Pledge Mistress got right to the point.

   "Pledge, I'm gonna ask you, and you'd better be honest with me, what you
did last night."

   "I went outside in the backyard for a bit, and...  Pledge Kathleen
joined me, and we...  spent some time together."

   "Having sex?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "Where?"

   "By the pool, ma'am, on one of the chaise lounges.  I mean...  I didn't
think there'd be a problem, 'cause everyone was gone."

   "By the pool.  Alright, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.  Now,
another question.  Do you remember the advice I gave you about Pledge
Kathleen?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "What was that advice, Pledge?"

   "To not rush into anything, ma'am."

   "And you chose not to follow my advice."

   Lisa felt an overwhelming need to try to explain, but what on earth was
she going to say?  Finally she simply responded:

   "No ma'am.  I decided not to follow your advice."

   "And you think you made the right decision?"

   "Probably not, ma'am."

   "Now, another question.  Do you love Pledge Kathleen?  Do you know what
you feel for her?"

   "I...  I don't know, ma'am.  If you want me to be honest, I don't really
know what I feel for her.  I mean...  I feel something for her...  but I
don't know what, not really...  "

   "What about her?  Do you know what she feels towards you?"

   "She's in love with me, ma'am."

   "Alright...  that's what I thought.  At least you're being honest with
me and that'll make this a bit easier."

   Tracy took a deep breath and continued: "Pledge Lisa, I'm about to do
something, that if you tell anyone, is going to get both of us kicked out
of the sorority.  I have to do it, because you need to understand what
you've just gotten yourself into and how I expect you to handle it.  I need
to talk to you about Pledge Kathleen.  Get up off your knees and sit in
that chair.  For a few minutes we'll put the pledging stuff aside."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   Lisa sat in the chair opposite Tracy.  The Pledge Mistress, meanwhile,
pulled out Kathleen's folder.

   "I'm gonna guess that you don't know much about Pledge Kathleen's past,
do you?"

   "No ma'am, not really."

   "Well, I do.  I have her pledge packet and the answers to the questions
about her life that she put in here.  I've interviewed her and have that
information in here as well.  But I'm also a psychology major, so I know a
lot more about her than she realizes, and probably some things she doesn't
know about herself."

   Tracy paused to let her last comment sink in and continued.

   "Pledge Kathleen had a pretty rotten time in high school.  Her life
really sucked because she never developed any social skills.  She didn't
have any friends, and whatever boyfriends she had left her as soon as they
screwed her.  Nothing she tried ever worked out, and she considered herself
the laughing stock of the school.  She did participate in track, but even
that didn't help her social situation any.  She never went to any parties
or dances, and her experiences with guys left her totally bitter.  She even
got stood up for the Senior Prom.  The point is, none of her classmates
ever treated her decently, and she could never figure out why."

   "Well, ma'am, I kinda had the same thing when I was in school...  "

   "No, you didn't.  Not like Pledge Kathleen.  You had a boyfriend, and
from what you've told us your senior year was OK.  Pledge Kathleen's senior
year was not OK.  Her life never got any better.  Yours did."

   "Yes, ma'am.  I 'spose my senior year, at least, wasn't so bad...  "

   "Anyhow, my reading of her situation is that Pledge Kathleen joined the
Four-Betas for two reasons.  First, she's going to go nuts if she can't
become part of a social group, have normal human interaction, and be
accepted as part of something larger than herself.  Our sorority is so
different from anything she's used to that she's hoping we might be able to
fill that need in her life.  Second, she totally hates herself and wants to
change who she is.  She's with us because she needs to make a break with
her past."

   "The point is that right now she's scared, stressed out, starved for
affection, and has very low self-esteem.  She's got no self-confidence
whatsoever, and so, guess what?  It's inevitable, especially in a situation
as stressful as what you guys are dealing with, that a person with her
psychological makeup is going to become emotionally dependent on another
person.  I knew, when we took her in, that's what was gonna happen.  I
figured she'd focus on either me or Sergeant-at-Arms Heather.  Had it been
one of us, we were prepared to deal with it.  Instead, you've just selected
yourself."

   "But...  I mean...  I...  "

   "Let me continue.  I want you to understand that you've taken on
something much bigger than you realize, because you've just made yourself
the focus of all her emotional needs.  Pledge Kathleen is very fragile
psychologically and because of that you have a very serious commitment on
your hands."

   "But...  ma'am...  how do you know...  "

   "Simple, because I've studied it.  There are several technical names for
her situation, but basically what Pledge Kathleen has is a condition called
'non-verbal communication disorder'.  Her brain is not wired like an
average person's brain, because the only way she can learn things is
through rote-memory.  The nuances of non-verbal communication and body
language are not something she's capable of picking up.  She won't
understand anything unless you actually tell it to her or she reads it.  A
person like Pledge Kathleen does just fine in class, because our
educational system relies on rote-memorization.  They tend not to do so
well in real life."

   "Her brain's reliance on rote-memory is the reason she had such a
miserable time in high school, because she never developed any social
skills.  Her condition went undiagnosed and she did not get the counseling
and training she needed to lead a normal life as a teenager.  It is
possible for someone like her to have a normal social life, but they have
to be taught certain things that the rest of us simply pick up on our own.
She never got that training, so the only thing she took away from high
school was a bunch of rejections and traumatic memories."

   "But...  I didn't mean to...  I mean...  things between us just kinda
happened...  "

   "It's not really your fault, Pledge, and I'm not blaming you.  Unless
you've studied psychology or psychiatry, there's no way you're gonna know.
But the point is; I'm committed to pulling Pledge Kathleen out of the rut
she's fallen into, and now you're committed to helping me.  She needs to
feel that she belongs and that someone truly cares about her.  If we can
get her to successfully pledge and be accepted into the sorority, that'll
go a long way to helping her overcome all the rejection she suffered in
high school.  That's another thing.  In spite of whatever I might say to
her at the moment, I have every intention that she will complete the pledge
program and join the sorority.  But that's a secret between you and me. 
You are not to tell her what I just told you."

   "No, ma'am.  I won't say anything.  You have my word on that."

   "Thanks.  Pledge Kathleen will need lots of attention, affection, and
emotional support to get through the summer and that support's gonna have
to come from you.  I can't really provide it because of my duty as pledge
mistress.  You can, because you're her lover.  I'm holding you responsible
to keeping her happy and motivated.  It's important, because the future of
her life will be determined by what happens to her over the next three
months."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "There's something else.  You and I did not have this conversation. 
I've broken a bunch of rules by having you in here, talking to you like
normal person, and discussing someone else's confidential information. 
I've just put a lot of trust in you.  You understand that, right?"

   "Yes ma'am."

   "PLEDGE, STAND UP!"

   Lisa quickly rose to her feet and stood at attention.

   "You are dismissed, Pledge.  Wake up the others and have them out by the
pool area for upper body PT.  Bring your shoes and a towel.  You won't need
your PT uniforms."

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   With that Tracy headed for the front door.  As she passed the doorway
she put on her cap.  She struck a very imposing figure as she crisply
walked down the driveway in her military uniform.  She got into a car with
three other Reservists and they drove off.

   *****

   Lisa went back downstairs.  She looked at her three companions, but was
reluctant to get them up.  She took a closer look at Kathleen's sleeping
face, which looked younger and much more relaxed now that she was asleep.

   She's my responsibility, thought Lisa to herself.  She's my problem and
I'm the one who's got to take care of her.  What the fuck have I gotten
myself into?

   She pushed that thought aside and brushed her lover's cheek to wake her
up.  She then woke up Bernadette and Cherine.  The women took turns using
the toilet and put on their shoes.  A minute later they were lined up in
that back yard ready to exercise with the sophomores.



   Chapter 12 - A lecture from Ruth Burnside

   The morning exercise session came and went, followed by cooling off in
the pool, showers, and breakfast.  Afterwards the sorority members grabbed
backpacks and headed out the front door to go on a two-day hiking trip with
the Tri-Alphas.

   The only people remaining in the sorority house were Heather and the
pledges.  The Sergeant-at-Arms ordered the pledges into the sitting room to
issue some announcements.  The first order of business was the activity
that weekend, a top-to-bottom cleaning of the sorority house, which would
be done for inspection.  The pledges had between 9:00 a.m.  Saturday and
12:00 noon on Sunday to complete the task.  How they organized and what
breaks they chose to take were completely up to them, but they had to be
finished by no later than noon on Sunday.  On Sunday, following lunch and
cleanup, they would be transported to receive a seminar and practical
exercise on the erotic disciplining of males.

   "The house cleanup and tomorrow's seminar are important for what's
happening next week.  Don't forget that Tuesday the Tri-Alphas are swearing
in their summer pledges, and later in the week those guys will start coming
over here.  They will be responsible for cleaning up this place and you'll
be helping with their supervision.  In other words, those guys will be
working under you and you'll be bossing them around."

   The four kneeling women looked at each other.  Bossing around male
pledges?  Awesome!

   "Anyhow, it won't do anyone any good if you don't know exactly what's
expected from the cleaning manual.  You'll need to learn what's in there by
heart because you'll be using it to justify punishments and giving out
rewards to the Triple-A pledges doing the cleanup.  The best way to learn
is for you to do the cleanup yourselves first, and find out what mistakes
will get your butt whipped.  Keep that in mind.  Tomorrow night Pledge
Mistress Tracy and I will be doing the walk-through inspection.  Your butts
will pay dearly for any deficiencies or violations of the manual.  We'll be
fair about it, but expect to be punished for anything that's not up to
inspection standards.  We're giving you 27 hours, so that's plenty of time
to get it right.  Work together and pay attention to detail, because if you
don't, you'll be sleeping on your stomachs tomorrow night.  Everyone
understand?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "Tomorrow's seminar will deal with the other part of your responsibility
with the male pledges, disciplining them and how to go about it.  For that
part we got a special instructor for you, and I'll tell you that we're very
lucky to have her.  Getting a class from her will be a real honor for you,
because it's not normal to have someone of that caliber willing to spend
time with freshman pledges."

   Lisa heart skipped a beat and she began to sweat.  It sounded very
likely that tomorrow's "special instructor" would be Dr.  Ruth Burnside.

   *****

   Heather planned to be in and out of the house throughout the day, but
told Lisa that she would be available if there were any problems or
questions about the cleanup.  With that an idea occurred to Lisa, to ask
Heather to do a preliminary inspection in the evening to give the pledges a
chance to correct deficiencies Sunday morning.  The thought of consulting
Heather ahead of time would not have occurred to any of Lisa's companions.

   Everyone, both Heather and the other pledges, took it for granted that
Lisa was in charge.  Lisa decided to tackle the yard work first before the
temperature outside got much hotter.  Because they were not allowed to wear
any clothing apart from their work shoes, the pledges were only responsible
for the back yard, not the front.  Nevertheless, there was plenty to do,
not the least of which was washing down the side of the house and cleaning
dozens of windows.  Fortunately the hedges already had been trimmed, but
the grass had to be mowed and edged and weeding taken care of.  Weeding was
particularly arduous, because the sorority did not allow the use of any
herbicides.  All weeds had to be removed by hand.

   There was the pool, which had to be cleaned and re-chlorinated.  The
manual stated that not a single dead leaf could be present in the yard, so
for nearly an hour there was a scavenger hunt for dead leaves.  The
sorority's mosquito trap had to be cleaned out, mold cleaned off the
outdoor tables and chairs, and finally the patio had to be swept.  Lisa
looked at the clock with dismay with they finished, because it already was
3:00 p.m.  and the pledges had not touched anything indoors.

   There had to be a break for lunch.  Lisa decided the pledges could save
themselves some time by combining lunch and dinner and preparing only a
single large late-afternoon meal.  In the morning they would eat cold
leftovers to avoid having to wash any more cooking utensils and re-clean
the stove.

   "Eat up, 'cause we're not gonna dirty up the kitchen again after we're
done."

   Once the pledges finished eating, the kitchen took up most of the rest
of the afternoon.  Unlike in the fraternity the previous week, the
Four-Betas did not intentionally leave all the dirty dishes for the
pledges, but still, there was a lot they needed to do.  As always, Lisa
took the worst jobs for herself.  For example, she was the one who cleaned
the ovens and scrubbed out the trashcans.

   The next phase was the bathrooms.  The pledges used Lisa's system of
cleaning two bathrooms at a time.  Once a bathroom was finished Lisa put a
piece of tape over the door.  She flatly told her companions that the only
bathroom any of them could use was the pledge toilet downstairs.  After a
bathroom was clean and taped, re-entry was strictly prohibited.

   There was a final task for the night before Lisa let the pledges get
some sleep, and that was linens and towels.  Lisa instructed her companions
to wash, dry, and fold linens, figuring it would be hard for her companions
to screw up linens.  Meanwhile she swept and dusted upstairs, with the
intention of forbidding anyone to go back up once the linen closets were
restocked.

   As the pledges were wrapping up in the linen room, Heather returned from
the campus library.  As she went upstairs she was confronted by the sight
of a thoroughly vacuumed carpet and tape on the bathroom doors.  She used
one of the bathrooms, but was careful to leave it the same way she found it
and to put the tape back on the door.  Obviously Pledge Lisa was leaving as
little to chance as she could.

   The pledges returned upstairs to restock the linen closets.  As they did
so Lisa knelt at Heather's door and asked permission to speak with her. 
She handed Heather the manual and asked her opinion about how well the
upstairs part of the house had been cleaned.

   Heather told Lisa to get up.  The other pledges nervously clustered at
the top of the stairs, but Lisa told them to go to the basement and get
ready for bed.  Her tone clearly was, "I'll handle this.  You guys get out
of here." Heather was impressed when they immediately filed down the stairs
without saying another word.

   Lisa relayed to Heather what was and was not finished.  She thought the
entire upstairs was done, along with the kitchen and linen room.  The
downstairs would be finished in the morning.  Heather took up Lisa's
request to get a preliminary walk-through to fix problems.  It seemed there
were plenty, mostly minor things but still violations that would have
resulted in swats to the pledges' bottoms had they not been corrected. 
Heather caught a total of 53 violations, which Lisa wrote down.  Lisa's
foresight to seek Heather's advice saved the pledges a total of 53 swats
the following afternoon.

