Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ï>¿The Pledge Mistress by EC

   Chapter 41 - Sorority Sports League uniform rules

   Lisa returned to the Four-Beta house to find Kathleen and the pledges in
the sorority library.  Kathleen had finished her lesson for the day, but
Lisa was pleased to see that she had improvised by having the pledges look
over the sorority's collection of pictures from its earliest years in the
1920's and 1930's.  Lisa took charge of the group and ordered them into the
yard for an exercise and swimming break.  The group had dinner with the few
sophomores and juniors who were staying in the sorority house during the
break in classes.

   While the pledges were eating, Tracy approached Lisa and reminded her
about the upcoming volleyball tournament.  Using a rather unpleasant tone
of voice, she pointed out that several days had gone by since the last
practice:

   "If you want to make fools out of yourselves, go right ahead.  If I were
you, I'd bust my ass with that ball."

   While Lisa and the other members of the volleyball team practiced in the
back yard, Tracy took charge of Brittany and Erin and gave them a course
about the fundamentals of self-defense.  She put them through drills and
kept them busy with rigorous exercising until 10:00.  By the time the
newcomers collapsed on their cots, the volleyball team had finished their
practice.  The day ended when Jacob came by to take Cherine and Bernadette
back to Huntington Hall.  Meanwhile, Tracy ordered Lisa and Kathleen to
join her in the sorority office to help her write up the training log for
the day:

   "So far, they've done extremely well under you and I'm impressed, not
only with their performance, but also with yours.  You work very well
together switching off responsibilities and training.  You concept of time
management is really good and you've covered a lot of stuff in just a few
days.  I want to push them a bit harder with PT, but apart from that the
way you've handled them has been exemplary."

   Tracy then dismissed Kathleen by telling her to check on the pledges and
make sure the volleyball supplies were put away.  Once she was alone with
Lisa, she directed the sophomore's attention to a stack of folders
containing the records of prospective pledges for the fall semester.

   "Rush week is gonna be very busy for all of us, because this year we've
got a bunch of serious pledge candidates.  So far we've got 33 freshmen
who've picked the Four-Beta Sorority as their first choice.  Think about
it, 33 freshmen.  That's enough to fill a classroom.  If we get them all to
sign up as pledges, we'll lose a few through attrition, I'm sure.  Even so,
I doubt it'd be more than eight or so, if we go with the drop-out averages
from the last couple of years.  So for the December swearing-in, we might
be looking at a total of about 25 new members."

   "Wow...  and you had your hands full with just four of us."

   "It's always rougher in the fall, for everyone, just 'cause the groups
are so much bigger.  That's why we've started doing summer pledging, to try
to split up the crush of new members.  Also we're trying to get a few new
freshmen on board in August so they can help out in September."

   "Like us, from the summer group?"

   "Yes.  I'll need all four of you helping out with the fall group.  I
think we've got a good start, because I've already got you and Kathleen on
board with training.  I've also got Bernadette.  She wanted to be class
leader so badly, so now she's got a chance to put her money where her mouth
is.  That's gonna be important, we've got to get a training staff set up,
before Rush Week.  You guys are gonna have to be ready to go as soon as the
new group comes in.  I mean...  like, totally ready to hit the ground
running."

   Tracy handed several pledge packets to Lisa to look over and continued:

   "When I become chapter president, I want to implement some changes with
pledging.  I want more mentors for the fall groups, and I want the entire
directorate to be involved in pledge training.  I can tell you, with this
big group of new pledges we've got coming in, we're gonna have a real
crisis on our hands if just two officers are running their training.  With
33 pledges, having one Pledge Mistress and one Sergeant-at-Arms as the
chain of command just isn't gonna cut it.  It's the way we've always done
pledging, but girls are slipping through the cracks, and I want that to
stop.  We don't need to have girls slipping through the cracks, and we
won't if we can do a better job with the fall groups and keep everyone
motivated."

   "So, there's gonna be more than one Pledge Mistress?"

   "No, not exactly.  What I want is more members participating so the
pledging experience is more tightly-knit and personal.  My idea is that the
Pledge Mistress will have a staff of assistants, or counselors.  Each
counselor would be assigned a group of five pledges.  I want those groups
to be small, I want each group made up of compatible personalities, and I
want to make the pledges depend on each other.  The Pledge Mistress will
have formal progress meetings twice a week with the counselors, the
Sergeant-at-Arms, and the chapter president.  I want things structured
better because I also plan to make the pledging experience more intense and
cram in some more training."

   "More intense?  You think it needs to be more intense?"

   "Yes, there's always stuff we can add.  But I think additional training
is where we can personalize things a bit.  For example, what if we have 20
pledges who know how to dance, but 10 who don't?  My idea is to give the 10
pledges dance lessons, but have the other 20 doing something else so
they're not wasting their time.  Who would teach dancing?  One of the full
members, or better yet, a Tri-Alpha.  That would get lots of people
directly involved and force them to have a personal interest in the
well-being of the pledges, which I think has been lacking.  That's my idea
of expanding the pledge program."

   Lisa nodded.  What Tracy said made sense.

   "When we finally hold the election, I'll need to explain all this before
the others vote.  It wouldn't be fair to have everyone vote for me and then
dump all this responsibility on the members.  I'll need to let them know if
they elect me, my expectation will be that they're gonna have to do some
real work.  I plan to let them know up front if they want to relax, then
they'd better elect someone else."

   *****

   Two days later the Tri-Alpha swearing-in ceremony was celebrated.  The
fraternity members were dressed in suits and the visiting Four-Beta's were
dressed in formal gowns.  The male pledges still were naked, but would be
allowed to get dressed as soon as they swore in.  Lisa, like all of the
other women present, was dressed formally.  On the rare occasions she wore
her gown, she always enjoyed the dramatic change in her appearance. 
Kathleen also was in the formal gown she had bought earlier in the year for
her Senior Prom, but Lisa did not think the dress looked right on her thin,
muscular body.

   Unlike the ominous cult-like atmosphere of the sorority's swearing-in
ceremony, the fraternity's swearing-in ceremony was very upbeat and
boisterous.  There were several rounds of singing, followed by the final
round of spankings of the pledge season.  The spankings were more in fun
and certainly no big deal in comparison with some of the discipline the
male pledges had faced over the summer.  Each pledge had to choose a member
of the Four-Beta Sorority to give him an over-the-lap spanking in front of
the cheering audience.  Following the spankings there would be a final
group picture of the pledges, swearing in, and lastly a formal dinner
during which the new members would have to withstand the re-telling of some
of the funnier stories from their pledging experiences.

   As soon as Lisa found out about the spanking portion of the Tri-Alpha
swearing-in ceremony, she wrote a quick note to pass to Ken:

   If you want to prove your love to me, you will pick Kathleen to smack
your butt.

   Lisa

   When Ken unfolded the note and read it, he gave Lisa a bewildered look.
She nodded back to him with an expression that clearly stated: "do it."

   Of course, Ken obliged.  When his turn came to choose which member of
the sorority would take him over her lap, he chose Kathleen.  The
freshman's eyes went wide with surprise and apprehension.  Lisa patted her
on the bottom through her dress and whispered into her ear:

   "Just a little reminder of what you two can expect from me.  You'd
better spank him good."

   Kathleen was very nervous as Ken, who was considerably taller than she
was, settled across her lap.  However, with the looming threat of Lisa's
disapproval motivating her to "spank him good", Kathleen started
administering some very sharp slaps to her subject's bottom.  As his
backside turned a deeper shade of pink, Ken's penis began to stiffen and
pressed into Kathleen's thigh.  He was thoroughly embarrassed, but at the
same time he was enjoying himself.  Being spanked by Kathleen was a totally
new experience and one that he found very exciting.

   However, the spanking dragged on because Kathleen was very concerned
about further displeasing Lisa over Ken.  Also, she was strong and had
plenty of endurance in her arms from constantly exercising.  Before long,
the spanking went from pleasurable to quite painful without any sign that
she was about to stop.  The barrage of slaps continued as Ken winced and
became worried about staying quiet.

   Every so often Kathleen glanced up at Lisa to make sure that her
mistress wanted her to continue.  Lisa was very pleased, because she knew
that Kathleen was learning to do exactly what she was told to do, even when
it involved another person.  The decision to stop Ken's spanking lay not
with Ken or Kathleen, but with Lisa.  That was what Lisa wanted from her
lover.

   Finally, when Ken's bottom was dark red and Kathleen was clearly tiring,
Lisa made a "T" with her hands to indicate that her lover had permission to
stop.  Pledge Master Arnold commented:

   "Let's hear a hand for Kathleen!"

   As the audience applauded, Ken staggered to his feet, clearly shocked at
the rough treatment he had received at the hands of Lisa's friend.  He was
not reassured in the least when he looked over at his girlfriend and saw
the satisfied expression on her face.

   Once the spankings were completed, it was time for the Tri-Alphas to
swear in.  The five remaining pledges lined up facing the chapter president
with their five spanked bottoms turned towards the audience.  The
Four-Betas took lots of pictures; because it's not every day one gets the
chance to photograph five naked spanked male bottoms lined up in front of a
crowd of well-dressed spectators.