   *****

   After six hours of sleep, the pledges were up again to finish the
downstairs and basement.  They ate a very late cold breakfast, washed what
remained of the dishes, and spent the final hour following Lisa's
instructions to look for and correct deficiencies.  Following what she had
learned from Heather's walk-through the night before, Lisa was able to fix
many problems herself.

   By the time the pledges finished, none of them questioned anything Lisa
was commanding them to do.  She told them what to do, and they did it. 
They worked as a team, with Lisa clearly their leader.

   As the pledges showered and got ready for their afternoon training
seminar, Heather wandered through the house, very impressed with its
condition.  She and Tracy would be hard-pressed to find anything not in
compliance with the inspection manual.  She noticed the tape still left on
the bathroom doors.  No sooner had she noticed that violation, Pledge
Cherine came running upstairs to pull it off.  At the last moment Lisa had
remembered the tape, and sent Cherine to take care of it.

   *****

   At noon the pledges were kneeling in the sitting room waiting for
Heather's next instructions.  She handed Lisa the keys to their lockers and
told them to get their notebooks and put on their shower shoes.

   Heather ordered the pledges to go outside in the hot sunlight and to get
into a minivan.  There was some whistling from street as the pledges piled
into the van, so they got in as quickly as possible.  They would be
traveling naked of course, but fortunately the van had tinted windows so
the pledges would not be seen by other drivers.

   Heather drove the pledges around the university to a suburban
neighborhood on the other side.  The area consisted mostly of nice
one-story houses built in the 1960's hidden behind trees and hedges.  Lisa
recognized the neighborhood from last February.  Sure enough, they were
headed to Ruth Burnside's house.

   The van pulled up in the driveway.  Heather turned to face the pledges.

   "When we get out, I want you all lined up behind me.  I will lead you to
the front door and ring the doorbell.  I will lead you into a large living
room.  You will go to the left and get on your knees in line.  Once you're
inside, you will keep your mouths shut unless someone talks to you."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "Our instructor's name is Dr.  Ruth Burnside.  She's one of our
economics professors, but she's also an expert in the topic of erotic
discipline, which is why we're here.  I'll introduce each of you one by
one. When I say your name, you will stand up, step forward, and introduce
yourself.  Once you shake Dr.  Burnside's hand, you will step back and
return to your kneeling position.  Do you understand me?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "You are not to speak unless she talks to you first.  If you do speak to
her, you will address her as Dr.  Burnside.  Consider this a special class
from a top-rated university professor, which is exactly what it is."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   The pledges exited the vehicle and stood naked on the driveway.  They
were not very visible to the rest of the neighborhood because of all the
trees and bushes, but still they were relieved to have the door open and to
be let inside.  Burnside was dressed in one of her business suits,
immaculate, as she always was whenever she taught.

   The Four-Beta Sergeant-at-Arms shook the professor's hand and led the
pledges inside.  They entered a very large living room and quickly turned
to the left as instructed.  Once the pledges were kneeling, Heather stood
in front her group.

   Lisa and the other pledges noticed a table full of discipline implements
and restraints, along with Burnside's punishment bench, in the middle of
the room.  There were a couple of wooden dining chairs as well.

   Heather exchanged some pleasantries with the professor, and then
described the tasks and lessons that the pledges had completed so far. 
Burnside asked if any of the pledges had been punished yet.  Heather
responded that Bernadette and Kathleen each had been punished once,
Bernadette for disobeying an order and Kathleen for inappropriate behavior
during a practical exercise.  Heather relayed that Lisa already had been
punished twice, "because she was so hard-headed and spirited."

   Heather called the pledges to stand up one by one and introduce
themselves.  When it was Lisa's turn to shake the professor's hand,
Burnside acted as though they were meeting the very first time.  However,
she gave her student a subtle, but very knowing look that seemed to say
"hard-headed and spirited, huh?  We'll have to work on that."

   Burnside sent Heather to the kitchen to call out the three young men who
were to be the subjects of the afternoon's practical exercise.  She opened
the door and three very nervous naked college-age males followed her into
the living room.  Each was handcuffed.  Their pubic hair had been shaved
off, making their genitals look much more exposed and vulnerable.  Burnside
picked up a riding crop and used it to direct the subjects to kneel in line
opposite the pledges.

   Lisa recognized one of the subjects.  His name was Mark Gertz and he was
Burnside's current Teaching Assistant.  Lisa also knew, from having talked
to Cecilia, that Mark was Burnside's favorite "sub" and that she had
officially collared him.  The professor and her TA had entered into a
formal agreement that he was her slave and subject to any punishment or
humiliation she chose to inflict on him.

   As for the other two, Lisa had not seen them before.  They looked very
young, not any older than the pledges.  Lisa later learned that Mark had
recruited them from a human sexuality class he had taken with them in the
spring.  She found out that Mark had a real talent for identifying possible
masochists and convincing them to submit to the professor.

   One of the younger men had a furious erection, much to his dismay and
the women's amusement.  Burnside ordered him to stand up and approach the
pledges.  As he stood miserably with his penis sticking straight out, she
casually asked him some personal questions.  She moved to sexual topics
that aroused him, which heightened his embarrassment and increased his
arousal.

   "You know, Steve, it must be really embarrassing to have to stand there
like that, in front of four beautiful naked young women, and have your
little wienie sticking out.  Don't you find that totally humiliating?"

   "I...  I...  mean...  "

   "You'd better answer, Wienie-Boy.  I mean, think about it.  You'll see
these young women on campus, and that's how they'll remember you, as the
pathetic little Wienie-Boy.  In fact, I'd bet that's what they'll call you.
Don't you find that totally humiliating?"

   The subject turned dark red from embarrassment.  His distress was
clearly visible on his tormented face.

   "Y...  yes...  Dr.  Burnside...  I'm embarrassed."

   Tears started running down his cheeks.

   "Oh, how sad.  So now you're crying.  Aww...  and those are real tears,
coming from the Wienie-Boy.  Now they'll really remember you, as not just
as Wienie-Boy, but as Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy."

   Burnside turned to Lisa.

   "Pledge Lisa, what is this kid's name?"

   "Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy, Dr.  Burnside."

   Burnside pushed Steve to his knees.

   "What is your name?"

   "I...  I mean...  Cr...  Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy...  "

   Burnside waited a second, as though he needed to say something else. 
Suddenly she struck him savagely across the back with her riding crop.

   "You forgot to address me properly, Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy!  Where's your
respect?"

   She struck again.

   "Ahhh!"

   "I...  Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy...  Dr.  Burnside...  "

   "There, was that so hard?  Not nearly as hard as you are...  "

   With that Burnside grabbed Steve's arm and forced him back on his feet.
She lightly ran a finger over his erect penis as she turned to the pledges.

   "Cry-Baby Wienie-Boy needs some relief.  What he needs is to have a nice
big cum right out here in front of us all.  So, which one of you is going
to volunteer for doing us that honor?"

   Bernadette's hand shot up.

   "Pledge Bernadette.  Stand up please."

   Bernadette stood up.

   "Who's holding the jar to catch the sperm?"

   "I...  I guess I'll have Pledge Cherine help."

   Cherine nervously stood up.  Burnside handed her a large jar.

   "OK you two.  Have at it."

   Ignoring the miserable and humiliated look on Steve's face, Bernadette
grabbed his penis and began massaging it.  Applying some of what she had
learned from the initial Four-Beta lesson in male sexual anatomy, she
teased him by rubbing her breasts against his arm and chest, while Cherine
laid one hand on his bottom and held the jar with the other.

   As soon as Bernadette began stroking his organ Steve climaxed.  He
moaned as his semen shot into the jar.  Once he finished Cherine handed the
jar to Bernadette, who held it up for the rest of the room.  Heather handed
Cherine a box of tissues.  She took several and used them to wipe off the
end of Steve's softening penis.

   Burnside told Bernadette to put the jar on the table and instructed both
pledges to return to their kneeling positions with the others.  She
instructed Heather to position a dining room chair in front of the pledges.
She then ordered Steve to stand next to the other freshman and wait.  Next
she ordered her TA Mark approach her and position himself so she could
remove his handcuffs.  Once the cuffs were off she told him to place his
hands on the chair with his bottom facing the four kneeling women.

   "Pledges, I expect you to start taking notes, because from this point
forward the material I am presenting will be included in the practical
exercise and evaluation."

   The pledges opened their notebooks, placed them on the floor, and
prepared to write.

   "Erotic discipline has two goals.  Those are sexual arousal through
physical stimulation and punishment through submission and physical pain.
Most erotic discipline falls somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
A mild hand-spanking after a wrestling session between two lovers in bed
would fall closer to pure sexual arousal, while punishing someone, for
example for cheating on a test, would fall closer to the other end, pure
discipline with very little sexual gratification at the moment."

   "What we're doing here will concentrate more on the punishment end of
erotic discipline.  What you'll be doing with the male pledges is forcing
them, through physical pain and the fear of physical pain, to comply with
their duties and follow orders without question.  Later we will return to
the subject of erotic spanking, but that will be only for your own benefit.
That's not something you will be using with the male pledges, at least not
at the beginning."

   "Anyhow, erotic punishment is not just about beating itself.  There are
several steps, or phases, to a good discipline session.  To start, you
should have clearly established rules of behavior and a prior agreement
that violating those rules will result in castigation.  In other words,
before there is even a hint of the first punishment for a specific offense,
your subject should understand that if he fails to comply with what you
want, you have the duty to discipline him and he has the duty to submit. 
You have to have that prior understanding, because your authority over him
is based on that prior understanding.  Now, in your case that won't be much
of a problem because the pledges are subject to the rules of the Tri-Alpha
pledge handbook.  They've already accepted their situation and all you have
to do is follow what's already been laid out for you.  But you will need to
know the rules inside and out to properly apply them."

   "Now, here's how this will affect what you do with the pledges.  For a
specific incident that results in real punishment, the first step is
identifying your subject's violation and determining why he needs to be
punished.  You need to be clear in your own mind why you are punishing him
and what you expect to get out of it.  Think everything through from
beginning to end.  Plan your scenario before you approach your subject."

   "Second, you need to let him know that he faces punishment.  Speak to
him with authority, and make sure you can articulate why you are going to
punish him.  What you say and how you say it are very important.  Being
able to cite rules from memory instead of fumbling through the rulebook
will help you considerably, so spend whatever spare time you have studying
that rulebook."

   "Third, and this absolutely crucial, you need to establish your
dominance and psychologically prepare him to submit.  Your subject needs to
accept that he should be punished.  If you do your job right, you will play
on his guilt and make him actually want to be punished.  If you can build
up tension that can only be relieved with physical pain, you will get a
much more compliant sub and probably be able to inflict a more frightening
chastisement."

   "I've given you your first example in establishing dominance for a
punishment-type scenario.  Steve's hard-on was a violation of proper
behavior.  Before touching him we verbally established dominance by making
him clearly understand that he was doing something wrong and that he needed
to be humiliated because of it.  We did that before we ever touched him,
which made him compliant for the physical humiliation that followed.  Under
ordinary circumstances I would have continued the subjugation of Steve with
corporal punishment.  The only reason I didn't is because we need to save
his bottom for the practical exercise."

   "Fourth, is the preparation of the punishment scene itself.  Think ahead
and have everything thought out.  What implement will you use, what
position will he assume, will he be restrained, will there be witnesses,
and where the punishment takes place are all considerations.  For example,
if you put a subject over your lap, a riding crop won't do you much good.
Conversely, if you have him bent over a chair, a hairbrush won't be as
effective as a paddle.  If you want to tie him, don't use a sofa where
there's nowhere to attach ropes.  You need to be sure of yourself and not
make a bunch of clumsy mistakes that will take up time and make you look
incompetent."

   Burnside paused to give the pledges time to finish writing.  She picked
up a thick leather strap and tapped the insides of Mark's thighs to get him
to spread his feet.  Then she pressed down on his lower back to make him
turn his bottom up.  His bottom-hole and the backs of his testicles were
fully visible to the four pledges.  The professor continued:

   "Now for the punishment itself.  First of all, I believe that a person
being punished should always be completely naked.  Being naked sets the
subject apart from the rest of the world and is an important gesture of
humility.  It also is a part of an unspoken agreement I have with my
subjects, that as long as they are naked I am in control of their lives.  I
take away their clothes, and they have to please me before they can earn
them back.  Their bodies and their souls are exposed and unprotected, and
will stay that way until I decide otherwise."

   "A related issue is exposure during the beating itself." Burnside
pointed at Mark's spread bottom.  "You want your subject positioned so the
anus and genitalia are on full display.  The bottom needs to be turned up
and the legs at least slightly spread.  This is necessary not just for
display, but also to prevent your subject from clenching his bottom-cheeks
and reducing the effectiveness of each blow.  The rule is, if you can't see
his asshole, then you need to reposition him."

   "Now for the blows.  Imagine a full circular swing, not one that stops
right where the bottom is.  You need to hit through your target, a nice
wide, graceful swing that will just happened to be interrupted by his butt.
Make sure you are properly positioned, so you can lay a blow evenly across
the bottom, like this...  "

   Burnside stood off to one side of Mark, making sure his bottom would
receive the full force of the blow she was about to deliver.  She drew back
her arm, and with a full confident swing struck hard across both sides of
his bottom.  The entire room echoed with a resounding CRACK!

   Mark did not move, because this was nothing new to him.  His mistress
had beaten him plenty over the past several years.  However, the pledges
could hear his breathing change and watched as a wide stripe on his bottom
quickly changed from white to pink.  Burnside repositioned herself and
tapped his bottom with the strap.

   "Each blow needs to be delivered individually.  Position yourself each
time and think about what you are doing.  Each stroke is an event in and of
itself, each one carefully thought out.  At this point I'm not worried
about the over-all punishment, I'm worried about properly delivering the
next stroke."

   CRACK!