   After swearing in was completed, there was a break to allow the five new
Tri-Alphas to clean up and put on their suits, while the rest of the
fraternity set up for dinner in the back yard.  The new members, looking
very strange now that they were dressed for the first time since the end of
May, sat together next to the chapter president while some of the funnier
moments of pledging were re-lived.  Once the "roast" was over, it was time
to eat.

   The guys now were full members of the fraternity.  Three of them would
celebrate by having sex with various members of the sorority.  The gay guy
quickly paired off with his former Pledge Master and the couple disappeared
into the fraternity house.

   As for Ken, he knew better than to accept the advances of anyone other
than Lisa.  She approached him and was about to claim him for the evening
when Tracy walked up.  It was clear that she was in the mood to "borrow"
him for the evening.  Lisa decided to accommodate her friend and teach Ken
a lesson:

   "You do exactly what she tells you."

   With that she walked off.  As Tracy took Ken upstairs, he realized the
significance of what had just happened.  Lisa considered him her property,
free to use or lend out to others as she saw fit.

   *****

   The following Sunday was set aside for volleyball practice.  Lisa
thought of an idea that made her smack herself in the forehead for not
thinking of it earlier.  Why not have her team members practice with the
juniors from last year's team?  She approached Shannon, who readily
volunteered the players who had not gone home for the break.  Lisa also
decided to have Brittany and Erin participate in the practices, partly to
see if either of them played well, and partly to force them to spend the
entire day exercising.  It turned out that Brittany was a good player. 
Erin was not as good as Brittany, but Lisa felt that she could play well
enough to serve as an alternate.

   The annual Sorority Sports League volleyball tournament was a campus
tradition that went back to the 1960's.  Little had changed over four
decades, because the sororities still used the traditional 15-point scoring
system and played according to pre-1999 rules.  The event was held during
the second week of September, which was the week prior to Rush Week.  The
games took place over a very intense five-day period, starting with
elimination matches running from Wednesday until Friday.  Matches held on
Saturday narrowed the finalists down to four.  Two games were played
Saturday night to determine the first, second, third, and fourth-ranked
teams.  On Sunday there were two final matches.  The third and
fourth-ranked teams played in the morning to determine who got the third
place trophy, and the two winning teams played Sunday evening to determine
who got the fall championship trophy.

   When compared to the university football or basketball games, the
Sorority Sports League volleyball tournament was not a big deal to most of
the university.  However, it was important to the sororities because it
gave the winners bragging rights for the next year.  More importantly, the
chapter president of the winning sorority automatically presided over the
Presidents' Association for all of the campus' sororities.  The games also
allowed the sororities to compete for name recognition and make a final
push to recruit new pledges for the fall semester.  While the games were
going on, the participating sororities had tables set up to allow their
members to talk to prospective pledges.  Obviously, the longer a sorority
stayed in the tournament, the more opportunity its members had to set run a
recruitment table and interact with spectators.

   The Four-Betas customarily did well during the Sorority Sports League
tournaments, always making it at least as far as the Saturday elimination
games.  During most years they were among the final four teams playing on
Sunday.  The previous year they made it to the final championship, only to
lose in a very close, hard-fought match and get second place.  Tracy did
not expect Lisa's group to make it as far as second place, but she hoped
the Four-Beta delegation could stay in at least through Saturday.

   *****

   Of course, as required by their sorority's rules, the players practicing
in the back yard of the Four-Beta house were naked.  It turned out that
would have significance, because during the afternoon two representatives
from the Sorority Sports League committee putting together the volleyball
tournaments showed up at the Four-Beta house.  They entered with notepads
and sign-up sheets to make sure the chapter had put together a team capable
of participating in the September matches.  They asked to step into the
back yard and see the players in action.  Of course what they expected was
what they saw, a group of naked Four-Beta's practicing with the juniors
from last year's group.

   Innocently, one of the representatives asked Elaine:

   "So, is this how they always practice for the games?  Not wearing
anything except their shoes?"

   Elaine pointed at a sign that read:

   No clothing permitted in pool area.

   "It's sorority rules.  We don't allow clothing in the back yard."

   "So, you'd consider being naked their practice uniform?"

   "I guess you could say that.  It's Four-Beta tradition.  We always work
out in the nude whenever we can.  You didn't know that?"

   "Oh, we were just curious."

   Suddenly Elaine became worried.  No, they were not "just curious". 
Those committee members were up to no good.  As soon as they left, Elaine
immediately found Tracy and relayed what had just happened.  Tracy agreed
that something was not quite right about the visit.

   "They're gonna hit us with something.  I'd better warn Alexandra."

   Alexandra's response worried Tracy even more:

   "I just got an e-mail from the Sorority Sports League.  They're planning
on holding a meeting tonight to vote on some rule changes for the
volleyball tournaments.  The e-mail said that the chapter presidents of all
the participating sororities have to show up.  I don't know why they'd want
to change the rules now, because we've been doing this the exact same way
since 1965."

   "They've got something up their sleeves.  Just be ready."

   A few hours later Alexandra and Tracy had their answer.  By a vote of 17
to 1, the chapter presidents approved the following rule changes:

   The uniform worn by all teams participating in the tournament must be
the same uniform utilized during routine practice sessions.  Committee
members will visit each participating sorority to verify the practice
uniform.  Under no circumstances may a team participate in the tournament
wearing any clothing other than what is worn by players during practice
sessions and verified by committee representatives.

   To show solidarity with their teams, the elected officers of each
sorority will be required to wear the same uniform as their participating
players for the duration of the tournament, to include opening and closing
festivities.

   *****

   Of course, the only practical solution was for the Four-Beta Sorority to
forfeit.  There was no way the team could play wearing their "practice
uniform", because that rule change would require the Four-Beta players to
play in a university-wide tournament in the nude.  The attending officers
also would have to be naked in public throughout the entire event.  No,
that was too much.  The Four-Beta Sorority didn't have any choice.  The
rule change made them ineligible to play.

   When Tracy broke the news to Lisa, she expected the matter to end at
that point.  Instead, Lisa vehemently objected:

   "No!  We're playing!  If they want us to play in the nude, that's fine
with me, but we're playing, and I'm planning to win!"

   "But I don't see how...  "

   "Don't you get it?  That's what they want, for us to give up and
forfeit! I refuse to forfeit!  I'll win, or lose, or play bare-assed in
front of the whole fucking university, but I won't forfeit!"

   "Lisa, you can't play a volleyball tournament in the nude!"

   "Why not?  If that's the uniform they're telling us we have to wear,
then what's wrong with it?  We're simply complying with tournament rules!"

   "Lisa, please!  Try to be reasonable about this!"

   "I am being reasonable!  I'm the one upholding Four-Beta tradition! 
Aren't we supposed to be the ones willing to try anything?  The ones who
are different from everyone else?  The sorority that's not afraid to break
with the norms of our society?  Aren't we the ones who step out in front
and set new precedents?  Why should something as simple as a volleyball
tournament be any different?"

   Tracy realized that Lisa was right.  The Four-Beta Sorority never backed
down from a challenge.  To forfeit would be to turn away from eighty years
of tradition.  The Four-Beta's never forfeited, no matter what.

   While Lisa broke the news to her team, Tracy went back upstairs to talk
to Alexandra:

   "Have you e-mailed the committee yet?"

   "No.  I was just about to."

   "Let 'em know we're in."

   "What?"

   "Our team captain insisted that we're still playing.  And yes, we will
abide by the new uniform rules.  That includes the officers."

   "Are you crazy?"

   "I'm crazy enough to be a Four-Beta, so I guess I am.  Anyhow, we've got
a tradition to uphold, so let the Sorority Sports League know that we're
still on the roster."

   *****

   The strength of Lisa's character and her ability to lead others became
evident throughout the following week.  She became almost maniacal about
the volleyball tournament.  Her new fixation in life was that not only
would the Four-Beta Sorority participate under the new uniform rules, but
also that they had to win.

   Most certainly seeing a team of naked women holding the championship
trophy would bring a lot of press coverage to the entire affair.  Calling
the bluff of the other sororities also would force a lot of people to ask
why the Four-Beta Sorority was required to play in the nude, while everyone
else wore uniforms.  Lisa rightly assumed that once the press got past her
team's bizarre participation in the games, the fact that they persisted on
playing despite the extremely unfair treatment they were receiving
ultimately would win them widespread admiration.

   For the first time in her life, Lisa's strong character influenced the
thinking of an entire group instead of just one or two other people.  Her
obsession became the obsession of her teammates.  From the very beginning
she had Kathleen following her, but that was to be expected because
Kathleen was willing to do anything Lisa told her to do.  Also, from the
very beginning she had Brittany and Erin, who knew that the Four-Beta
Sorority's members were suffering because the two defectors were living
under their protection.  They would be playing against their old enemies
and would have to perform well out of pride, honor and the need to prove
themselves.  Lisa managed to motivate them further by requesting permission
to allow her pledges to sleep in the guest room during the run-up to the
tournament instead of sleeping exposed on their uncomfortable cots.