   A second stripe, slightly overlapping the first one, changed color and
added to the pink on Mark's unprotected backside.  The pledges could see
that both strokes had been quite painful, but Mark stayed perfectly still
and silent.  His duty to his mistress was quite clear; he needed to reduce
himself to a teaching prop for Burnside's instruction.  He was nothing more
than an inanimate object until his mistress told him otherwise.

   Burnside changed her position to the other side of Mark.

   "It is very important that you punish both sides evenly.  That's how you
can tell an experienced disciplinarian from a novice.  So, every so often
you should switch sides and give a good backhanded blow, like this...  "

   CRACK!

   "Everyone understand?"

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   "Good.  In a moment you'll have your first round of target practice. 
But before we do that, I want to finish up with the overview of the
punishment experience."

   "What happens afterwards is as important as the beating itself.  After
you're done with the physical part of the punishment, you need to
successfully wind down the experience.  The point is; once you've delivered
your last blow, you don't just hang up your strap and walk off.  You don't
just tell your subject that he's released and to 'not do it again'.  Once
you're done with the physical part, you still have two things you need to
do.  First of all is a final part of the punishment itself.  That can be
corner-time, posing for pictures, extra chores, giving a speech about his
bad behavior, giving you or someone else oral sex, heavy exercising... 
just to give you a few examples.  Use your imagination.  Make sure it's
something either difficult or embarrassing.  I believe the post-whipping
part of the punishment, just like the physical part, should always be in
the nude.  The subject should not get his clothes back until the punishment
is completely over.  Once again, the message is: 'you are to serve me until
I give you your clothes back."

   "Now for the final part, redemption and forgiveness.  What you're
looking for is exorcising your subject's guilt, letting him know he's
forgiven, and making sure he understands what lesson he needs to take away
from the punishment.  There needs to be some type of ritual of redemption
at the end of the punishment, something that is meaningful to the person
being punished.  Try to make your subject understand why you had to punish
him, that it was something he needed, and you only did it because you love
him and care about him.  If you can make him feel good about having been
punished, and that the hardship he endured was something necessary for his
own well-being, then you will have had a successful punishment session. 
You're not going to get that every time, but try to get as close as
possible."

   As the pledge frantically finished writing, Burnside stepped up to Mark
and gently rubbed the stripes on his bottom.  He dutifully stayed in
position, since he had not been instructed to move.  Burnside addressed the
pledges:

   "I'm going to give you the chance to practice delivering blows with this
strap.  Please take a close look at it, familiarize yourself with how it
feels, and then pass it on to your classmate." She handed the strap to
Bernadette and continued as each pledge looked at the implement and passed
it along.  "You'll notice the leather is thick and heavy.  It's got some
flexibility and will bend upon impact, which helps it reach more of the
bottom's surface each time it hits."

   Burnside glanced at Heather and gestured with her hand that she wanted
to pledges to get off their knees.

   "PLEDGES, STAND UP!"

   The four young women scrambled to their feet.

   "Now, each of you is going to deliver four blows with this strap, two
from the left side and two backhanded blows from the right.  Pledge Lisa,
you will begin."

   Lisa took her position next to Mark.  She felt very strange punishing
the same guy who taught her seminars, but pushed that thought aside and
positioned herself to deliver the swats.  There was no difficulty for her,
given that she had punished Ken in the same manner plenty of times.

   CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!

   Lisa delivered two truly vicious swats that actually made Mark jerk from
the pain and force of the impact.  Her companions stood dumbfounded, since
they didn't know about her prior relationship with Ken.  They had assumed
that she was wielding the strap for the first time.  Lisa positioned
herself for the two backhanded blows...

   CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!

   The force of Lisa's four swats darkened Mark's bottom considerably.  She
passed her hand over his bottom, feeling satisfaction at the heat rising
from his injured skin.  The three others looked at each other, nervous that
Lisa had set such a high standard for what would be considered a good swat.

   Lisa handed the strap to Kathleen.  At first Kathleen was too nervous to
raise her arm, but then suddenly a memory rose up in her mind.  She thought
about the humiliation she suffered just a month before at the night of the
Senior Prom; when her date never showed up and she sat in her formal gown
crying in her family's living room.  The anger welled up inside her, rising
from her feet to her guts, and finally making its way into her arm.  She
delivered a truly savage blow, actually stepping into her swing.  She
gritted her teeth and struck again.

   "Good job with the force, Pledge Kathleen.  Try to concentrate a bit
more on control.  Give him another, but focus on where you're swinging."

   CRACK!!!

   "Excellent!  Now for the backhanded swipes.  Focus on your aim."

   CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!

   Kathleen stood with the strap, trembling and breathing heavily.  She was
perfectly ready to swing again, but unfortunately Burnside took the strap
from her and handed it to Bernadette.  Lisa glanced at her lover's odd
expression.  She realized that something inside Kathleen's soul had just
been released and that she very much was looking forward to taking out her
aggression on the two freshmen during the practical exercise.

   Mark had another eight swats coming to him: four from Bernadette and
four from Cherine.  Burnside was not satisfied with Cherine's backhanded
strokes and made her repeat them.

   After Cherine finished, Burnside gave a review of her lecture about
erotic punishment, emphasizing the purpose and phases of a good punishment.
She ordered the pledges to review their notes and prepare for a written
quiz on the afternoon's material.  For the next 20 minutes she professor
dictated questions about her class as the students wrote their answers.

   All that time Mark quietly kept his position.  He would stay that way
until Burnside told him to get up or until he dropped from exhaustion.  The
fact that his bottom was in serious pain and his legs were starting to
cramp was of no concern to him.  As Burnside put it: "It's mind over
matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

   *****

   The next part of Burnside's lecture was a demonstration of various
punishment positions.  Mark went over her lap as the professor showed the
pledges various positions for a hand spanking.  Each time Mark changed his
position his mistress gave him several painful swats.

   Burnside then led her sub and the pledges to the sofa.  Mark went over
her lap and properly positioned himself for another hand-spanking. 
Burnside explained:

   "For an erotic spanking, this is the best and most comfortable position
for both the spanker and spankee.  The spankee is fully supported and
comfortable, while the spanker's back is supported and there's no pressure
on her knees.  The nice thing about using a sofa is, because it's so
comfortable, you can stay like this for hours.  You can't do that with any
other position.  So if you're doing this for sexual foreplay and don't want
anything too serious, this is the best way to go."

   Burnside stood Mark up and told him to bend over and grab his ankles.

   "There are various unsupported standing positions.  To use any of these
your sub has to be completely cooperative.  These are good positions for
public punishment and embarrassment, but I don't recommend an unsupported
standing position for serious flagellation."

   Burnside struck Mark with the strap while his hands were still on his
ankles, then told him to move his hands to his knees, spread his legs as
widely as possible, and stuck hard again.  She moved him to a table and
told him to place his hands on the tabletop and spread his legs.

   "Now your sub has some support, so you can engage in some serious
ass-whipping."

   Burnside picked up a martinet and severely struck Mark several times.

   "Another variation is to have your subject lie flat on the table and
grab the opposite edge with his hands...  "

   As Mark stretched over the table, Burnside picked up a large wooden
paddle.  She gave him a couple of cruel swats and continued:

   "One position that a lot of people use is to have the subject lie flat
on his stomach, for example on top of a bed.  Mark, please lie flat on the
table."

   Mark complied, stretching himself over the table.  That position
emphasized the contrast between his purplish-red bottom and his unmarked
legs and back.  Lisa cringed, because Mark's bottom already had taken a lot
of punishment and was in bad shape.  She wondered how much more the
professor could hit him without breaking his skin.  Burnside laid her hand
on this bottom.

   "I don't like this position and never use it.  Can anyone tell me why?"

   Cherine raised her hand.

   "Dr.  Burnside...  'cause he can squeeze his bottom together?"

   "Exactly.  He can squeeze his bottom-cheeks together, which means I'm
not in control of his punishment.  Remember my rule, if you can't see his
asshole you need to reposition him.  Now let's try a variation of the lying
position."

   Burnside slipped a hard cylinder-shaped pillow under Mark's pelvis and
ordered him to spread his hands and feet.  Now he was completely exposed.
Burnside quickly took four short pieces of rope and secured Mark's wrists
and ankles to the table legs.

   "We just took a bad position and converted it to a very good one.  Now
he is exposed and his ass spread wide.  This is a relatively comfortable
position, so you can keep him like this for a long time.  It's also a very
humiliating position, so you can use it to punish a pledge during a public
event or gathering."

   Burnside picked up a riding crop.  She struck hard at the tender area
around Mark's shaved anus and the vulnerable skin at the very base of his
bottom-cheeks.  The strokes with the crop broke him.  He started crying,
but tried to stay as quiet as possible.

   Burnside ordered Kathleen to pick up two sets of chains with cuffs on
the end from the table.  Because Lisa was the tallest member of the pledge
group, the professor ordered her to stand on a chair and hang the chains
from hooks on the ceiling.  Meanwhile, Bernadette and Cherine untied the
ropes holding Mark to the table.  Mark quietly positioned himself under the
chains.  Burnside secured his hands in the cuffs and continued:

   "This position is what you use for a formal flogging.  You'll notice
that you have access to your subject's entire body.  However, that doesn't
mean that you can hit him anywhere you want.  There are areas you need to
avoid, which include the neck, the stomach, the backs of the knees, and the
part of the lower back that's not protected by the ribcage or pelvis. 
Also, you need to avoid hitting the genitals.  And there's something else
you never hit.  If you are punishing a woman, you do NOT hit her breasts. I
don't care how many times you see it in literature; you just don't do it!
That'll cause permanent injury, and that's not what we're after.  I'll mark
off the areas you need to avoid and then give you a demo."

   Burnside took a very thick black magic marker and drew lines all over
Mark's body.  With a red magic marker she drew X's in the areas not safe to
strike.  When she finished her sub's body looked something like a butcher's
diagram.  She picked up a buggy-whip and positioned herself to strike:

   "You'll notice this whip is a modified version of what teamsters used on
horses.  It looks scarier than is really is.  The leather is designed to
sting but not break the skin.  It's one of the most effective discipline
items I have, because it hurts like hell but I can use it for a very long
time and not worry about serious injury.

   CRACK!...  CRACK!...  CRACK!...  CRACK!...  CRACK!...  CRACK!...  CRACK!

   Burnside flogged Mark in the areas labeled as "safe" to punish.  Within
a few minutes he was covered with red lines crisscrossing his upper thighs
and upper back.  He cried pitifully as his mistress finished whipping him.
With that Burnside's demonstration with Mark ended.  She unhooked his cuffs
and told him to kneel in the corner with his hands behind his head.

   Upon finishing the demonstration portion of her lesson, Burnside ordered
the pledges and their mentor to take seats at the dining room table.  She
ordered Mark to get up off his knees and offer her guests glasses of juice
or mineral water.  He painfully got up and moved to the kitchen.  His body
was covered with black and red lines from the magic markers, as well as
whip marks.  His bottom was a dark purplish-red.  He not only was in
serious pain, but also very exhausted.

   Once the glasses of juice and water were on the table, Burnside sent
Mark back into the kitchen to bring out bowls of fruit salad.  The pledges
were grateful for the food, even though it was little more than a healthy
snack.  It took the edge off their appetites and helped prepare them for
the next part of the day's adventure, the practical exercise.

   As soon as he finished serving, Burnside directed Mark to return to his
spot in the corner and get back on his knees.  There was no kindness from
the professor to her sub, but that didn't matter.  Mark's purpose in life
was to satisfy his mistress, no matter what.  The more unreasonable she was
with him, the harder he worked to please her.  The crueler she was to him,
the more he loved her.



   Chapter 13 - The three-mile streaking challenge

   The next portion of the lesson was a quick review of the implements
themselves.  Burnside had an impressive collection of leather belts,
straps, floggers, martinets, crops, whips, canes, and paddles of various
shapes, sizes, and materials.  She also had some standard kitchen items
such as breadboards, bath brushes, and hairbrushes to show how ordinary
items that could be used for impromptu discipline.  She handed the
implements one by one to the pledges and discussed the advantages and
drawbacks of each.  As she talked, the pledges carefully examined the items
and passed them along to their companions.

   Burnside held up a very old paddle-shaped breadboard:

   "This breadboard and I go back a very long way, because it's one of the
first implements I ever had.  I was only 13 when I punished my first
boyfriend, and this is what I used on him."

   Lisa and her companions glanced at each other.  They couldn't imagine
what Burnside must have been like when she was only 13 years old, but
apparently her personality and sexual tastes had not changed much in the
ensuing quarter century.

   The two freshmen that had stood quietly the entire afternoon now were
ready to perform their duty as practice subjects for the pledges.  Burnside
called them forward and told each to stand next to a chair.  She directed
Heather to unlock and take off their handcuffs.  She tapped her right eye,
a signal that she wanted Heather to blindfold the subjects.

   She held up some printouts and addressed the pledges:

   "Now for your practical exercise, combining implements and positions.  I
have prepared these worksheets to help you with the evaluation.  I want you
to identify the best position for each implement and the best implement for
each position.  You will need to explain why and also tell me what
implements are not appropriate for a given position.  You will use your
practical experience to experiment and tell me what's most effective."

   She passed out the papers and continued:

   "Don't worry about hurting your subjects.  That's what they're here for,
to give you the chance to have some hands-on practice inflicting corporal
punishment.  They understand that they're going to be feeling some real
pain in a couple of minutes, and it's what they expect.  Do not try to
speak to them, because they are instructed not to interact with you.  The
only talking I want to hear is you telling them to move or to assume a
position.  Whatever you tell them to do they are instructed to obey."

   "You'll be working in two-member teams.  I want you to take turns, for
each of you to strike your subject at least twice with each implement on
the table.  Now, I've explained what positions I think work best and why.
However, if you think you can do better, by all means, try out your ideas.
Some things work better with some disciplinarians than others.  If your
experience differs from mine, then I'd like to see your reasoning and the
results."