   From that core of three teammates, Lisa expanded her influence over the
other players.  Bernadette was the next to fall in behind Lisa's fixation,
motivated by her desire to gain respect as freshman class president. 
Cherine quickly followed, partly out of a desire to impress Jacob, but also
because she wanted to keep up with Bernadette.  With all five freshmen
solidly behind her, Lisa managed to extend her enthusiasm to the team's
sophomores, who were not about to be outdone by freshmen and pledges.

   Lisa consulted with the previous year's players to determine which of
her team members would play during the first matches, which ones would play
later, and the arrangement of her team members on the court.  As the team
practiced, their captain worked out the final roster for her players.  For
offensive play, she selected herself and the tallest sophomore, as well as
Brittany, as the attackers/blockers.  Brittany was not tall, but could jump
and was good at spiking the ball.  The lead defensive player would be
Kathleen, who could move very quickly, perform "digs" better than anyone
else, and was not afraid to dive when necessary.  Lisa would have made her
into the team's "libero", but the sororities had not yet adopted recent
rule changes establishing that position in the game.  Cherine and
Bernadette would assist Kathleen as "setters", moving the ball from
Kathleen's defensive hits to the offensive players.  Erin and three
sophomores would be alternates.

   The group was coming together, promising a respectable performance. 
Tracy still did not think Lisa's team was likely to win the first place
trophy, but looking at them she did expect the Four-Betas to at least make
it through Saturday.

   By the beginning of September the entire sorority was involved in
volleyball training.  Several juniors returned early from summer break to
help prepare Lisa's team.  The team captain quickly gained the respect of
the previous year's players by carefully listening to her predecessors'
experiences and asking them to observe the current group's performance and
make recommendations.  The juniors and seniors took over the household
chores to free up additional practice time.  The fall elections, which had
been planned for the week after Labor Day, also were postponed to not
distract from the volleyball tournament.  Tracy, instead of becoming
Chapter President, would remain in her current post as Pledge Mistress and
spend her time processing the applications and interviews of the incoming
freshmen.

   While they were practicing, Lisa and her teammates shared a secret among
themselves that no one outside their circle, not even Tracy, knew about. 
The team agreed that if observers from other sororities ever came by to
watch them practice, the members would deliberately play badly.

   "I don't want anyone from the outside to know how we play.  Let them
think we really suck.  That way we can surprise them when we're actually on
the court."

   *****

   Classes started the day after Labor Day.  Lisa returned to Burnside's
office wearing nothing but her light summer dress and tennis shoes.  Once
she was in Burnside's office and the door was shut, she took off her dress
and noticed a hook on the wall next to her desk.  Obviously her professor
had not forgotten about her student's desire to continue working naked.

   Anticipating a hectic fall semester, Lisa had enrolled in only three
classes, just enough to keep her registered as a full-time student.  When
Burnside found out about the light schedule, she was not pleased.  However,
Lisa held her ground, explaining that she'd rather do well in a few classes
than be overwhelmed by the combination of coursework, her duties as a
student aide, and her duties to the sorority.

   "I'm more worried about my GPA, Dr.  Burnside.  If my GPA falls, then
I'm screwed.  You told me that yourself.  The classes I can always take
next semester.  If I mess up my GPA, that I won't be able to fix."

   Lisa managed to silence her professor with that argument.  It was true
that if Lisa's grade-point average fell, the lower score would affect her
standing with the department very quickly.

   *****

   During the first week of the regular semester, there was a
responsibility that kept Tracy, Shannon, Lisa, and Bernadette very busy as
soon as classes were over for the day and they returned to the sorority. 
They had to interview pledge prospects and go over pledge packets.  It made
sense that Bernadette would be involved in the interviews because she was
freshman class leader, but Lisa wondered about the presence of herself and
Shannon.  She did not know that Tracy already was thinking ahead and that
assembled at the table were the members of the future chain of command for
the pledge training staff.

   Tracy passed out sheets of questions to each of her three companions and
encouraged them to fully participate in the panel interviews.  As for the
prospects, Tracy made them fully aware of the harsh conditions they would
have to endure as pledges.  As the freshmen stared at her with frightened
expressions, she added:

   "Every responsibility our training staff will impose on you is written
down in the Pledge Manual.  Read that manual, and you won't get hit with
any surprises.  Everything we make our pledges do is for a reason,
especially the unpleasant stuff.  I'm not going to hide what you're going
up against, because I think you deserve the information you need to make an
informed decision about whether or not you want to share our journey in
life.  I have no desire to begin your time with us by lying to you."

   Folding her hands and tilting her head slightly, Tracy always concluded
with the following:

   "So you think about it carefully.  It's an important decision and you
need to take your time making it.  Before you sign a contract, with us or
with any other sorority, make sure you visit other chapters and ask them
about their pledge programs.  Then ask them how rough they are to their
pledges.  Some of our rivals will tell you up front what'll happen once you
sign your contract, and those are the sororities you should consider. 
However, most of our rivals won't give you a straight story.  If you get an
evasive answer, or hear 'it's not so bad', I'd immediately get the fuck out
and move on to a different house, if I were you.  Why would you want to
spend your time with a bunch of women who, from the very beginning, aren't
going to be honest with you?"

   *****

   The Monday evening before the tournament, two members of the Sorority
Sports League passed by the Four-Beta house to check the final list of
players for the Lisa's team.  When Tracy took them into the back yard, she
was dismayed by how badly her group was playing.  Bernadette missed a
totally easy shot, Kathleen bounced the ball out of bounds, and then
Brittany served right into the net.  The two visitors smiled sarcastically
as they looked over the list of players and noted Tracy's pained
expression.

   When the committee members left, Tracy stormed into the back yard to
yell at Lisa, only to notice the team suddenly was playing much better. 
Then she figured out what her players had just done.  The committee members
were totally fooled, but then, so was she.

   Brilliant.  Way to go.  Absolutely brilliant deception.  Looks like the
others are in for a bit of a surprise...

   *****

   There were a total of 18 sororities participating in the games in a
series of matches starting Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m.  On the first day
Lisa's team would play matches against three other teams, followed by more
matches on Thursday and Friday.  The eight teams with the highest totals of
wins would play for the final elimination on Saturday, leaving the four
best teams to play on Sunday.  It would be a grueling five days, to say the
least, especially for the teams making past the elimination matches.

   Lisa did not know what to expect as far as clothing was concerned, but
decided to assemble her group in the sitting room wearing nothing but
tennis shoes.  Tracy entered the room with an armful of bathrobes marked
with the Four-Beta logo, and passed one to each player.  She was wearing
one of the robes herself, as was Shannon, who was trailing behind her with
another armful of robes.

   As the volleyball team put on their robes, they heard a loud male cheer
outside, which was answered by the cheering of women from inside the
sorority house.  Then came the chant:

   "FOUR-B!"

   "TRIPLE-A!"

   "FOUR-B!"

   "TRIPLE-A!"

   "FOUR-B!"

   "TRIPLE-A!"

   When the team members looked out the windows, they saw the entire
Tri-Alpha Fraternity standing in the driveway in bathrobes.  Then they
noticed that the women crowding the stairs and hallway also were all
dressed in bathrobes.  The sorority women filed outside and quickly joined
their male counterparts in the street.  As Tracy led the volleyball team
outside the crowd erupted into cheering:

   Standing on the entryway step of the sorority house, President Alexandra
raised her hand to silence her audience.  Then she read:

   "The Directorates of the Four-Beta Sorority and the Tri-Alpha Fraternity
have made the following change in their respective members' handbooks.  The
change reads:

   When attending any athletic event in which members of the Tri-Alpha
Fraternity or the Four-Beta Sorority are participating, the standard of
dress will be set by the highest-ranking officer present.  Clothing worn by
rank-and-file members will match the clothing worn by the aforementioned
officer."

   Alexandra stripped off her robe and waved it in the air.  She was not
wearing anything underneath.  The rest of the sorority followed her,
briefly exposing their bodies to the hot early September sunshine.  Then
the fraternity president joined Alexandra, and stripped off his robe to
wave in the air.  Ninety fraternity members followed suit.  Once everyone
had their robes back on, Alexandra shouted:

   "OK, Ladies and Gentlemen!  Let's go watch some volleyball!"

   The members of the fraternity and sorority lined up on formation and
began marching towards the university.  More than 170 university students,
all dressed in white bathrobes marked with their respective logos, clapped
and sang in unison as they made their way past Old Campus towards the
university's basketball stadium.



   Chapter 42 - Volleyball

   The area outside the basketball stadium already was crowded with players
from the 17 other volleyball teams, the members of the university's
sororities and fraternities, and various students and faculty members
interested in watching the volleyball tournament.  Word that the Four-Betas
would be forced to play in the nude already had spread among the rival
sororities.  This was going to be interesting, thought all those women to
themselves.  Would the "sex bitches" actually have the nerve to show up?

   The sight of 170 Tri-Alphas and Four-Betas, cheerfully singing and
clapping as they marched towards the stadium, answered that question.  Yes,
the Four-Betas would play, and yes, they would play naked.  As for
humiliating them, perhaps that wasn't going to be as easy as everyone had
thought, because they had the solidarity of the entire membership of their
sorority and the associated fraternity.  Nor would just the team and the
Four-Beta officers be naked.  Nudity was to be the uniform of the team,
therefore it would be the uniform of the team's supporters.

   The other sororities' efforts to jeer and taunt the Four-Beta team
turned out not to be very effective, because the team members were marching
into the basketball arena as part of a much larger group.  The Tri-Alphas
jeered back, matching their rivals insult for insult.  The rivalry became
very bitter, but the show of support from their friends strengthened the
resolve of Lisa and her companions to play as well as possible.

   The sorority and fraternity members filed into their assigned seating
areas.  Everyone's eyes were on the Four-Betas and Tri-Alphas.  What were
they wearing under their robes?  Would they really watch their team play in
the nude?  That question was answered when Four-Beta President Alexandra
took off her robe, folded it, and set it on her seat as a cushion.  Her
companions followed suit, exposing themselves to thousands of other
spectators in a powerful show of support for their team.  They cheered and
waved to their rivals, not embarrassed in the least about their very public
display.

   At first the other people in the stadium were shocked, but soon the
arena erupted into a strange din of cheering, whistling, cat-calls, and
booing.  The members of the audience who cheered the loudest were students
that were not associated with any of the fraternities or sororities.  The
story behind why the Four-Betas were playing in the nude quickly was
spreading through the audience, along with the fact the team counted on the
full support of the other members.  The enthusiastic support of their
friends impressed many of the spectators, but what mattered even more was
the fact the Four-Beta team had the guts to show up and play, no matter
what.  They clearly were the outsiders, and thus became the favorites of
many in the audience.

   The 17 other sorority presidents were dismayed that their effort to
humiliate the Four-Beta Sorority was not going according to plan, but they
couldn't dwell on that.  They had to start the opening ceremony on time, so
at 9:00 they dimmed the lights several times to force the boisterous crowd
to quiet down.

   The president of the Sorority Sports League stepped into the middle of
the arena and announced the beginning of the volleyball tournament.  She
then ordered the presidents of the 18 participating sororities to bring
their teams to the floor for presentation and to sing the U.S.  National
Anthem.

   When the Four-Beta Sorority was called, the naked chapter president
stood up and led her equally naked team down the bleacher stairs to the
main floor.  There was a strange combination of genuine cheering, sarcastic
cheering, and outright booing as the Four-Beta team took their places among
the other teams.  The booing did not phase the Four-Beta team.  That was
what they expected.  What did surprise them was the large number of people
in the audience cheering for them.  These were girls with guts, who were
facing up to a challenge that no other sorority possibly could have
handled. Already they were winning the admiration of many of the
spectators. Even more important was the show of support by their friends.
Precisely because such a large group in the audience was naked, the team
representing them no longer seemed like such freaks.

   The Sorority Sports League president turned off her microphone and
snarled at President Alexandra:

   "Tell your members to get dressed, right now!  The rule change is just
for your team, not for spectators!"

   Alexandra handed her rival a printout of the rule that had just been
adopted by the Four-Beta Sorority and the Tri-Alpha Fraternity:

   When attending any athletic event in which members of the Tri-Alpha
Fraternity or the Four-Beta Sorority are participating, the standard of
dress will be set by the highest-ranking officer present.  Clothing worn by
rank-and-file members will match the clothing worn by the aforementioned
officer.

   "This is our rule.  It's written in our rulebook, for our members.  If
you want to debate this, let's do it!  Right now, in front of all these
spectators!  Turn on your microphone and let's debate it!

   When Alexandra reached for the microphone, the Sorority Sports League
president jerked it away:

   "Tell your members to get dressed, or I'm calling the fucking cops!"

   "Do it!  Call the cops!  You can explain to them why we're forced to
field a team that's naked!  This was your decision!  We're just complying
with your rules and showing support for our team!  If you don't like it,
call the fucking cops, and then you and me get to debate this on
six-oh-clock news!"

   Alexandra's rival hesitated.  The last thing she wanted was for the
running dispute between her and the Four-Betas to receive any more public
airing.  If she and Alexandra showed up together on TV, she knew that the
Four-Beta president's public speaking skills and calm public demeanor would
make anyone debating her look like an idiot.

   "Fine, have it your way, you fuckin' bare-assed slut!"

   Alexandra took a deep breath to calm down slightly.  She was ready to
pounce on her rival, but knew better.  She had just won the first
confrontation of the volleyball tournament.  Why spoil that?  The
continuing show of solidarity from her sorority's members for her team was
what really mattered.  The Four-Betas and Tri-Alphas were in this together,
a fact that later would be noticed by the sports reporters covering the
tournament.

   Lisa noticed the confrontation between her chapter president and the
sports league president.  She could tell the two seniors were exchanging
unpleasant words, but she had a more immediate concern on her mind: sizing
up the opposing teams.  The majority of the rival women wore uniforms
consisting of matching T-shirts and shorts.  No one wore knee-pads or
numbered jerseys, which to Lisa was one clear indication that the games
were not really taken very seriously.  The Four-Betas were denied knee-pads
by the condition of the rule changes, but the others were not wearing them
by choice.

   Lisa was more worried about doing well during the games than the fact
that she was standing naked with her teammates in front of an audience of
6,000 students.  She had been very stressed about having had so little time
to put her team together, but could tell that most of her competitors were
not much better off.  It was possible they had more time to practice, but
for the majority of the sororities, that extra time didn't mean much.  All
except three of the rival teams clearly were lacking in physical
conditioning.  Once they started playing, Lisa would have to assess whether
or not the opposing players on any given team had playing experience or
were specialized.

   Once all 18 teams had been introduced and were on the floor standing in
formation, everyone stood quietly while the U.S.  National Anthem was
played.  Now that truly was a strange sensation, to have to salute the U.S.
flag in the nude.  Lisa could tell that being naked in public during the
National Anthem somewhat unnerved a couple of her teammates.  She would
have to use the warm-up drills to give them a chance to calm down before
starting them in the first game.

   The Sorority Sports League president announced that the first match
would start at 9:30.  A cheer went up when the audience heard that one of
the two starting teams would be the Four-Betas.  So that was it, the crowd
would get to watch a team of women playing serious volleyball in the nude.

   Apart from the very vocal support of their sorority and the Triple-A's,
the Four-Beta team had another stroke of luck working in their favor that
year.  The referees were members of the regular university varsity women's
volleyball team and in no way were directly associated with the Sorority
Sports League.  No one knew it at the time, but the Four-Betas counted with
the secret sympathy of several referees.  That sympathy would be
tremendously helpful, because the referees not only scored the games, but
also approved and finalized the game schedules.  Having outsiders score the
games had been crucial to preventing fights between rival sororities over
the fairness of the games, and now would work against the effort to
humiliate Lisa's team.

   In fact, the referees were irritated that the sorority league had not
adopted recent NCAA rule changes and were not taking the basic precaution
of forcing their players to wear kneepads.  Now, on top of everything else,
the other sororities were forcing one of their participating teams to play
in the nude.  The Four-Betas would be assured of even-handed treatment and
the other sororities knew that cheating was not a realistic option.  If
they won against the Four-Betas, they would have to win honestly.

   There was another detail that began to worry the other teams.  The
Four-Betas were physically fit and well prepared to play.  Lisa led her
team through several warm-up drills to keep her players motivated and to
get their minds off the Pledge of Allegience.  It was obvious the 4-B's
were thinking more about getting through the first day than the fact they
were naked.  As for the team captain, Lisa began enjoying the feeling of
the cool air-conditioned breeze blowing against her bare skin and the fact
that her body was exposed to so many spectators.  Yes, she might have been
nervous about playing, but what she was going through at the moment was an
exhibitionist's dream.

   The very first game, played against Brittany and Erin's old sorority,
was a blow-out.  Supposedly the game was going to be a revenge match for
the Four-Betas' most bitter rivals, but it seemed that their talent for
volleyball was comparable to their talent for street brawling.  The final
scores was 15-2, 15-0, and 15-3.  Brittany and Erin looked on with deep
satisfaction as their former sorority sisters cried from the humiliating
defeat and the crowd loudly cheered for the naked "sex-bitches".

   As much as the two defectors wanted to taunt their former tormentors,
they held their tongues.  As Lisa said prior to the game:

   "I want you to remember that a good Four-Beta lets her actions speak for
her.  The only taunting I want for the other teams is gonna be from looking
at their scores and wondering what went wrong."

   As the day progressed, the performance of the next team was not much
better, 15-6, 15-8, and 15-4.  The final team was one of the teams that
most concerned Lisa, and they played a grueling and exciting set of
matches, with the final scores logged as 15-13, 12-15, and 15-13.  The
Four-Betas ended the day with a hard-fought victory against a rival that
had been favored to win.  By Wednesday night it already was obvious the
Four-Betas would be among the eight teams participating in the Saturday
play-offs.