   "I will be assessing not only your written statements, but also the
markings themselves.  I do expect you to exercise responsibility.  Be
careful about breaking the skin of your subjects.  If you think you're
close or you see blood blisters, stop and let me know.  I'll tell you if
it's safe to continue.  OK, enough talk.  Pair up, choose your subject, and
apply what you've learned."

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   As the pledges got ready to begin punishing their subjects, Heather
pulled out her digital camera.  She planned to photograph the discipline
session and add the pictures to the Four-Beta digital archives.  At first
Lisa and Kathleen were going to pair-off together with Steve, but their
mentor stopped them.  She told Kathleen to go with Bernadette and Cherine
to join Lisa.  The Sergeant-at-Arms assumed that Kathleen and Lisa would
concentrate better if not allowed to work with each other.

   Cherine had none of Lisa's experience disciplining guys.  The experience
was totally new and at the beginning rather frightening.  Lisa told her
companion to put Steve over her lap for a spanking with her hand, and then
with a short, thick hairbrush.  It was a totally strange feeling for the
freshman to be sitting naked in a chair and have a silent, but equally
naked young man over her lap.  She could feel his penis and testicles
pressing against her thigh.  She did not slap very effectively with her
hand, but her confidence started building when she started using the
hairbrush.  She began to enjoy herself and the satisfying rhythm of the
POP...  POP...  POP of the wood as it made contact with Steve's skin

   Lisa briefly took her turn with the hairbrush before they instructed
Steve to put his hands on the table.  As instructed, they made sure his
legs were spread and his back was arched so they could see his bottom-hole.
Lisa gave Steve two smacks with the paddle, and then handed the implement
to Cherine.  After Cherine delivered a couple of respectable paddle swats,
the two women stopped to fill out the first portion of the forms and note
their observations.

   Lisa picked up a heavy leather strap, a leather paddle without holes,
and one with holes.  She struck with the two paddles first, fascinated at
the pattern left by the paddle with the holes.  Cherine followed suit.  The
two women wrote their observations and continued with the strap.

   CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!

   Lisa struck hard with the strap, darkening Steve's already reddish
bottom.  She shifted position to hit him with a backhanded swat:

   CRACK!!!

   Lisa handed the strap to Cherine, who took a deep breath, stepped back,
and delivered a truly vicious swat.

   CRACK!!!

   Steve broke from the force of Cherine's swat.  He twisted from the pain,
which, of course, was a stupid thing to do.  Cherine snapped:

   "I'm not done with you!  Get you're hands back on the table!"

   CRACK!!!

   After a couple more swats with the strap, some hits with a belt, and
some more with a martinet, the two women paused to enter their information
into the worksheet.  The next implement they decided to experiment with was
the riding crop.  Lisa decided to try something new.  She ordered Steve to
lie on his back and hold his knees up.  Once his legs were held in place by
his interlocked arms, Steve's bottom was spread wide, his anus pointing
straight up, his testicles and penis on full display, and his bottom and
upper thighs stretched tight.  Lisa decided to test his endurance and his
resolve to stay quiet no matter what.

   Lisa and Cherine took turns viciously striking at the tender skin
surrounding Steve's bottom-hole and the insides of his upper thighs.  They
struck over and over as the fiery pain mounted around that intimate region.
Steve moaned and gritted his teeth, but just as the pledges were determined
to break him, he was just as determined to resist as much as possible. 
Steve's face was wet from tears and sweat under his blindfold and he was
grunting from the pain.  Steve's inner thighs and area around his anus
turned quite dark as Lisa and Cherine struck over and over.  Lisa, whose
aim was very good, concentrated on his bottom, while Cherine, who was still
a novice, concentrated on his thighs.

   Heather told Lisa and Cherine to stop for a moment and to pose next to
their subject.  Heather snapped a couple of pictures while the two pledges
stood to his sides, each resting a hand on one of his knees.

   Bernadette and Kathleen already had their subject attached to the
ceiling for the final whipping.  Rather than wait for them to finish, Lisa
decided to have Steve lie on the table with the cylindrical pillow under
his hips and his hands and feet tied to the table legs.  He would have to
take the whip strokes lying down instead of standing up.

   Because Steve's bottom was in such bad shape, his two tormentors had to
concentrate on his thighs and upper back.  Lisa discovered that flogging
downwards was somewhat more difficult than flogging sideways.  She was
careful to note that observation, because she suspected Burnside would
critique her for not using the best position for the whip.  Steve was
crying by the time the two women let him off the table.

   Lisa decided to end Steve's punishment.  She asked Heather for a pair of
handcuffs, cuffed his hands, and got ready to lead him to the corner. 
Heather took a final picture of her two pledges and their victim before
Lisa guided him to the corner and told him to get on his knees.  Bernadette
and Kathleen wrapped up shortly afterwards, posed for a final picture, and
led their subject to the corner to join the others.

   While the three young men knelt uncomfortably, Burnside took the
worksheets from the students.  Heather ordered them to line up and kneel
while Burnside went over the papers.

   "Pledge Lisa!"

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside!"

   "You made an observation about using the lying position for the whip. 
Stand up and share that with the rest of us."

   Lisa stood up and explained why she felt it was harder to use the whip
on a subject that was lying down than on one that was standing.  Her answer
seemed to satisfy the professor.

   The pledges final duty was to pose for a picture with the professor. 
Burnside picked up a riding crop and stood in the middle of the group while
Heather ordered the pledges to kneel upright with their hands at their
sides.  The picture was a formal portrait and would be included in the
Four-Beta yearbook.

   *****

   Heather and Burnside ordered the pledges into the kitchen to prepare a
late meal for the household.  Meanwhile they helped themselves to the
services of the punished males.  They figured Steve would not be of much
use because of his recent orgasm, but the other two young masochists were
certainly ready for some fun.  Burnside took Mark for herself and let
Heather take the other freshman.  Heather led her partner into the guest
bedroom while Burnside took Mark to the main bedroom.  The two doors shut
and the pledges were left alone.

   With four sets of hands working in the kitchen, the meal was ready in a
few minutes.  Heather and Burnside showed no sign of coming back out
anytime soon, so Bernadette decided to go back out into the living room and
play with Steve.  She began talking sweetly to him and gently rubbing her
breasts up and down his chest.  Her original intention was just to tease
him, but soon he was very hard.  She decided to take a small risk.  She
unlocked his handcuffs and led him to the bathroom.  She checked the
medicine cabinet for condoms, and sure enough, she found a box.  Excellent.

   Bernadette passionately kissed Steve and ran her hands over his
welt-covered backside.  He responded immediately, the physical sensation of
the delicious throbbing combining with the feel of the lovely young body
pressed up against him driving him wild with desire.  He desperately kissed
her.

   Bernadette planned to have Steve lie on his back and straddle him, but
suddenly he took control of their love-making.  As soon as he had the
condom on he pushed her to her hands and knees.  She was wet with lust and
desire and did not resist.  He gently massaged her vulva, then grabbed her
hips and plunged in.  Bernadette gasped with delight.  Oh, this was good.
It turned out that Steve was an excellent lover and capable of multiple
orgasms in one day.  Like Lisa's boyfriend Ken, all it took was some good
sensual pain to unlock his sexual being.

   Fortunately the bathroom had a shower, so Bernadette and her momentary
lover decided to clean up.  They closed the door of the stall and soaped
each other's bodies.  Steve massaged Bernadette's body, first her back and
then her breasts.  Finally his hands wandered towards her stomach.  She did
not resist as he continued his way towards her vagina.  He soaped and
massaged that sensitive area and brought her to yet another orgasm.  The
couple kissed desperately as she climaxed a second time.

   They toweled off.  Bernadette put Steve's handcuffs and blindfold back
on and led him back to the corner.  She didn't know if he'd get in trouble
if Burnside and Heather found out about their love-making session, but, why
take chances?  She cleaned up the evidence in the bathroom as best she
could before rejoining her companions in the kitchen.

   *****

   While Bernadette was occupied with Steve and Cherine was busy cutting
vegetables, Lisa and Kathleen slipped out into Burnside's back yard.  They
were surprised to see an old friendly-looking dog struggling to his feet in
the grass, but the dog simply wagged his tail, barked once, and lay back
down.  Obviously he was used to strange people in the yard and had long
since stopped being bothered by them.

   The lovers had gone outside with a simple idea of exchanging some hugs
and kisses.  As much as they wanted to make love, the lack of time and the
presence of an old friendly dog staring at them deterred them from
completely indulging themselves.  Even so, they kissed for a long time and
ran their hands up and down each other's bodies.  They hugged tightly,
enjoying the feel of each other's bare skin in the warm summer air.

   As they held each other, Lisa's secret desire to spank her lover's thin
bottom returned.  She had no desire to do anything serious to her, but did
hope to someday put her over her lap.  She decided to try a small test to
see if Kathleen would submit to a spanking.  She rubbed her lover's bottom
and gently patted her bottom-cheeks in a spanking motion.

   Kathleen buried her mouth into Lisa's, leaving her unsure whether her
unspoken message had been understood.  Lisa kissed Kathleen's neck and
again patted her bottom.

   "Hmm...  "

   "So...  have you been a good girl today?"

   "Hmm...  maybe."

   "...  or maybe just a bit naughty?"

   "Maybe...  "

   Once again Lisa patted Kathleen's unprotected bottom, a bit firmer this
time, almost lightly slapping it.

   "Because if you're being a bit naughty on me, we'll just have to fix
that, now won't we?"

   Kathleen responded by kissing her hard.  Lisa had her answer.  Her lover
would be perfectly willing to take a spanking.  Her heart raced, because
now she knew that the next time she was alone with Kathleen, an erotic
spanking would be part of their foreplay.

   *****

   Bernadette returned to the kitchen just as Cherine finished cutting
vegetables.  It was obvious she had showered, but it was even more obvious
she was content and relaxed.  Cherine gave her companion a very hostile
look, angry at having been left alone to deal with dinner.

   "Where were you?"

   "I was in the bathroom."

   "By yourself?"

   "No.  I was with Steve."

   "Thanks a lot.  Real nice of you three to leave me alone in the kitchen.
I really appreciate it."

   "Look, Cherine, I'm sorry.  I was horny.  He was horny too.  I didn't
get the finger fuck from the VP like you did.  I was just horny, OK?"

   "Yeah, I guess."

   "Anyway, where's Lisa and Kathleen?"

   "I guess they're in the backyard."

   "I go get 'em."

   "No, I'll get 'em.  You deal with lunch.  I'll get 'em."

   The patio door went open and Maynard let out a half-hearted bark.  Maybe
he wasn't that great of a watchdog, but at least he saved Lisa and Kathleen
the embarrassment of being caught making-out by their fellow pledge.  They
separated before she went out into the yard, and were just standing when
she finally found them.

   "What are you doing?"

   "Just...  talking."

   Cherine tightened her lips.  It was obvious they were flustered from the
interruption and that they had been doing a lot more than "just talking".
Cherine was angry, but decided not to push that point.  The three pledges
went back inside and finished preparing the meal.

   The dinner was a very strange one.  Burnside and Heather were the only
people at the table who were dressed.  The pledges and the three male
subjects sat at the table naked.  The pledges were nervous while the males
moved stiffly from having been so severely punished.  Still, Burnside's
guests had worked up a good appetite and the food put everyone in a better
mood.  They relaxed and ate at a very leisurely pace.

   After eating the pledges knelt while Burnside gave them some final
thoughts on erotic discipline.  She noted that they all had done very well
and had passed the afternoon's practical exercise.  As she spoke the three
males cleaned up.

   "Alright, that's a wrap from my end.  Always remember that discipline is
more about psychology than it is flagellation.  Take your time and think
through anything you do."

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   "PLEDGES, STAND UP!"

   The pledges scrambled to their feet.  They put on their shower shoes and
filed out the door.  They were exposed on the driveway while Heather
fumbled for the key to open the vehicle, but fortunately it already was
getting dark.  Finally the pledges got into the minivan for the trip back
to the sorority house.

   *****

   The house was empty with the exception of Tracy, who was back from her
Reserve drill and dressed in a Four-Beta PT uniform.  At the moment the
pledges didn't think there was anything significant about Tracy wearing a
PT uniform, but they had forgotten that they had not done their PT for the
day.  Instead their minds were on the inspection.

   The pledges and their two mentors spent the next hour carefully going
through the house.  Tracy found a total of 26 violations.  That was not bad
considering the size of the house, the detailed rules laid out in the
manual, and the fact that only four women had been available to conduct the
clean-up.

   The pledges returned to the sitting room, assuming that either one or
all of them was due 26 swats with the strap.  Tracy explained the rules,
emphasizing that yes, indeed the rules had been violated and the women were
facing punishment.  Then she sprung a surprise on them:

   "I'm giving you a choice, because 26 violations is not that bad.  You
haven't done your PT for the day, and today we're doing lower body.  I was
thinking a good three-mile run might be a good substitute for 26 swats for
each of you.  So how about it?  What's your choice, three miles or 26
swats?

   Of course the pledges chose running the three miles, not yet realizing
there was a catch.

   "Good choice.  Alright, line up and get ready to stretch."

   While Tracy led the pledges stretching, Heather went to the basement to
pick up their running shoes and socks.  She laid the footwear near the
front door.

   Once the pledges finished stretching, Tracy ordered them to put on their
shoes and socks.  The four women became increasingly concerned, because
their uniforms were nowhere in sight.

   "Get in the van."

   The pledges looked at each other with very worried expressions, but did
not dare hesitate to go into the driveway and load themselves into the
vehicle.  Tracy jumped behind the wheel while Heather got into the
passenger seat.  The van quickly pulled away from the safety of the
sorority house.  It was Heather who broke the news:

   "You're doing a three-mile run, but we're gonna make it interesting. 
What you'll really be doing is a three-mile streak."

   The Sergeant-at-Arms smiled slightly as Cherine and Kathleen gasped.

   "That's right, ladies.  We're making you streak three miles back to the
sorority.  This is one of your tests.  We're giving you an hour to get
back, which, if you keep moving, will be plenty of time."

   "But...  "

   The only 'butt' will be your red butt if you don't make it back in time.
We're making you do this for a reason.  We're testing you to see how well
you deal with a dangerous and stressful situation.  We want you to stick
together and work with each other to get across campus.  That's your PT for
the night.  A simple three-mile run across campus, but in the nude.  It's
Sunday night, so things should be pretty quiet."

   The pledges sat in horrified silence as the van exited the opposite side
of the university and continued in the direction of Burnside's house. 
Tracy turned into a small neighborhood park and opened the door.

   "Everyone out.  This is your starting point.  We've measured it, and
it's exactly three miles from here to the sorority."

   As the pledges huddled next to each other in terror, Tracy handed Lisa a
cell phone.

   "If you get in trouble, just hit the speed dial.  But if you hit that
speed dial and we have to come get you, you'll fail the exercise, you'll
get your butts whipped, and you'll have to do it all over again tomorrow
night.  Don't forget; tomorrow's Monday and there will be a bunch more
people out on the streets.  So, you might as well save yourselves the
trouble and do it right the first time."

   Y...  yes, ma'am."

   "If you go straight down this street, you'll end up by the duck pond
next to the parking lot behind Huntington Hall.  From there you'll need to
get to the main library.  Sergeant-at-Arms Heather will be waiting for you
in the courtyard.  Whatever route you take to get there, you'll have to run
past her and make sure she sees you and gets your picture.  The pictures
will be important, because that'll be our proof you didn't try to cheat. 
Once you get to the academic buildings area you'll need to be very careful
to avoid Campus Security.  Don't forget they're on bicycles, so they can
move pretty fast.  If you're chased, it won't do you any good to split up,
because all of you have to complete the run as a group.  You're working as
a team.  If someone doesn't make it, you all fail."

   The pledges were silent, even Lisa.  This was going to be very, very
risky.  Tracy continued:

   "Once you get through the old part of the campus you'll have to cross a
couple of busy streets.  I'd suggest you stay on campus as long as you can
and run parallel until you get to Pageant Street.  Don't cross at the
light; try to use the crosswalk instead.  Then cut straight across and run
like hell to the sorority.  If you move fast enough the city cops won't get
you."

   Tracy and Heather got back into the van.  Tracy backed out as Heather
called out the window:

   "Have fun!  I'll see you at the library, with my camera!"

   The van pulled away, leaving the pledges stranded.  Now their only
choices were get back to the sorority or face getting arrested.  The others
immediately took off, but Lisa snapped:

   "WAIT!"

   As her panicky companions stopped, Lisa called them back into the
shadows behind a some bushes.

   "Look, you just can't go running off!  Do you even know what route we're
taking?"

   Bernadette responded in an exasperated, panicky voice:

   "Yeah, we're going to the duck pond and then running to the library."

   "Right across the quad, with a bunch of people running around?  I don't
think so!  There's a back route, a paved nature path that's hidden right up
until you get to the library.  That's the way we're going!  We're hitting
the duck pond, but then we'll be turning right.  We won't need to cross the
quad at all!  That's the first part.  You guys OK with that?"

   "Yes!"

   "We'll have to get off the path to get to Heather.  Once she gets our
picture, we go right back on.  That path continues to the Student Center.
Yes, once we get to the Student Center we'll have to run in the open, but
that's only gonna be for the last mile."

   Lisa's companions nervously nodded.

   "Now, here's another problem.  Who isn't used to running three miles
non-stop?"

   Cherine and Bernadette raised their hands.

   "Then we're gonna have to walk part of the way.  This'll sound crazy,
but we're gonna have to walk that stretch of path between the duck pond and
the library.  If we don't, you'll be winded right when we leave the campus,
and that's when we're gonna have run the fastest."

   "Walk on a back trail?  At night?  In the nude?  Are you out of your
mind?"

   "It's what we're gonna have to do.  Either we walk the trail or you'll
be puking on Pageant Street.  Heather will bitch us out for being late
getting to her, but that's my plan.  If there's no one on the trail after
the library, we're walking a bit more and saving our breath for the final
part.  I'm not worried about the trail.  There's four of us, and anyhow
it'll keep us away from the academic buildings.  From the Student Center we
run straight through Old Campus and we're not stopping until we get to the
sorority.  I want you guys rested for that final part."

   "And we're walking?"

   "Why do you think they're giving us an hour?  There's no way we can run
straight across campus and they know that.  If any of you has a better
idea, I'd love to hear it."

   No one spoke up.

   "A final thing.  If we get separated we'll meet up behind the big pine
tree near the Pageant Street crosswalk.  If you lose the rest of us, don't
panic, just head to the pine tree and wait."

   The other three pledges calmed down considerably.  Now they had a
workable plan other than simply trying to run three miles non-stop across
campus.  Lisa's route ensured that as few people at the university as
possible would see them and minimize the chance of being caught by Campus
Security.  There was a back-up plan for anyone who got separated.  The
pledges realized that if they stayed calm and stuck to Lisa's strategy, in
an hour they would be back at the sorority house laughing about their
experience.

   "OK, it's show-time!  First stop, the duck pond!"

   The pledges ran along the sidewalk at full speed past the quiet houses.
It seemed that every dog in the neighborhood was barking at them, but
fortunately the streets were deserted.  In an eight-block stretch only once
did a car go past.  The pledges jumped behind a hedge to let it go by. 
They scrambled back onto the sidewalk when the porch light went on and
continued running.

   The four women crouched near the intersection leading back on campus. 
Traffic was fairly light, which gave Lisa an idea.  They would not try
crossing at the red light when the drivers were stopped, would have a good
look at them, and possibly have time to call the police.  Instead they
would cross when the light was green and not give their spectators a chance
to react.  Hopefully no one would get hit and there would be no accidents,
but the point was to cross quickly with as little warning as possible.

   As they huddled in the darkness, Lisa got behind the others and looked
for a gap in the traffic:

   "GO!"

   Four naked young women ran across the wide street in front of several
very astonished drivers.  One driver swerved and another beeped, but they
made it across without incident and disappeared into the dubious safety of
the duck pond area.  Lisa led her companions to a stand of trees and the
entrance to a path that would have been invisible had she not known it was
there.  Their hearts were pounding as they stood in the darkness.

   "OK, in we go!"

   The women shook with tension and tried to catch their breath as their
eyes tried to adjust to the dark wooded area.  Lisa had another observation
that did not put the others at ease at all:

   "I know that Campus Security patrols along here.  If they come through
and we see them in time, we jump into the bushes.  If they catch us, I'll
just try to reason with them.  Don't any of you say anything if that
happens.  Let me do the talking."

   For the next 15 minutes the women walked in the darkness, following the
same path Lisa's friends Jason and Ken followed the previous fall when they
went streaking after losing that card game.  They walked at a fast pace,
but Lisa warned them not to try to run.

   "After we get to the library there'll be plenty of running."

   After spending what seemed an eternity walking the women saw lights
shining between the trees.  They had made the halfway point, when they
would have to go out into the lit courtyard, get their picture taken, and
then hopefully retreat back to the trail.

   Lisa drew a deep breath and led her companions running into the
courtyard where Heather was waiting for them.  To the pledges horror it
turned out she wasn't alone.  Almost every member of the Tri-Alpha
Fraternity was with her.  Each one of those guys was cheering and had a
camera.

   The pledges reluctantly ran up to Heather as the cameras flashed wildly.
She admonished them:

   "Too slow, ladies, too slow!  You'd better pick up the pace if you don't
want to be doing this again tomorrow night!"

   "Ma'am, have you seen Campus Security?"

   "Don't worry about them, Pledge."

   "But...  "

   "I said, don't worry about them...  " she pointed at two guys in uniform
on bicycles: "...  now move your asses!"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   Knowing that Campus Security was in on the adventure put Lisa at ease
and changed her plans.  Instead of going back on the trail, the pledges
would jog straight across the academic area towards the Pageant Street
crossing.  The only hard part would be the final stretch through three
blocks of shops and then running past the houses along Fraternity Row.

   Knowing that there was no danger until they left campus, the pledges
jogged at a leisurely pace and actually began enjoying themselves.  The
night air felt good as it blew against their naked bodies.  The academic
area was almost completely deserted and very peaceful.  Of course, whenever
they did run past someone their spectator either stared at them with
disbelief or clapped and whistled.

   Lisa glanced at the Economics Building as the pledges ran by.  For once
the light in Burnside's office wasn't on, which led Lisa to wonder what she
was doing to Mark and those other two guys.  She pushed that thought aside
as the group continued past the Student Memorial Center and crossed the
guest parking lot.  That short cut put them on the sidewalk near the
dreaded crosswalk.  The pledges stopped to catch their breath under Lisa's
pine tree as they worked up the courage to run across the street.  Now came
the hard part, the final stretch to the sorority house.

   Lisa glanced at her cell phone.  They had only eight minutes to make it.
Shit!

   As soon as she saw a break in the traffic she shouted: "Let's go!  As
fast as you can, after me!"

   Lisa and her companions ran across Pageant Street.  Once again she heard
several beeps and a couple of screeching tires.  She couldn't worry about
that.  Once the pledges made it across they ran past three blocks of
student stores, bars, and pizza places.  Unfortunately some of the pizza
places were open and the students sitting outside were treated to the
spectacle of four panicky naked women running by.

   Lisa kept glancing back at her companions.  The awful detail was that
she realized she had miscalculated the time it would take them to cross
campus.  She was the only one who knew that, even running at full pace,
they would be very lucky to make it before the time ran out.  Cherine and
Kathleen seemed to be doing OK, but Bernadette already was winded.  Lisa
shouted:

   "Kathleen, get out front and set the pace!"

   As soon as Kathleen moved to the front of the group Lisa dropped back to
run alongside Bernadette.

   "Move...  move...  move!"

   She started landing hard slaps on Bernadette's sweaty bottom to get her
to run faster.

   "Ow!  Stop it!"

   SLAP!

   "Then move!"

   SMACK!

   "MOVE!"

   SMACK!

   "Ow!"

   Just as the women exited the shopping area a flash went off in their
faces.  Another Tri-Alpha member had taken their picture to document their
passage through the business district.

   Now for Fraternity Row.  This was going to be hard, because there were
plenty of guys out and about.  As soon as the naked pledges came into
sight, the street was filled with clapping, cheering, and whistles.  Guys
came running out the houses to catch a glimpse of the Four-Beta pledges as
they ran by.  Plenty of them had cameras.

   The pledges were panic-stricken as they made their final dash to the
sorority.  As the noise and flashing got worse, the only thought on their
minds was "run...  run...  run".  Lisa no longer had to smack Bernadette to
get her to run faster; she was doing just fine on fear and adrenaline.

   The pledges left their cheering audience, ran past a block of older
houses, and finally closed in on Sorority Row.  At last the sanctuary of
the Four-Beta house was in sight.  However, the pledges had to endure the
final indignity of running past the members of rival sororities and listen
to their sarcastic clapping and cheering.

   Finally the Four-Beta House.  Of course, the entire sorority was
standing outside on the front lawn, and every last one of them had a
camera. The pledges' approach and entry into the house was thoroughly
documented by multiple photographers.

   Tracy was waiting in the sitting room with a stopwatch.  She announced
the pledges had made it with only 15 seconds to spare.

   Lisa nearly fainted.  Just 15 seconds to spare.  Had they missed the
deadline it would have been her fault, because had been her idea to walk
the trail.

   However, she looked over at Bernadette, who was bent over with her hands
on her knees.  She was coughing, gagging, and horribly winded.  Bernadette
almost didn't make it.  Had Lisa not forced her to save her strength and
then pushed her at the end, she would not have made it.  Lisa could feel
good about that.  It had been a very close call, but because of her,
everyone in her group had passed the three-mile streaking test on the first
try.

   Once again, Pledge Mistress Tracy looked at her pledges, and especially
their leader, with deep satisfaction.

   *****

   The pledges slept soundly that night.  They were as exhausted as a
person could be, considering they had spent most of the weekend cleaning,
Sunday afternoon and evening at Burnside's house, and finally, to conclude
that traumatic day, a very stressful hour running across the university in
the nude.  Even after they were finished with the run, Tracy insisted on a
post-run stretch and a few minutes in the pool to relax their muscles. 
They had to clean up after the pool and drink a bunch of water to stay
hydrated.  Finally, well after midnight, the four women collapsed onto
their cots.  They went to sleep immediately.  By the end of their first
week they had become used to sleeping uncovered.

   The fact several hundred pictures had been taken of Lisa and her
companions that night and were sure to circulate on the Internet barely
registered in their minds.  One reason was the pledges were too tired to be
worried about their very public performance.  However there was a second,
and much more important reason.  The pledges were changing, because a week
of living in the nude already had greatly reduced their personal
inhibitions.



   Chapter 14 - A day of hard lessons

   Monday started just like any other weekday between classes.  Tracy
entered the room with her usual:

   "OK, sleeping beauties: UP...  UP...  UP!  Let's go...  let's go... 
let's go!"

   As usual, each pledge got a sharp slap on her bottom as she passed Tracy
to go upstairs for the morning PT.

   The pledges began their day with stretching and the normal upper body
workout with the sophomores.  There was the usual cooling off in the pool,
a shower, and the usual healthy breakfast.  They cleaned up from the meal
while the sophomores left for the university.  Heather left as well, after
reminding her charges that the routine would change somewhat starting the
next day because the new Tri-Alpha pledges would start coming to the house
and take over some of the chores.

   At 9:30 a.m.  Lisa and her companions knelt in the sitting room for a
day-long class to be given by President Alexandra.  Pledge Mistress Tracy
was present as well, but only to assist the president with props and the
projector.

   The first presentation was about the history of the Four-Beta pledging
experience.  Alexandra emphasized that the pledges were part of a long
tradition that went clear back to 1926, when the sorority decided to
distinguish itself from other sororities and use a harsh hazing philosophy
to make sure the pledges really wanted to join.