   Wednesday night Lisa reviewed the day's performance with her players in
the Four-Beta sitting room.  The team members were in very high spirits and
were actually proud to be the only naked team playing in the tournament. 
They had showered and as a show of solidarity had decided that none of them
would get dressed until the sorority tournament was over.  The players were
looking forward to the following two days, obviously expecting to win and
hopefully match the performance of the previous year's team.  Lisa tempered
their enthusiasm:

   "Right now I'm not worried about Sunday, or even Saturday for that
matter.  Today we won because the other teams weren't ready for us.  Now
they will be ready, and they're gonna throw everything they have at us just
to keep us out of the play-offs.  We've got three teams we're going up
against tomorrow and we've got to win those matches game by game, point by
point, dig by dig, spike by spike.  Now, I want to hear from each of you
what you think you need to do to improve your performance.  Then we need to
talk strategy and tweak our line-up."

   When the Four-Beta's returned with their enthusiastic escort to the
basketball stadium on Thursday, the atmosphere of the entire arena had
changed.  Word had spread across campus that a naked team was playing in
the sorority tournament and had won against all three opponents the
previous day.  That was something worth seeing.  In classrooms throughout
the university the male population was nowhere to be seen, because the men
were crowded into the basketball stadium to watch the amazing spectacle of
naked volleyball players.

   The president of the Sorority Sports League realized she did have a
chance to pressure the Four-Beta team, by broadcasting live shots of them
on the arena's huge monitors overlooking the audience.  There was no reason
the monitors could not feature close-up shots of the Four-Betas' breasts,
bottoms, and faces to make sure all those guys had a really good look at
them.  In fact, why not put up the name of each Four-Beta player while her
body was being exhibited on the big screens?  That would be a nice surprise
for the sex-bitches, to look up and see themselves on full display on those
big screens.

   The plot would have worked, had a member of Campus Security not seen the
bantering with the guys controlling the cameras and monitors.  Sergeant
Polk knew what was about to happen with those monitors and quietly slipped
over to his naked fellow Reservist to warn her.  Tracy thought about her
options, which included warning her team and hoping they still could play,
or trying to prevent the broadcasting.  She asked Polk:

   "Can you do anything about the monitors?"

   "I might.  I know the wiring feeding out of the fuse-box is not up to
code and we got badly dinged in the last inspection.  The inspector was
telling me that if some of those cables touched each other where they don't
have insulation, it'd blow out the entire video system."

   "Can you make it happen?"

   Polk thought for a moment.  If he were caught messing with the wires it
would cost him his job and probably his security clearance, but something
more important was at stake.  He realized that he respected and deeply
cared for Tracy, his sergeant and fellow Reservist.  He felt guilty about
ogling her body over the summer and somehow wanted to make it up to her. 
Now he had a chance to restore his honor, even if the need to do so existed
only in his own thoughts.

   "I'll see what I can do.  No promises, but I'll give it a shot."

   Tracy gave Polk a rare smile, a genuine show of gratitude.

   "Thanks...  for everything."

   "Sure, Tracy.  I just wanted...  to...  uh...  " He took a deep sigh,
unable to go any further.  "Wish me luck."

   Polk quietly descended past the bleachers to the fuse-box room.  He
unlocked the door and to his relief noticed that the fuse-box that fed into
the monitors had not been upgraded.  He pondered how to attack the power
feeding the video system and not make it look like it had been tampered
with.  First he thought about taking out the cameras, but realized that was
not a good option because they had an alternate power supply and might not
be disabled for more than a few minutes.  Then he realized that he could
short out the monitors and leave the rest of the system intact.  All he had
to do was use a sharp edge to strip the insulation from three wires, then
touch them together.  To do that he needed a sharp object that would not
conduct electricity.  He needed either a piece of plastic or broken piece
of glass.  He looked around the room and noticed several fast food bags
sitting in the trash.  One of them had a plastic knife.  Hoping that would
work, Polk wiped off the knife and carefully scraped the first of the three
wires...

   The monitors showed images of the U.S.  flag while the National Anthem
was being played.  Meanwhile, the Sorority Sports League directors focused
the cameras towards the Four-Beta side of the volleyball court and ordered
the cameramen to test for close-up shots of the naked team members. 
Another sorority director was typing the names of the Four-Beta team
members into the video display system so that each shot of a bare bottom,
stressed face, or set of breasts would be accompanied by the owner's name.
If that didn't unnerve the sex bitches and make them miss their serves,
digs, and spikes, nothing would.

   Sweat dripped down Polk's face as he finally cut down to the copper of
his first wire.  The dull plastic knife was woefully inadequate for the
job, but the wires were live and he dared not cut into them with a piece of
metal.  He sighed as he started on the second wire, totally stressed that
someone might come into the room and catch him.  This was taking too long.
Then he thought of something.  He reached into the trash and pulled out two
glass soda bottles.  He cracked one against the other and broke the glass.
Yes!  When he pulled apart the broken bottle there was a long piece with a
nice sharp point!  He dug it into the second wire and neatly carved out a
notch, leaving the underlying metal bare.  Two down, one to go.  Another
quick dig, another notch, another bare wire.

   OK...  let's see if I got the right ones...

   Polk touched the wires together.  There was a loud electric SNAP and a
blue flash that made the security officer jump, even though he was
expecting it.  He touched the third wire to the first two, and was rewarded
with another electronic CRACK.  The circuit-breaker in the fuse-box went
off, and already the room smelt of burnt electronics.  Polk threw the knife
and broken bottle back into the trash and carried out the bag, locking the
room on his way out.  He glanced up at a security camera, but knew it was
turned off.  That had been another ding in the inspection that had not yet
been fixed.

   As the Four-Betas positioned themselves to begin the first match of the
day, several cameras focused on their bodies.  Everything was ready...

   ...  and then the monitors went blank!  A few seconds later, the screens
went completely dark!  What the fuck?

   Tracy watched the frantic conversations in the control room as the
Sorority Sports League representatives and technicians tried to figure out
what was going on.  Why weren't those fucking monitors working?  Then she
saw Polk, her fellow Reservist and now her friend, standing at the opposite
end of the arena with his hands in his pockets, curiously looking up at the
blank screens.

   How strange that they should just go out like that...  Oh well, at least
they didn't go out during an important basketball game...  maybe it was
just as well it was during the pre-season so their power supply could be
properly fixed...

   *****

   Lisa and her companions never knew about the drama in the fuse box room
or that they narrowly missed having their exposed bodies broadcast on those
big overhead screens with their names.  The effort to unnerve them during
the second day of the tournament ended in failure.  As the university's
electricians pulled apart the burnt wiring in the fuse box room, the Lisa
and her companions scored 15-8, 15-13, and 15-11; then 15-13, 15-12, and
15-14; and finally 15-6, 15-3, and 15-0 to bring the team's wins to 6-0.

   The monitors were still incapacitated on Friday.  On the third day of
regular game-play, the Four-Betas went up against tougher teams and played
longer, closer matches.  By the end of Friday the cumulative score was
eight wins and one loss.  Lisa's group would enter the play-offs Saturday
with the second highest ranking of the 18 participating sororities.

   By Saturday morning the crowds were cheering for the Four-Betas.  There
was no question the "sex-bitches" were proving themselves in competition
and had overcome tremendous obstacles.  Their nonchalant attitude about
playing in the nude in such a public setting fascinated the multitude of
spectators and drew long lines of potential pledges and curiosity seekers
to the Four-Beta Sorority information table.  Sorority flyers and business
cards had to be re-stocked several times, especially on Saturday when the
number of information tables was reduced from 18 to 8.

   The weekend edition of the campus newspaper put out a sympathetic
article about the Four-Beta Sorority that showed the players from the back
in a couple of photos, but mostly focused on an interview with the
out-going chapter president.  Alexandra noted that her sorority's emphasis
on physical fitness was an important factor in her team's solid performance
during the tournament.  When asked about the rule change that forced her
sophomores and freshmen to play naked, she responded:

   "The Sorority Sports League made a rule change about the uniforms. 
Obviously we didn't agree with it, but our team decided to play, no matter
what.  Our philosophy is to never back down from a challenge.  If the
Sorority Sports League wanted to challenge us with making that rule change,
the only thing I can say is that I hope we met that challenge and, as we
like to say it, 'bore honest witness' as athletes and competitors."

   By Saturday, the Four-Betas were the clear favorites of the audience. 
The crowd became more mixed as women, alumni, and professors joined the
male students that had come in on Thursday and Friday.  Everyone's
curiosity about watching the naked volleyball team had been satisfied and
now most of the audience was there to cheer for the Four-Betas and watch
them win.

   Lisa's teammates were at the top of their game on Saturday as they won
against three rivals.  The Sorority Sports League made yet another mistake
by putting their best team up against the Four-Betas, hoping to eliminate
them from the Sunday finals.  Lisa was at her finest during that game,
receiving the ball from her teammates and repeatedly spiking it into the
opponents' court.  On the opposing side there was a player just as tall and
just as good as Lisa, so the game developed into a grueling stand-off with
constant turn-overs and very close scores.  In the end, however, Kathleen's
quick saves gave the Four-Betas more serves and more opportunities to
score. The final results, against the best sorority team in the league,
were 15-13, 15-12, and 15-13.