   Alexandra's slide show contained numerous photos of sorority members and
pledges taken between 1926 and the present, with an emphasis on the first
decades of the sorority.  Styles had come and gone, but the four new
pledges saw a lot of themselves in the faces of the young women who had
gone before them.  Seeing the photos gave them a strange sense of personal
mortality.  Decades before, those women in the black and white pictures had
been little different from the current generation, with the same hopes and
fears for the future.  However, they had long since lived out their lives
and passed away.  Lisa and her companions realized that decades in the
future they also would become little more than memories in some future
slide show presentation for a new generation of pledges.  Nothing more than
a photo.  That thought was rather scary.

   The pledge program had developed since the 1920's, but its basic purpose
had not changed much in the ensuing eight decades.  From the very beginning
Four-Beta pledges had to undergo a rigorous personal transformation to be
eligible to join the sorority.  During the 1920's and early 1930's pledges
had to bob their hair and be struck with the riding crop on the shoulder on
the very first day of pledging.  One detail that made the Lisa and her
companions giggle was the original Four-Beta pledge uniform.  Before World
War II, the pledge uniform consisted of white drop-seat bloomers.  The seat
of the bloomers was cut out, which meant the pledges always ran around the
sorority house with their bottoms and the backs of their upper thighs
completely exposed, but the rest of their bodies covered.

   During the first two decades any junior or senior could discipline a
pledge.  A metal washtub full of willow switches was kept by the back door.
If a pledge faced discipline she had to go to that tub, retrieve a switch,
dry it off, and return to her disciplinarian.  She had to kneel and hand
over the switch, then stand up and put her hands on her ankles until the
punishment was finished.  There were several pictures of early pledges
dressed in the drop-seat bloomers, and even through the grainy black and
white images switch marks were clearly visible on the bare bottoms of some
of the freshmen.

   The Four-Beta pledging program underwent several important changes in
1946.  That was the year that the sorority created the positions of Pledge
Mistress and Sergeant-at-Arms.  From that point forward pledges answered
only to those two officers, instead of having to answer to any senior
member of the sorority.  That also was the year when housing developers
filled in the pond from where the seniors were getting their supply of
willow switches.  With its supply of willow switches cut off, the sorority
turned to using razor straps to discipline pledges, provided by a member
whose father was a barber.  Tracy held up an old razor strap and passed it
to the pledges for a closer look.  Finally, 1946 was the year the sorority
replaced the pledge uniform of drop-seat bloomers with open-back hospital
gowns.  The gowns exposed much more of the pledges' bodies than the
bloomers, because all of the drawstrings except for the one at the very top
were cut off.  From the front pledges were adequately covered, but from the
back they were completely exposed, especially if they had to lean forward
or bend over.

   The hospital gowns lasted until 1965.  That year the Pledge Mistress
punished a pledge by strapping her, but then took her punishment a step
further by ordering her to remove her gown and burn it in the barbecue pit.
In an act of solidarity the other pledges stripped off their gowns and
burnt them as well.  The entire group then bent over and insisted on taking
the same strapping their fellow pledge had taken.  The Pledge Mistress wore
herself out disciplining the entire group and refused to replace any of
their gowns.  As a result of their rebellion, the pledges spent the rest of
their time in the house that semester in the nude.  After a while the young
women took a strange pride in their exposure, since they were in their
situation together and confronting the Pledge Mistress as a team.  The idea
caught on and the incoming class of 1966 was the first group to spend the
entire semester pledging completely in the nude.

   Alexandra expressed her clear admiration for the 1965 pledge group,
holding them up as an example of how pledges should behave.  They refused
to let a member of their group be singled out for special punishment, but
rather than argue with the Pledge Mistress, they chose to stand with their
classmate and strip off their own gowns.  What they did was in one way an
act of defiance, but on the other hand they had rebelled within the rules
laid out for them as pledges.  Their group mate had to suffer, and they
insisted on suffering with her.

   The chapter president ended her observation with a picture of the
infamous 1965 group, a black and white photo of 14 determined-looking young
women, all standing completely naked as they waited to be sworn-in as full
members of the sorority.

   Alexandra moved on to the final change in the pledge program, one
brought about by the sexual revolution of the late 1960's.  Medical
education traditionally had been part of the sorority's training program,
and sexual education eventually became an extension of medical education.
Sexual health always had received priority as an orientation topic, but in
1970 the Four-Beta Sorority decided to expand the medical lessons into an
aggressive and comprehensive program of sexual instruction.

   The first goal of the program was to completely separate the concept of
sex from substance use and popular culture.  Rather than encourage its
members to either abstain or plunge blindly into the culture of "sex,
drugs, and rock & roll", the sorority insisted they "get all the facts"
before starting any sexual relationship.  "Getting all the facts" meant
having an accurate idea of what sex really was, how to safely practice it,
how to maximize orgasms, and how to avoid pregnancy and venereal disease.
Above everything else was the goal of keeping sex in proper perspective in
a woman's life.  By 1975 the Four-Beta sexual education program had gone
way beyond just memorizing facts out of books, by encouraging the pledges
to experience real orgasms under the supervision of their instructors. 
Over time variants such as oral sex and erotic discipline were added.  The
Tri-Alpha Fraternity developed their sexual education program at the same
time as the Four-Betas, and in 1982 the sorority and fraternity formally
merged their two programs into one.

   "Everyone keeps calling us 'the sex bitches', but that's only because we
want you to know what's really going on with sex.  Knowledge is power, and
to be honest I think that's what scares the other sororities.  It scares
the fraternities even more, because the only guys who can handle us are the
Tri-Alphas."

   *****

   From the development of the pledge program Alexandra moved to discussing
significant events in the history of the Four-Betas.  She discussed the
participation of the sorority's first members in the suffragette movement,
the official founding of the Chicago chapter in 1925, and the early
members' service at soup kitchens during the Great Depression.  She
continued with the biography of a member who became a nurse during World
War II and was killed during the London blitzkrieg, and finished off with a
list of women who had graduated and gone on to hold political office or
lead universities.  Lisa recognized some of the names and was quite
impressed.

   Alexandra backed up in time to display a picture of the 1947 pledge
group.  It was a group photo of 18 young women in hospital gowns, but there
was something very significant about the picture.  There was a Japanese
freshman standing with the others.  Just two years after the end of World
War II, the sorority accepted a Japanese student as a member.  Five years
later, in 1952, two sisters, Pearl and Violet Baker, joined the sorority as
its first black members.

   "The Baker girls joined us more than 10 years before any of the other
sororities even thought about integrating.  What was really great, however,
was the way it happened.  At the end of the summer they simply showed up at
the front door and asked if they could join.  The sorority wasn't trying to
make any social statement; they simply took in the Baker girls like they'd
take in anyone else.  Now you gotta remember, this was 1952 that we're
talking about.  Having the Baker sisters pledge with us caused a real stink
among the other sororities.  We got boycotted by everyone except the
Tri-Alphas, and I think that whole experience tested us and really helped
set us apart.  We're different from the others.  We've always been
different."

   Alexandra put up a group portrait of the 1952 pledges standing in their
hospital gowns.  Standing among the group were Pearl and Violet with very
nervous but determined expressions.  Another picture, taken in 1956, showed
Pearl and Violet standing in formal gowns among the graduating seniors.

   *****

   The pledges took a break to stretch and eat lunch before re-joining
Alexandra and Tracy in the sitting room.  The next presentation was titled:

   In case you are wondering: why are you naked and why are we being so
rough on you?

   Alexandra answered that question with her next words:

   "The reason you are naked right now is the same reason we dressed
pledges in bottomless bloomers in 1926.  The outfit may be different, but
its purpose is the same.  We believe you need to give us a gesture of
humility as pledges.  The right to wear clothing again, just like
membership, is something you have to earn.  We won't be giving you
anything, you have to earn it.  Just like me, Pledge Mistress Tracy, and
every other member of this house, you'll have to earn everything you get.
You will suffer, you will be scared and pissed-off, you will be tired, and
your body will be subjected to both real pain and real pleasure.  You have
to be tested in order to make you a person worthy of respect.  When we push
you, challenge you, or punish you, that's what we're after, making you
someone worthy to join us.  We expect you to obey us, but we also want to
transform you.  If you make that transformation, four years from now one of
you will be standing where I am right now."

   So, why pledge in the nude?  The president explained that the practice
of naked pledging was a crash-course in killing any modesty or personal
inhibitions.  The Four-Beta pledge program considered eliminating modesty
from prospective members top priority, because modesty was a holdover from
a time during which religion suppressed women's aspirations.

   The pledge program of the sorority and its associated fraternity openly
confronted religious reasoning concerning modesty.  Most religions argue
that the body and its needs and desires are evil and impediments to
spiritual development.  The Tri-Alphas and the Four-Betas argued exactly
the opposite; that unless a person first satisfied the needs of "the temple
of the body", there was no point in seeking spiritual development.  Every
person's soul was given a body, and it was the duty of the soul to take
care of that body before taking care of itself.  The argument was that if
the body was denied the care and sexual pleasure it needed and deserved,
the soul became damaged.  The damaged soul sought to satiate itself with
material wealth and possessions, but acquiring those possessions never
resulted in happiness because the basic needs of the body were still being
denied.

   Therefore, in order to free herself from the repressive past, a member
of the sorority had to openly reject modesty.  If a woman could be open and
comfortable with her body, it would be much easier to reject all other
efforts by society to suppress her intellect.  The sorority considered
constantly being naked a necessary first step in radical re-education away
from a sexually repressed culture that drowned a person's true needs with
materialism.

   Pledges completing the program always finished very different than when
they started.  They returned to wearing normal clothes in public simply
because that was what society demanded of them, but in private and among
each other there was very little distinction between being dressed and
being naked.  Lisa noticed that total lack of inhibitions the first day she
was in the sorority, a complete casualness about what each person in the
house chose to wear or not wear.  There were several sorority members who
were a lot like her, who never bothered to put anything on unless they had
to go out.  If there were guests in the house, that made no difference to
them.  They could calmly sit down in the nude and have a conversation just
as easily as they could have a conversation if they were dressed.

   That detail of sorority life very much appealed to Lisa.  She knew that
once she became a full member she would be one of those residents who
casually went about her daily routine without ever bothering to get
dressed. If Kathleen remained her lover she would expect the same from her.
Whenever in the house she would expect Kathleen to set aside any remaining
modesty and remain undressed out of principle.

   *****

   The pledges ate dinner with the sophomores.  Following dinner Tracy took
them back to the sitting room and ordered them to set up for a formal
presentation to be given in the evening.  The setup included President
Alexandra's speaking podium and 40 folding chairs set up in rows.  Another
row of six chairs was set up behind the speaker's podium, where the
officers of the Tri-Alpha fraternity would be sitting.  Finally Tracy
ordered the pledges to clean up and brush their teeth, then return upstairs
for a formal presentation.

   The sorority members filed in and took their seats in the chairs.  The
seniors sat in the front, followed by juniors and the sophomores in the
back.  The pledges knelt on the floor in front of the seniors.  Sitting in
a chair during a formal event, just like wearing clothing, was a privilege
they would enjoy only after being sworn in as full members.

   The doorbell rang and one of the juniors let in the six officers from
the Tri-Alpha Fraternity.  The men handed a list to the Four-Beta president
and took their seats.  Lisa noticed Vice-President Jacob and Pledge Cherine
flirting with each other as they exchanged looks.

   Alexandra began by briefly reciting the tradition of the sorority and
fraternity participating in each other's pledging responsibilities and in
hazing new members.  As of the next day the Tri-Alphas would be swearing in
six prospective new members.  Tracy dimmed the lights and turned on a
projector while Alexandra named the six new male pledges and showed their
pictures to the audience.  She gave brief biographies of the six young men,
their interests, and finally some information about their sexual
orientation and sexual fantasies.

   Lisa felt a pang of emotion when Ken's picture was displayed.  It was
very strange to hear her boyfriend's biography given in Alexandra's
matter-of-fact tone along with the others.  She held her breath when
Alexandra approached the topic of his sexual orientation, grateful that
Tracy had warned her about what was coming.  Sure enough, Alexandra stated
that Ken had described himself as bi-sexual.  He had indicated that he
wanted to experiment having sexual contact with other men, given that he
already had experimented with women.  Among his expectations for joining
the Tri-Alphas was to finally determine his orientation.  He needed to
settle in his own mind once and for all whether he should focus on gay
relationships or straight relationships.

   Alexandra added: "Due to Pledge Ken's sexual situation, his medical
examination will be conducted by male examiners.  If he needs to be
masturbated, my guess is that will be by males as well.  I ask, however,
that you respect Pledge Ken in the same way you would respect any other
pledge.  Ken has a journey in life to fulfill just like the rest of us, and
given the struggle in his own mind, that journey will be more difficult
than what most of us have to deal with."

   Alexandra did not mention anything about Ken being Lisa's ex-boyfriend,
for which she was grateful.  Lisa wondered how she should deal with him
once she saw him in the sorority house.  Her thoughts ranged from
tormenting him as much as possible, to ignoring him completely, to making
him watch her flirt with Kathleen.  As tempting as the idea of making him
watch her flirt with Kathleen, Lisa realized that would be a very bad idea.
Tracy had told her that under no circumstances should she make any type of
public spectacle out of the relationship, but also Lisa realized that to
use Kathleen to make Ken jealous would be a betrayal of her trust.  So,
that left her with the options of constantly beating the crap out of Ken or
ignoring him entirely.

   Finally she decided to ignore Ken as long as he didn't say anything to
her.  The moment he did try to talk to her, Lisa would teach him the real
meaning of the word "hazing", and do what she could to totally humiliate
him.

   *****

   When the meeting ended and the Tri-Alpha officers left, Tracy ordered
the pledges to fold up the chairs and put the sitting room back in order.
Lisa noticed that Cherine seemed to be in a particularly bad mood, probably
from having Jacob so close to her without being able to talk to him or
interact with him.  Cherine's bad mood became more evident when Lisa told
her to move some of the folding chairs and she let out a disgusted sigh. 
Tracy came back into the room just as Cherine banged several of the chairs
together as she tried to pick them up.  Instead of taking two chairs at a
time and making several trips, Cherine tried to pick up all eight of the
chairs in the row at once.  Of course she was not capable of carrying that
many, so the chairs fell back to the floor with a loud crash.  Tracy became
clearly irritated.