   The naked crowd of Four-Betas and Tri-Alphas in the audience erupted in
cheering.  That final game assured the Four-Betas of a spot in the sorority
championship match the following afternoon.  Already Lisa's team had made
it as far as the previous year's team, and the opponents with the best
chance of beating them now were relegated to playing in the morning for the
third place trophy.

   *****

   When Sunday came, Lisa woke up totally at peace with herself.  She knew
that her team was going to win the sorority championship.  She didn't think
or hope, she knew.  Her players would go into that arena totally sure of
themselves, and go up against opponents who were competent players, but
under tremendous pressure from the other 17 sororities to humiliate the
odious "sex bitches".  In a way Lisa almost felt sorry for the opposing
team, because the Four-Betas already had proven themselves by defeating the
team most likely to win the tournament.  Lisa was determined to win, and
knew that her team would win, but at the same time she did not feel
pressured.

   Lisa was determined that her companions would enter the arena with the
same peace of mind she was enjoying.  That wouldn't be a problem, because
they had all morning to get ready.  Lisa decided there would be no
volleyball practice, but instead a morning of yoga, swimming in the pool,
stretching, more swimming, and finally some rest.  Once they were in the
arena the Four-Beta team would do warm-up drills, but that would be their
only practice directly related to volleyball.  They would play with their
minds alert and their bodies toned and yet relaxed.

   The rest of the sorority left the house that Sunday so the team could
enjoy their morning in peace.  When they came back, the other sorority
members got into their bathrobes and for the fifth time accompanied their
team to the basketball arena singing and clapping as they paraded down the
street.  For the fifth and final time the women and their Tri-Alpha friends
sat on their robes and loudly cheered their team as the Four-Beta women
proudly filed down the stairs to face their opponents.  Lisa and her
companions no longer felt any shame at having to face their athletic
experience in the nude.  They were quite proud of themselves and what they
were about to accomplish.  When the national anthem was played, the
uneasiness of the first day was totally gone.

   Lisa looked at the faces of the opposing team.  They were angry,
nervous, and tired.  They did not seem to be happy to have made it to the
final game at all.  Instead the only thing on their minds was to get even
with "the sex bitches" on the behalf of everyone they had betrayed.  They
felt the weight of the pressure of 17 sororities on their shoulders.  They
absolutely had to win.

   In contrast with their opponents, all the Four-Betas had to do was play
well.

   The final championship game score surprised everyone except Lisa.  When
compared to the exciting match the previous evening, the championship was
anti-climatic, with final scores of 15-11, 15-10, and 15-7.  While their
opponents played with so much anger that they constantly made mistakes,
Lisa seemed to be everywhere on the net with her constant "spikes" and
"aces".  Towards the end her opponents argued with each other and the
team's cohesion broke down.  There was no doubt about it; the Four-Betas
clearly were the best-prepared and most determined players of the day.

   There was a final irony that truly pained the president of the Sorority
Sports League.  Just as the Four-Betas were serving for game point on the
final match, the university electricians managed to fix the wiring for the
monitors.  The screens came back on in time to show Lisa score the final
"ace" of the championship.

   Still wearing their "game uniforms", the Four-Beta team accepted the
first-place trophy for the tournament.  Brittany and Erin got the honor of
holding it for the official victory photo, as a permanent reminder of their
defection that would forever taunt the members of their former sorority.



   Chapter 43 - Kathleen's punishment

   Once the celebrations from the victory died down and the Four-Beta
members returned to the sorority house, President Alexandra called an
emergency meeting in the sitting room.  She flatly announced the fall
election was way overdue and that it was urgent to have the sorority's new
leadership elected and in place for Rush Week.

   "Unfortunately we'll have to make the transition at the same time we're
having Rush, but I've got to step down.  I'm not taking classes this fall,
and if I'm no longer enrolled I'm not qualified to be in the directorate.
So tomorrow night we're holding our fall elections, and we'll swear in the
new officers on Saturday.  Please consult with your class leaders so we can
agree on nominations."

   Lisa felt bad for Alexandra, because her presidency was ending without
the scandal over the former Sergeant-at-Arms being completely resolved. 
While it may have been true that President Alexandra was not the best
leader the sorority ever had, it also was clear that she was a decent
person and that she did care about what happened to the members.  Lisa knew
that in the end she would be forgotten, that her mixed record and a few
lapses of judgment would relegate her service to obscurity within a few
years.  Once the sophomores graduated, no one in the sorority would even
remember her.

   Tracy would be very different as president.  She had a very aggressive
plan that if implemented, would make the Four-Beta Sorority a very serious
organization and expand its membership.  She wanted being a Four-Beta to be
a life-changing experience for everyone who joined and ultimately expand
the sorority's influence within the university community.  Unlike her
predecessor, Tracy would be remembered long after she graduated and moved
on with her career.  The changes she planned to make would have a permanent
impact on how the Four-Betas conducted their lives and saw themselves as a
group.

   *****

   Lisa was hoping to go to bed and spend some time with Kathleen but, as
usual, Tracy pulled her aside and asked her to accompany her into the
sorority office.  Tracy wanted to "talk shop" with Lisa before releasing
her for the evening.  Her immediate concern was not the election, but Rush
Week.  The sorority would be full of prospective pledges throughout the
next six days and the members would have to host a series of parties.  The
sophomores had the biggest stake in the outcome of Rush Week, because they
would be living with the incoming group for the next three years.

   "You're gonna have to get together with Elaine and do some real mixing
with those freshmen.  This is really gonna be your show.  Also, make sure
the members of your pledge group and Brittany and Erin are out there,
getting to know those girls.  And another thing.  We're definitely not the
right sorority for everyone.  If you don't think we're a good fit for
someone or they're not a good fit for us, make sure they know that and make
sure you explain why.  But at the same time, never be overly insistent
about pushing someone out the door.  If you don't think they're a good fit,
and you try to discourage them, but they seem to insist, send them my way
so I can make a final determination.  Don't forget, I have no problem
taking in the Bernadettes and Kathleens of this world.  If they really want
to join, and I feel it's for the right reasons, I'll give 'em a contract."

   Tracy sat back and tilted her head slightly, which was a gesture she
always used when she had something important to announce to her listener:

   "That gets us to the next thing I need to settle.  I've been talking to
the other seniors, and also to Shannon and Elaine, and we've pretty much
decided who's gonna get the nominations for the next chapter directorate.
The new officers will all be seniors, except Shannon, who's my first choice
for the next Sergeant-at-Arms.  There's only one spot still open, and
that's Pledge Mistress.  There's a reason why Pledge Mistress is always the
hardest position to fill, and that's because most members don't want it. 
It's the least glamorous spot in the directorate, and yet by far the one
with the most responsibility and the one with the most work.  Most of the
members are here to have fun, and being Pledge Mistress is not very much
fun.  However, this year we do have a member who'd make a good Pledge
Mistress."

   "So who is it?"

   "You."

   "Me?"

   "You're the most logical choice.  What I'd like to do is nominate you to
be this year's Pledge Mistress and take the word 'Acting' off your title."

   "But...  I just joined...  wouldn't the others have a problem with...  "

   Tracy smiled and shook her head.

   "No.  Trust me, the others won't have a problem with it.  With as much
work as that position is...  and the worst part of it is having to put up
with me day in and day out...  No.  They're not lining up to be Pledge
Mistress.  That job takes a certain personality type, and right now, you're
the member in the sorority who's got what's needed to do the job.  It
doesn't matter that you just joined."

   "Well...  I guess if the others are OK with it...  I'd be honored...  "

   "And I'll be honored to be working with you in the fall.  Even before I
started talking to the seniors, you were my first pick to replace me.  The
others are expecting it.  They already have a nickname for you.  They're
calling you 'Tracy Junior'."

   Lisa laughed.

   "I 'spose there's worse things they could call me."

   "Anyhow, I know you've got Kathleen as your assistant.  Actually, she's
very good with the stuff you've assigned to her, you know, the rules and
history instruction.  I suppose she's not ready to take over a group?"

   "No.  Her strong point is her teaching.  She's not a leader.  I couldn't
picture her bossing anyone around."

   "Alright, then we'll keep her focused on instructing and not assign her
a group.  How do you feel about Bernadette and Cherine?"

   "I think Bernadette would make a good counselor, but you're gonna have
to be careful about who goes in her group.  You'd want outgoing girls with
her, but not ones with really strong personalities.  I wouldn't put anyone
in her group who might challenge her, because I don't think she'd handle
that well.  Cherine would be a good counselor with quieter pledges, the shy
ones."