   "Pledge, what hell are you doing?"

   Cherine, instead of answering Tracy's question, rolled her eyes and
reached down to pick up the chairs. s The pledge mistress was on her in an
instant, directing the full force of her wrath on the unfortunate freshman.
She stuck her face in Cherine's face and snarled:

   "Look here, PLEDGE!  You do NOT roll your eyes around me!"

   She jabbed her finger hard into Cherine's chest.

   "You do NOT roll your eyes around any officer!  That is nothing but
total disrespect, and I resent it!"

   Again Cherine suffered another sharp poke to the chest.

   "I...  I...  "

   "And you do NOT talk out of turn, Pledge!  You know what you just did?
You just pissed me off!"

   She turned to the other three pledges:

   "All of you, front-leaning rest position!  Now!"

   The four young women scrambled to comply.

   "In cadence, EXERCISE!  ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   "One!"

   "ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   "Two!"

   "ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   Heather poked her head in the doorway to see what was going on.  She and
Tracy exchanged nods and Heather briefly disappeared as the pledges
continued doing pushups.  Lisa glanced at the doorway with apprehension. 
Sure enough, Heather returned to the room carrying two leather straps and a
set of handcuffs.  She gave the handcuffs and one strap to Tracy, but kept
the second strap for herself.

   "Pledge Cherine!  STAND UP!"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   Tracy lost no time ordering Cherine to put her hands out in front to
cuff them.  She grabbed the trembling freshman by the wrist and led her to
a table that Heather had pulled out into the center of the room.  Cherine
bent over the table and grabbed the far end with her hands.  Tracy tapped
the insides of her thighs to force them apart.

   "Tilt your butt up so we can all see it!  Now...  here's a question for
you!  How'd you like your three friends to get it too?  Would you like
that?"

   "No ma'am!"

   "Then you will not move until I'm done!  You move, and all four of you
are getting it!"

   Tracy put her face next to Cherine's and rolled her eyes.

   "How do you like that, Pledge?  You like it when I roll my eyes?"

   "No, ma'am.  I don't like it."

   While Tracy was positioning Cherine on the table, Heather was busy
tormenting the three pledges still in the front-leaning rest position on
the floor.  She tapped the strap she was holding in the palm of her hand.

   "You three better get your backs straight!  I didn't say anything about
you relaxing!"

   Lisa tried to straighten up, but it was too late...

   CRACK!

   A painful smack exploded across her unprotected backside.

   "I told you to straighten up, Pledge!"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   CRACK!

   Lisa struggled to stay quiet as the burning from the two strokes mounted
in her bottom.

   "OK, you three, in cadence, EXERCISE!  ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   "One!"

   "ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   "Two!"

   "ONE...  TWO...  THREE...  "

   It wasn't long before the strength gave out in the three pledges' arms
and they could barely support their weight.  Their bodies trembled and
their arms shook as they tried to continue doing push-ups.  As their arms
weakened they knew better than to allow themselves to collapse on the
floor. Their only alternative was to relieve the pressure on their arms by
pushing their bottoms into the air.  However, every time one of the pledges
pushed her backside up, the response from Heather was a painful smack.  The
pledge cried out and tried to straighten herself out as best she could. 
Heather admonished them:

   "Anyone who drops to the floor will be getting the full treatment along
with Pledge Cherine.  Get it?"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   "Now keep your backs straight!"

   CRACK!

   Bernadette let out a yelp as the thick leather marked the pale skin of
her trembling bottom.  She straightened up as best she could as Heather
menacingly tapped the strap in her hand.

   While Heather tired out Lisa, Kathleen, and Bernadette doing push-ups,
Tracy patiently waited next to Cherine.  She tormented the frightened
pledge by gently rubbing the strap on her bare bottom to raise her anxiety.
Finally she was ready to start punishing the young freshman extended over
the table.  She positioned herself, tapped Cherine's dark bottom one final
time, and twisted back...

   CRACK!!!

   Lisa flinched in sympathy, in spite of the burning from Heather's two
swats and the physical discomfort from trying to stay in the front-leaning
rest position.

   CRACK!!!

   Tracy paused between the second and third swat to gently rub the burning
skin of her trembling victim with her free hand.  She tapped Cherine's
bottom with the leather and twisted back a third time:

   CRACK!!!

   Tears began running down the pledge's cheeks after just three swats, but
she struggled to stay quiet.  She bit her lip and pressed her forehead
against the tabletop as she waited for the fourth stroke...

   CRACK!!!

   Again Tracy paused to pass her hand over Cherine's dark bottom.  Already
her skin was swollen and hot to the touch, after just four swats.  Good,
thought Tracy to herself.  Looks like my little lesson in manners is
starting to sink in.  Tracy repositioned herself, tapped the freshman with
the strap, and struck hard a fifth time.

   CRACK!!!

   Tracy continued to wait between swats and casually rub Cherine's bottom.
Following Ruth Burnside's advice, she punished her charge at a very
leisurely pace, letting the passage of time and the painful anticipation
wear down her victim's resistance.  As she remained bent over in agony,
Cherine actually wished Tracy would hit her and get closer to finishing her
torment.  Instead the Pledge Mistress casually patted and rubbed her bottom
and walked around admiring her attractive figure.

   The waiting was very hard not only on Cherine, but also on her three
companions who remained in stuck the front-leaning rest position.  They
desperately struggled to keep their backs straight and avoid additional
swats from Heather.  Kathleen took a stroke when she moved her bottom up,
and then Bernadette took a couple of strokes.

   Staying in the front-leaning rest was hardest on Lisa, however.  Her
tall body was not suited to hold that position for an extended time.  Her
arms shook and her back ached as the minutes slowly went by and Cherine's
punishment seemed no closer to ending.  She dared not let her knees touch
the floor, so every so often she had to push her bottom up to relieve the
stress on her lower back.  Every time she pushed up her bottom, Heather
gave it a vicious swat with the strap.  Every time Lisa straightened her
body, her lower back started throbbing.

   Finally Lisa decided to sacrifice her bottom to save her lower back. 
She pushed up and felt yet another painful swat, but did not bother to go
back down.  Heather struck hard several more times.  Finally Lisa couldn't
stand the swats anymore and straightened herself.  Instantly her back
started throbbing.  Tears started running down her cheeks, not just from
the increasing physical pain, but from the fact her suffering seemed no
closer to ending.

   Cherine remained as quiet as possible as she withstood Tracy's
slow-paced punishment.  At that moment she totally hated the Pledge
Mistress.  All she did was roll her eyes, and just for that she was being
so viciously treated?  For that simple gesture her companions were being so
cruelly treated?  And yet, she was determined to finish what she started.
She would deal with her punishment as bravely as possible and ignore what
was happening to the others.  Unless she was willing to quit the pledging
program (which she wasn't) there wasn't anything she could do for her
companions, just like there wasn't anything they could do for her.  Her
only choice was to endure her ordeal in silence and hope to get through it.

   CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!...  CRACK!!!...

   Tracy delivered a total of 25 swats.  Nearly 20 minutes had gone by
before she finally set the strap on the table.  During that entire time
Cherine managed not to make any noise or move.  When Tracy told her to
"recover" she stood up with difficulty and the tears were running down her
face.  However, she had taken her punishment very well.  Her stoicism
impressed the Pledge Mistress.

   As soon as Cherine struggled to push herself off the table and Tracy
unlocked her handcuffs, Heather ordered her three subjects to "recover" as
well.  Bernadette and Kathleen seemed not much the worse for their
experience.  However, Lisa was in bad shape, with her back aching and her
bottom covered with painful welts.  The pledge's expression indicated she
had come very close to being broken.  Heather realized that she had found
Lisa's weak point; apparently she couldn't handle pressure on her lower
back.

   The two officers ordered the pledges to stand at attention.  Tears
continued to run down the faces of Lisa and Cherine while Tracy gave them a
long lecture about the need to always show respect.

   Even after so cruelly punishing Cherine and nearly breaking Lisa, Tracy
was still incensed over the eye-rolling incident.  The pledges realized
that eye-rolling was a pet peeve of the Pledge Mistress, a trivial gesture
that really set off her temper.  She poked Cherine in the chest and
snarled:

   "Don't you EVER roll your eyes at me again, Pledge!  If you ever pull
that shit on me a second time, I will cane you!  If you think the strap
hurt, wait 'till you feel the cane!  GET IT?"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   Upon being released the pledges resumed cleaning the sitting room. 
Cherine sullenly picked up the chairs to put away.  She carried them out of
the room two at a time and was very careful not to bang them.

   *****

   The pledges were quiet as they went downstairs for the night, each one
full of doubts about whether or not she should continue with her effort to
join the sorority.  Finally Lisa spoke up:

   "I guess we should've seen this coming.  I mean, they kept warning us it
was gonna be rough."

   None of the others said anything.  Lisa took a deep breath and
continued:

   "A couple of things to remember.  We...  we can't hold any of this
against Tracy.  Or Heather.  They're just doing their jobs.  They... 
they've been doing the same thing since 1926."

   Cherine snapped:

   "She's a fucking bitch!  She's just a worthless, psychotic,
mean-spirited...  "

   "She isn't!  I know I sound crazy telling you this, but I know for a
fact she's not!  She...  I mean...  I can't believe I'm saying this... 
but...  she actually does care about us.  It's just that...  she's gotta
follow the rules."

   Tears began running down Cherine's face again.  Lisa tried to reassure
her.

   "And don't blame yourself.  It's not your fault.  None of this is your
fault.  This is...  I guess...  what they're doing...  it's sort of like
Basic Training.  They're gonna fuck with us no matter what.  We could be a
group of perfect goddesses and they'd still fuck with us.  It's just the
way it is."

   Cherine nodded.  Lisa exchanged glances with the others.  The crisis was
passing, but that was mostly because the pledges were getting too tired to
think about anything else besides sleeping.

   "Come on.  Let's get some rest.  Tomorrow the Triple A's are bringing
over their new guys and it's us who'll get to mess with them."

   *****

   Once she was sure the others were asleep, Lisa afforded herself a small
luxury.  She broke down and for a long time quietly lay crying in her cot.
She was convinced she couldn't let the others see her break down, because
she felt her companions looked up to her and to see her cry would
disillusion them.  They were asleep, so now Lisa could express her real
emotions, even if only to herself.

   She had to be strong for the others, but she wondered: could she be
strong enough for her own needs?  Could she really make it through an
entire summer of this pledging crap?  Three months of not letting her
doubts and weaknesses show to the others?  Could she really do it?



   Chapter 15 - Sorority property on loan

   The following morning was Tuesday, exactly one week since Lisa and her
companions started their internment in the Four-Beta sorority.  The day
would be significant for two other reasons.  First, it was the day the
pledges would begin going to the university to attend to their academic
responsibilities.  For brief periods of time, the pledges would get dressed
and be allowed to see something besides the inside of the Four-Beta house.
That day also was the day the Tri-Alphas would initiate their six summer
pledges.  In the afternoon the pledges would watch Tri-Alpha pledges'
medical exam and in the evening attend their swearing in ceremony.

   Of course, before anything else there was morning PT.  For the freshmen
and sophomores the day's PT would be the lower-body workout.  Tracy entered
the pledge room, and as always, woke up her charges by shouting:

   "OK sleeping beauties!  UP!...  UP!...  UP!  Let's go...  let's go... 
let's go!"

   While the pledges took turns at the toilet, Tracy unlocked their lockers
to allow them access to their running uniforms.  She announced that the
pledges should take out an extra t-shirt and shorts along with their
backpacks, because she planned to take them to the university orientation
lecture and summer class registration immediately after breakfast.

   Lisa would be the exception and would not accompany the others.  Ruth
Burnside had sent an e-mail to President Alexandra to inform her that Lisa
needed to go to her office.

   "Sergeant-at-Arms Heather will escort you, Pledge, while I take care of
the others."

   "Uh...  thank you, ma'am."

   The arrangement of going to the Economics Department with Heather did
not thrill Lisa at all.  Not only did she resent the humiliation of being
escorted to her boss's office, but she also was concerned about the fact
that the Sergeant-at-Arms had punished her the night before.  If Heather
and Burnside engaged in any conversation (which seemed very likely) it was
certain the incident would be part of their discussion.

   The pledges put on their shoes and carried their uniforms upstairs.  As
always, Tracy stood at the door and gave each pledge a sharp slap on the
bare bottom as she went by.  The swats were especially painful to Lisa and
Cherine, who were still tender from the previous night's punishment.

   Running with a bruised bottom was not pleasant, but the relief of
getting outside and working off some stress put Lisa in a somewhat better
mood.  By the time the group returned to the sorority, stretched, jumped in
the pool, and had breakfast, the four women had mostly forgotten the
previous night's unpleasantness.  The pledges picked up their clean
uniforms and walking shoes before going upstairs to kneel in the sitting
room.

   Heather and Tracy entered the room.  Tracy was holding four large
plastic hangers, which she passed out to her group.

   "OK.  Here's the deal on your uniforms.  As soon as you come in through
that front door, the uniforms come off.  If you're going back out later in
the day, you'll put your clothes on the hanger and put 'em in the closet.
There's gonna be one exception to the rule about taking off your clothes.
If there's Triple-A pledges in the house you'll keep your uniforms on. 
Whenever they're here, those guys are subordinate to every female in the
sorority, and that includes you."

   Tracy pointed to a nightlight plugged in near the closet door.

   "This nightlight will tell you if there's male pledges in the house. 
When it's on, there's pledges here and you'll keep your outfits on.  When
it's off, your uniforms come off.  Real simple: on-on, off-off.  Get it?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "The light's only for Triple-A pledges.  If there's Triple-A's in the
house but no pledges, the uniforms come off.  Either way, just check the
light when you come in."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "Another detail.  Classes and going out in public.  Pledge Bernadette,
please read what's on your shirt."

   "PLEDGE.  This pledge is property of the Four-Beta Sorority.  If found
unescorted, please return to rightful owner."