   "Alright, then we've got a Pledge Mistress, an assistant/instructor, and
two group counselors.  I'll talk to Shannon and Elaine about nominating the
others.  Now the next thing I want to think about is what the training
staff is gonna wear.  I'm thinking of assigning uniforms to the training
staff, the same as the pledge outfits, except the shirts would read
'counselor' or 'Pledge Mistress'."

   Lisa took a deep breath.  Tracy noticed her disappointed expression.

   "You're not thrilled about having to wear a uniform, are you?"

   "Not really.  I mean, I already told Brittany and Erin that I wasn't
gonna be wearing anything because I'm a nudist and...  "

   "So, that lifestyle's really that important to you?"

   "Yes."

   "So, what you're telling me is that you'd prefer to perform your duties
as Pledge Mistress in the nude?"

   "Yes."

   "Well, here's a thought.  What if I propose that the uniform for the
Pledge Mistress ought to be the same as the pledges?  In other words, when
the pledges are naked, the Pledge Mistress must be naked too?"

   "That's sort of what I wanted...  "

   "Alright, I'll just write that into your work plan.  But what it means
is that whenever the pledges are attending sorority functions or meetings,
you'd have to be there in the nude along with them."

   "That's fine.  That's what I want."

   Lisa watched as Tracy made some notes.  Then she decided to change the
topic:

   "Tracy, I was kinda curious.  If you want me to be Pledge Mistress,
what's the deal gonna be about discipline?"

   "That'll mostly stay the same under you as it was under me.  I believe
that physical punishment is an important part of what we do in the
Four-Beta pledge-training program.  As Pledge Mistress I expect you to be
as strict with your group as I was with you.  The only change I want is
more accountability.  Anytime a pledge needs to be disciplined, the Pledge
Mistress, or in some cases her group counselor, will administer the
punishment.  Both the Pledge Mistress and the counselor would have to be
present whenever a punishment is administered, along with another chapter
officer and at least one other witness, preferably other pledges from her
group.  I also want to formalize punishments, such as having an official
reading of the pledge's offense, always conducting punishments in one
place, and always have them administered the same way."

   Tracy looked at Lisa to get her reaction.  When Lisa nodded Tracy
continued:

   "What I'd also like to do is put down in writing the rules, procedures,
and severity of punishments, so everyone knows, from the very beginning,
what to expect.  On the other hand, I'd leave some discretion for leniency
to the Pledge Mistress, but would make sure that she explains in the
training log why any given punishment is less severe than what's stipulated
in the Pledge Manual.  For example, your decision to split the punishment
you had to give Brittany and Erin because your assistant brought out the
wrong strap made perfect sense.  I want to make sure the Pledge Mistress
has that type of on-the-spot discretion.  But anyhow, I want everything
related to punishments put into the training log, so that each incident of
discipline is documented and subject to review by the sorority officers at
the end of each week."

   "That makes sense."

   "By the way, make sure the punishment you administered to Brittany and
Erin is fully documented in the training log.  Might as well get started on
that now."

   "Alright."

   Lisa added a paragraph about the strapping to the training log while
Tracy looked through several pledge packets.  When Lisa finished her entry,
Tracy's next question totally shocked her.

   "Lisa, I need to ask you a personal question, because how you answer
will make a difference in a decision I have to make for myself."

   Lisa looked up, waiting for the question:

   "What's your relationship with Ken right now?"

   "I...  well you know I was over at the Tri-Alpha house today...  "

   "Having sex with him?"

   Lisa gave Tracy a very irritated look.

   "Yes, Tracy, I had sex with him.  Why do you need to know that?"

   Tracy took a deep breath.

   "I need to know that because...  I have my reasons.  But if you're
getting back together with Ken, where does that leave Kathleen?"

   "It's kinda complicated...  but I'm not leaving her, if that's what
you're worried about."

   "But you still want him as well?"

   "Yeah, the truth is, I want him too.  But there's a lot more to it... 
right now I can't explain it, but what I feel for both of them...  "

   The two women sat quietly for a minute, each of them becoming more
uncomfortable with the silence.

   "You will remember that I told you not to judge Ken, not to make
assumptions about him.  You remember that, right?"

   "Yes.  I remember that."

   "...  and now you've decided that you want him back, even though you're
rooming with Kathleen?"

   "Yes."

   "...  and he wants you?"

   "Yes."

   "...  and...  do Ken and Kathleen...  know about each other?"

   Lisa stayed silent for a minute, but suddenly blurted out:

   "Yeah, they know about each other alright!  They even fucked each other
at Burnside's party and tried to keep it a secret from me!  That pissed me
off and...  "

   Tracy immediately pounced on Lisa's hypocrisy over the encounter between
her two lovers.  As Lisa defended herself, she was forced to explain that
what she really wanted was to have both Ken and Kathleen as submissive
partners.  Then she backtracked and tried to justify what she wanted:

   "...  but it's not what you think...  really it isn't!  I care about
both of them and the fact is they both need me.  The problem is I really
don't know how much longer I can balance them in my life, because...  in
the end you'll be right about...  because I'm really worried I'm gonna
badly hurt one of them...  and that's the last thing I want to do...  "

   "Well, here's my next question.  How would you feel if Ken was staying
here, with us in the sorority house, and you were in charge of him?"

   "Well, sure...  that'd be great, but how could that happen?"

   "Remember in a few days I'll be chapter president?"

   "Well, yeah...  "

   "And you'll remember there's a tradition that, every year, the Four-Beta
chapter president gets to pick two Tri-Alphas as her personal attendants.
Those two members are officially on loan to us from the fraternity.  They
have to stay at the sorority instead of the fraternity, and they're under
orders from the Four-Beta directorate.  What I'm driving at is that with
your permission I'd like to pick Ken to be one of my attendants."

   "But...  are you and him...  "

   "No.  We're not.  That's the reason I want him on board, because I don't
want an attendant I'm emotionally involved with.  The truth is, I have
nothing to offer him.  I can't give him a relationship, or my time, or my
love.  Ken understands what I need from him, but I have absolutely nothing
I can give back to him in return.  That would have to come from you.  Love,
time, emotional support, training, discipline...  all that would have to
come from you."

   Lisa realized that she was about to get as close to living out her
fantasy as she could without owning a large house in which she could lock
up her two lovers.  Also, she was somewhat flattered that Tracy was asking
her permission to take Ken as one of her attendants, because that was
something she was not required to do at all.

   In the end Lisa gave the future chapter president consent for Ken to
move into the sorority house.  He would serve as Tracy's personal
attendant, just like the two guys that currently were serving under
President Alexandra.

   There would be one important change however, a condition that Lisa
insisted upon.  Ken would not be issued the white attendant's uniform. 
Instead, like the new Pledge Mistress, her assistant, and the pledges
themselves, Tracy's attendant would be required to be naked whenever
performing his duties.  At no time would Ken be allowed to cover himself
when he was in the Four-Beta House.

   So now it was official.  Ken was destined to be part of Lisa's future,
every bit as much as Kathleen was destined to be part of Lisa's future.

   *****

   Lisa returned to her room, hugged Kathleen, and put her over her lap to
take her temperature.  As she contemplated her lover's thin bottom and
waited for the temperature to register, Lisa realized that if she still
wanted to whip Kathleen for her indiscretion over July 4th, that night
would be her best opportunity to carry out the punishment.  During Rush
Week neither she nor Kathleen would be running around the sorority house
naked, so the welts would stay hidden under her lover's clothing.  By the
end of Rush Week the marks would be gone and the punishment would remain a
private matter.  That was important to Lisa, because she was as determined
to protect Kathleen's dignity in public as she was in forcing her to be
totally submissive in private.

   Lisa pulled out the thermometer, read the temperature, wiped it off, and
put it back in its case.  Then she tapped her lover's shoulder to let her
know she needed to stand up.  Lisa embraced Kathleen, gently kissed her
mouth, and with a sad voice announced:

   "Sweetie, I'm afraid I still gotta punish you for what you did to me on
July 4th.  You understand that, right?"

   Kathleen's expression changed to fear and she began trembling:

   "Yes Lisa, I understand that."

   "Then I think tonight's the best night to get that taken care of.  I
don't want your behavior coming between us anymore, so right now you're
gonna have to get your whipping.  Then we can forget about it.  Hmm?"

   Lisa positioned her fingertips under her frightened lover's chin,
forcing her to look up.

   "I...  yes Lisa...  "

   "Now you be a good girl and get me that two-pronged strap you were
thinking about having me use.  Also, get me a couple of three-foot chains
and two wrist cuffs."

   Lisa handed Kathleen a pillowcase and stuffed a towel into it.

   "Use this to wrap everything up and stuff it in here.  If anyone sees
you, just say you're doing laundry."

   Kathleen took the pillowcase downstairs and went into the small room
where the punishment supplies were kept.  She selected a two-pronged strap,
chains and wrist cuffs.  She would have taken simple metal ones, but she
knew that Lisa instead wanted her to select leather cuffs that were padded.
The reason for that was very simple: Lisa did not want any cuff-marks on
her lover's wrists as evidence that she had been restrained.  As
instructed, she wrapped the items in the towel and went back upstairs.