   "Remember, until you swear in as full members, you are property of the
sorority.  You have no rights, except the privileges we chose to give you.
You have no independence and no freedom.  You'll be under our complete
control, even when you're on campus.  Under no circumstances can you get
out of our sight, which means whenever you're not in the house you must
have an escort.  You're gonna have to take your general requirement classes
together and we'll set up a duty roster for the sophomores to escort you to
and from class.  Pledge Lisa's situation will be a bit different, because
he's got a job with the Economics Department.  But, we've already talked
with her professor and we've got everything arranged."

   Lisa took a deep breath.  They've "got everything arranged".  What's
that supposed to mean?

   Tracy continued: "Remember your handcuffs and blindfolds?  You'll have
those with you for a reason.  If you disobey your escort or get out of her
sight, she'll cuff you and bring you back to the sorority house.  If that
ever happens you can expect to have a VERY miserable night.  When you're on
campus the only words that ever need to come out of your mouth are 'yes
ma'am'.  Get it?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "OK, you now know what's expected when you're on campus.  If you want to
save your butts, you'd better remember what's written on your shirts."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "PLEDGES!  STAND UP!"

   The pledges scrambled to their feet.

   "OK, get your uniforms on and stick your hangers in the closet.  Get
ready to move out."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   *****

   Heather, Tracy, and the four pledges walked to the university.  The two
officers were wearing Four-Beta logos on their shirts, while the pledges
walked behind in their pledge outfits.  Fortunately the presence of the two
severe-looking sorority officers silenced many of the giggles and comments
the pledge uniform might have elicited from passers-by, but still, the
message on the shirts was totally humiliating:

   This pledge is property of the Four-Beta Sorority...

   Tracy took the three freshmen to the campus auditorium to attend an
orientation lecture for first year students given by the president of the
university.  From there they would go to the main gym to pick up their
class schedules and from there go to the student bookstore to buy
textbooks. Meanwhile, Lisa would spend her first day at work in Burnside's
office.

   Heather escorted Lisa to the Economics Department.  Once in the building
Lisa saw several classmates from her freshman year.  Saying hello to them
was hard, given what was written on her t-shirt and that she clearly was
being escorted by Heather.  The two women went into Burnside's office,
where the professor already was waiting for them.  Burnside shook Heather's
hand and greeted her in a manner that indicated the two women already knew
each other.  The professor's bemused and rather sarcastic expression was
not re-assuring at all.

   "Good morning, Pledge Lisa."

   "Good morning, Dr.  Burnside."

   Heather took out an envelope containing two copies of a contract on
Four-Beta letterhead.  She passed the documents to the professor, who
looked them over.  Burnside signed both copies.

   "Pledge Lisa, please kneel and read this contract.  If you want to
continue working for me and also pledge the sorority at the same time you
need to concur with this agreement."

   "You...  you want me to kneel, Dr.  Burnside?"

   "Pledge, you're not supposed to be questioning orders.  I told you to
kneel.  Now do it."

   Lisa's heart sank as she reluctantly got on her knees.  Burnside handed
her the two copies along with a pen.  Lisa read:

   The directorate of the Chicago chapter of the Four-Beta Sorority agrees
to share provisional training custody of Pledge Lisa Campbell with
Professor Dr.  Ruth Burnside during university summer work hours.  This
shared provisional custody will allow Pledge Lisa Campbell to fulfill her
responsibilities as a pledge to the Four-Beta Sorority, while
simultaneously fulfilling her duties as a student aide for the Department
of Economic Studies.

   This agreement authorizes Dr.  Burnside to act in capacity of Pledge
Lisa Campbell's campus escort and grants Dr.  Burnside the same authority
over her as the authority normally exercised by the Four-Beta Sorority's
Sergeant-at-Arms.  As a result of this agreement, Dr.  Burnside will submit
a written summary of Pledge Lisa Campbell's daily activities to the Pledge
Mistress of the Four-Beta Sorority for entry in the official pledge
training log.  Because Dr.  Burnside is acting in official capacity on
behalf of the sorority, her authority includes, but is not limited to, the
right to inflict corporal punishment on Pledge Lisa Campbell for any
violations of Four-Beta pledging protocol.

   This agreement obliges Pledge Lisa Campbell to treat Dr.  Burnside with
the same deference and respect as she is expected to treat any elected
officer of the Four-Beta Sorority and accept her as a campus escort. 
Specifically this means that Pledge Lisa Campbell agrees to obey any orders
issued by Dr.  Burnside and to stay within her sight at all times.  Pledge
Lisa Campbell agrees that Dr.  Burnside, by acting as a campus escort,
reserves the right to discipline her within the guidelines of the Four-Beta
pledging program.  She also agrees that whenever she is in Dr.  Burnside's
office or private residence, the regulations concerning the Four-Beta
pledge uniform will be enforced.

   Under this agreement, at the request of Dr.  Burnside, Pledge Lisa
Campbell will address her as "Dr.  Burnside" and not address her as
"ma'am", as normally stipulated in the Four-Beta Pledge Handbook.

   Pledge Lisa Campbell reserves the right to report any perceived misuse
of authority by Dr.  Burnside to the Pledge Mistress of her Four-Beta
Sorority chapter.  The complaint will be forwarded to the chapter president
for resolution.  Any command or disciplinary incident determined by the
Chapter President not to fall within the guidelines of the Four-Beta Pledge
Manuel will result in the immediate termination of this agreement.

   If the president of the Sorority determines Pledge Lisa Campbell's
complaint is without merit, a report will be forwarded to Dr.  Burnside
with a formal apology.  Pledge Lisa Campbell will then present herself to
Dr.  Burnside for corporal punishment.

   Unless violated, this agreement remains in effect until Pledge Lisa
Campbell becomes a member-in-full-standing of the Four-Beta Sorority.  Upon
swearing in, Lisa Campbell's current status as sorority property will be
terminated and she will regain full rights guaranteed to her under the
Constitution of the United States of America.

   Lisa's hands shook as she finished reading.  Several questions ran
through her mind, not the least of which was what would be "the pledge
uniform" when she was alone with Burnside in her office.  Was it
possible... ?

   Burnside handed Lisa a pen.  The student took a deep breath and
reluctantly signed the agreement.  She had no choice, because she needed
the job for her future and still wanted to join the sorority.  Still, she
felt she had just signed her life away.  It was for sure she had just
signed away her dignity.  As for that pressing question on her mind, the
one about the pledge uniform; that was answered when Heather took a hanger
out of her backpack and handed it to the professor.

   "On school days we have the pledges keep their uniforms near the front
door on these hangers.  I brought you an extra, just in case you didn't
have one."

   "And so, they only put on their uniforms if they go out?"

   "That is correct, Dr.  Burnside.  Just when they go out."

   "OK, I wanted to make sure about that.  From my end there won't be a
problem.  She'll be working at this extra desk here in the back office. 
Nobody comes back here unless I buzz them in, so it's fairly private."

   Burnside turned to Lisa.

   "Stand up, Pledge."

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   "Alright, Pledge, you know the score.  Get your clothes off and put them
on the hanger."

   Lisa swallowed.  Very reluctantly she kicked off her shoes and pulled
off her socks.  She took a deep breath and lowered her shorts and stepped
out of them.  She folded them over the bar of the hanger.  She pulled her
shirt over her head and hung it on the hanger as well.  She handed her
clothes to Burnside and went back on her knees.  Burnside put the hanger in
the office closet along with the shoes and locked the door.

   Lisa felt horribly exposed as she knelt completely naked in Burnside's
office.  She couldn't understand why she felt so ashamed, given that
Burnside already had seen her nude several times over the past year.  The
professor and Heather did nothing to put her at ease as they casually
talked about the four pledges, their progress, implements used for corporal
punishment, and the program in general.

   As Lisa had feared, the conversation turned to the previous night's
strapping and push-up session.  Heather described the evening in detail,
focusing on Lisa's rebellious behavior and her disgraceful refusal to stay
in the front-leaning rest position.

   "The other two pledges seemed to hold their positions just fine, but
Pledge Lisa kept moving around.  To be honest I lost count of how many
times I had to smack her, but she just wouldn't go down or straighten her
back."

   In a matter-of-fact tone of voice, the professor asked the sorority
Sergeant-at-Arms to describe the strap.  She seemed satisfied with
Heather's choice of implement.

   "Let's see how well your strap marks." She turned to Lisa: "Pledge,
stand up, turn your back toward us, and place your hands on the desk."

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   Lisa complied as her professor and the sorority officer carefully
examined the marks on her bottom.  Both women ran their hands over her skin
and commented that the bruising wasn't too bad.  Heather concluded with:

   "I don't know about this pledge, Dr.  Burnside.  She's so strong-willed.
She's taken three punishments in just a week, and that doesn't seem to have
calmed her down at all."

   "Some pledges take longer to break than others.  Just keep doing what
you're doing.  I'm sure she'll come around eventually.  Anyhow, I'll make
sure she behaves properly whenever she's with me.  She knows what to expect
if she doesn't."

   Burnside concluded by patting Lisa's bare bottom.  The professor then
asked Heather if she wanted some tea, to which she replied yes.  Burnside
told Lisa to take out some cups and boil a pot of water, and then kneel
pending further orders.  Ordinarily Burnside would not have ordered a
student aide (with the exception of Mark, whose situation was special) to
serve her tea.  The work relationship between the two women would have been
limited to what was in Lisa's university contract and fairly normal, with
the exception of the ongoing threat of punishment if Lisa did not meet
Burnside's academic standards.

   Lisa got up to prepare the tea, completely dumbfounded at the extent to
which the other two women were humiliating her.  What totally changed
Burnside's behavior towards Lisa was the contract with the sorority.  The
purpose of that contract was to give the professor the same rights over her
that the sorority officers enjoyed.  It was obvious that Burnside's
intention was to treat her like a Four-Beta pledge, not a university
employee.  The moment she signed that contract, Lisa went from being
Burnside's employee to being sorority property on loan.  As sorority
property, her submission would have to be total and unquestioning.

   What was frightening was that Burnside would clearly enjoy having the
chance to totally dominate Lisa.  She now had extra justification to punish
the student if she made any mistakes either with her pledge duties or her
student aide duties.  Apart from the domination there was another concern.
Lisa knew that Burnside was bisexual and enjoyed looking at young women. 
Having an attractive naked student working in her office for the entire
summer would be a real treat; especially one formally obligated to do
anything she was told to do.

   Unfortunately Lisa had no argument against her situation, because she
knew that morally she was no better than the professor.  Placed in
Burnside's situation, she would have done the exact same thing.  Had any of
her fellow pledges been placed under her control, Lisa would have treated
them in a manner similar to the way Burnside was about to treat her.  The
professor knew that, and undoubtedly Heather must have known it as well. 
Both were sure to jump on her for being a hypocrite if she dared say
anything.

   Lisa continued to kneel while the other two women drank their tea and
discussed a recent academic cheating scandal involving a rival sorority. 
As she stayed quiet, Lisa became more agitated, because on top of
everything else, now she was becoming aroused.  Suddenly the thought of
being naked and submissive to Burnside for the entire summer seemed very
erotic to her.  She knew that she would be scared and embarrassed whenever
she was in Burnside's office, but there was something very sexy about her
nakedness, submission, and fear.  She wondered if what she was feeling was
what her boyfriend Ken felt when she was about to punish him.

   The exhibitionist in Lisa's personality surfaced.  She would be working
naked, which was something many people fantasize about doing, but almost
never happens in modern society.  She would be living a fantasy, sitting at
her workstation for hours each day in the nude.  That was something she
actually had wanted to do.  Well, now she would know what it would be like
to hold down a job while not allowed to wear any clothing.

   As she continued to kneel in front of her two superiors in the
professor's office, Lisa's thoughts about her situation changed somewhat.
She knew that she was about to undergo the most intense summer of her life.
Years later she would look back at the pledging period as the most erotic
experience of her youth, something she wouldn't exchange for anything.

   *****

   Upon finishing her tea Heather left.  Burnside ordered Lisa off her
knees to clean up the dishes.  She put everything on a tray and set the
tray near the door to take out later.  As she moved about with the teacups,
the student felt the professor's eyes studying her body.

   For the rest of the morning Burnside instructed Lisa about her
requirements for grading and proctoring tests and class assignments.  The
professor also began teaching her assistant about websites used by students
to obtain plagiarized term papers.  Some of the sites were free and some of
them charged, but all of them came with a guarantee.  If any of Burnside's
students downloaded and used their material, they were sure to be caught by
the professor.  Lisa found the websites and her newly acquired knowledge
about academic plagiarism fascinating.  As she went through the posted
research projects, she momentarily totally forgot that she was sitting
naked next to her well-dressed instructor.

   At noon they stopped.  The professor commented:

   "Put on your uniform and we'll go out for lunch."

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   As Lisa got dressed, Burnside called her co-worker Jim Halsey to join
them.  A minute later Halsey showed up with two of his Ph.D.  candidates.
The older students looked at the message on Lisa's t-shirt and smiled
sarcastically, which ruined her mood.

   This pledge is property of the Four-Beta Sorority...

   Fucking shirt, she thought to herself.  I'd rather go out naked than
have to wear this idiotic logo.

   After eating lunch off-campus, Burnside escorted Lisa back to her
office. Lisa quietly took off her clothing and returned it to its hanger in
the closet.  However, no sooner had she sat down to review the textbooks
for Burnside's summer classes than Tracy showed up with the three freshmen.
The three younger women quickly knelt while Tracy talked to Burnside.  As
soon as the pledge mistress went into the back room where Lisa was sitting,
she immediately jumped out of her seat and went to her knees.

   "PLEGDE!  STAND UP!"

   Lisa scrambled to her feet.  Burnside released her employee for the day,
but told Tracy she wanted her back in the office at 10:00 the next morning.

   "OK, Dr.  Burnside.  I'll make sure she's here at 10:00."

   While the others watched, Lisa put on her uniform.  Once she was
dressed, she knelt with her fellow pledges as they waited to be escorted
back to the sorority.