   While Kathleen was gone, Lisa had undressed and cleared the space where
the disciplinarian and her subject would be standing during the whipping.
She unloaded the towel and stuffed it at the foot of the door to muffle any
sound that might come from the room.  She wrapped Kathleen's wrists in the
cuffs and ordered her to stand quietly with her eyes shut until given
further orders.  Lisa then suspended the chains from the hooks (she was
tall enough to not need to stand on a chair) and finally lifted Kathleen's
arms and clipped her wrists to the chains.  Kathleen thus was immobilized.
She was trembling, but kept her eyes shut pending permission to open them
again.

   Lisa then sat down to admire her lover before punishing her.  She truly
did make a lovely sight, her thin, trembling body waiting for punishment.
Once Lisa satisfied herself studying her subject, she stood up and
sensuously ran her hands over her lover's body.  Softly she spoke into her
ear:

   "I love you, and it hurts me to have to do this to you.  You understand
I don't like having to hurt you like this, don't you?"

   "I...  Yes Lisa, I know that."

   "Please don't ever make me have to do this to you again.  If you behave
from now on, you could make this the last time I ever have to punish you."

   "I...  I'll try, Lisa...  please...  I don't want you to be mad at me."

   Lisa traced her fingertip around her lover's trembling mouth.

   "That's completely up to you.  Totally up to you.  Your choices in life
are what'll decide whether or not I have to discipline you.  You know the
rules, but it's up to you whether or not you want to follow them."

   Lisa put her hands on Kathleen's hips to position her for the flogging.
She would have to remain standing with her feet spread slightly and pointed
inward, her back arched with her bottom properly positioned to receive the
blows.  When Lisa was ready to punish the fronts of her lover's thighs,
Kathleen would have to stand straight.  Lisa gave her a very strong
incentive to stay in position and not do anything to lessen the impact of
the strap: she gently touched the implement to her lover's vulva.  If
Kathleen dared break position, Lisa would strike her between the legs.

   Lisa strongly believed that any punishment needed to have various
rituals before the blows started.  One of those rituals was to draw lines
on her lover's arms and legs with a magic marker.  Lisa wanted to separate
the parts of her lover's body that would be covered by clothing from the
areas that would be exposed.  She would have to stay within the limits of
those lines.  Of course, Lisa was perfectly capable of staying with those
areas anyway, but the feel of the magic marker on her body heightened
Kathleen's anxiety and pre-punishment tension.

   The next part of the ritual came when Lisa caressed Kathleen's body with
the strap.  As the thin prongs explored the young woman's exposed skin, she
began to perspire and tremble with fright.  Finally Lisa stopped, gave her
lover one last kiss on the mouth, and positioned herself to deliver the
first blow.  She tapped the strap against her lover's trembling bottom,
swung her arm back, and delivered a cruel blow across both sides.

   "Aiee...  uh...  uh...  "

   The implement did not make a loud CRACK like the noise made by a broad
strap, but it left two cruel reddish lines across Kathleen's backside. 
Lisa waited for the pain to fully register in the younger woman's mind
before delivering the second blow.  She would go very slowly, following
Burnside's lesson to allow the passage of time to help wear down her victim
and thus minimize the number of blows needed to make her cry.

   The whipping started on Kathleen's bottom, but Lisa also planned to
punish her shoulders and upper thighs to avoid concentrating the punishment
too much on just one part of her lover's body.  The strap left very cruel
marks because so much force was concentrated in those two thin prongs of
leather.  The implement was not what Lisa would have chosen to punish her
lover, but because it was what Kathleen had picked out, it was what Lisa
would have to use.  It did have one huge advantage, and that was it did not
make loud noises upon impact like a normal strap or paddle.  That certainly
was important for Lisa's desire to keep the punishment a private matter in
the crowded sorority house.

   It was clear that Kathleen was suffering, although she was doing her
best to "be a good girl" and not make too much noise by crying.  After just
four strokes tears were running down her cheeks.  By the time Lisa had
covered her bottom and backs of her thighs with cruel reddish welts, her
lover's body was shaking with suppressed sobs.

   Lisa took a break from the punishment, but touched the strap to
Kathleen's shoulders to let her know that part of her body would be
punished next.  A strange mix of emotions swept through her as she studied
her suffering companion.  She felt that Kathleen made a truly beautiful
sight with her body restrained and her bottom covered with vicious red
marks.  At the same time Lisa empathized with the poor girl.  Precisely
because she was so helpless at that moment, there was a part of Lisa that
wanted to reassure her and protect her.  She knew that moment would indeed
come: that as soon as she was released Kathleen would need to be held and
comforted.

   However, before her lover could be released, Lisa would have to finish
the whipping.  The purpose of the evening's session was real punishment
with the goal of inflicting real pain.  Lisa was chastising Kathleen to put
fear into her, fear of the consequences of ever crossing her again.  Lisa
loved her companion and had no desire to continuously beat her.  However,
she was determined to use the evening's traumatic session as part of her
life-long goal of establishing ownership over the girl's soul.  Even if
Lisa never had to whip her again, threat of punishment, based on the memory
of what was going on in that room, would always be a part of Kathleen's
life.

   The freshman held up fairly well while her bottom was being flogged, but
she cried pitifully when Lisa started punishing her upper back.  She broke
position and tried to twist to avoid a stroke, which forced Lisa to bring
the strap up between her legs.  Once that blow was delivered, she quickly
covered Kathleen's mouth to muffle her scream.  Tears and sweat were
pouring down the poor girl's face, and Lisa had not even started flogging
the fronts of her legs.

   Lisa paused to allow her lover to partially recover from the blows
delivered so far.  Her bottom was a swollen mass of red lines.  Her upper
back was marked as well, but only with six sets of double welts.  Lisa
decided that was enough and it was time to finish up on her thin thighs.

   "OK, now you know I was serious about hitting you between the legs.  I
don't want to have to do that to you again, but I will whenever you break
position.  Do you understand me?"

   Kathleen, between her sobs and trembling, forced herself to nod.

   "Stand up straight, so I can finish up.  I know it's gonna hurt, but if
you behave, we'll be done in just a few minutes."

   Because Kathleen already had broken, Lisa did not see any need in
prolonging the final portion of her punishment.  She quickly laid 20
strokes on the upper part of her lover's thighs, 10 on each side.  While
Lisa waited for the pain from the final portion of the punishment to mount,
Kathleen continued to cry as she hung suspended by her cuffs.  Lisa wanted
to release her and hold her, but decided to wait until her lover's sobs
died down a bit.

   Finally Lisa decided it was time to unclip her lover's cuffs and let her
down.  She sat down on her bed and held the sad girl in her arms,
comforting her like a crying child.  The punishment had ended and the
moment had come for Lisa to reassure her charge that everything was
forgiven and that she still loved her.

   Kathleen fell asleep within a few minutes, exhausted by the trauma of
her punishment and comforted by Lisa's embrace.  Lisa was relieved, because
the punishment that had waited for two months finally was over.  Her lover
had been taught her lesson.  More importantly, she had accepted the life
Lisa was preparing for her and was ready for the next phase in the
relationship.

   *****

   The following day Lisa woke up, showered, and then woke up her roommate.
She ordered Kathleen to stand up so she could study the results of the
previous day's punishment.  Kathleen's body still was badly marked up, but
Lisa calculated that by Thursday the marks would be gone.

   It was obvious that Kathleen did not resent the whipping.  Quite to the
contrary she was relieved it was over and eager to demonstrate to Lisa that
she very willing to do what she was ordered to do.  Lisa thought about her
goal of getting her lover to start kneeling, but still wanted to encourage
Kathleen to make that decision on her own.  What Lisa needed to do was
create situations in which Kathleen was kneeling, and then, through
positive re-enforcement, express her approval.  Kathleen's eagerness to
please would do the rest.

   Lisa lent her lover a bathrobe (because Kathleen no longer owned a
bathrobe) and told her to shower.  She told the truth about wanting to keep
the punishment a private matter, adding that the rules for Kathleen's
clothing would change for a few days until her body no longer had any marks
from the punishment.

   When Kathleen came back and hung up the robe, Lisa sat in the room's
armchair and ordered her to present her homework.

   "Here, come around to the side and get down so we can look this over
together."

   Sure enough, when she came around to the side of the chair, Kathleen got
on her knees to better see her homework.  As they went over the assignment,
Lisa began stroking her lover's hair and shoulders.

   The two women had just established their first routine activity during
which Kathleen would always kneel and receive a reward.  Whenever they went
over homework, Lisa would sit in the armchair and Kathleen would kneel next
to her, enjoying the privilege of having her head and shoulders caressed
while her mistress advised her about her studies.



   Chapter 44 - Pledge Mistress Lisa

   Rush week that year was extremely busy for the entire sorority, because
the odd notoriety from the volleyball tournament brought many more visitors
than would have shown up during a typical year.  Starting Monday, the
Four-Beta House was packed with young women, most of who were there to
satisfy their curiosity instead of seriously considering pledging. 
Starting Monday afternoon, the sophomores, freshmen, and the two serving
pledges spent "quality time" in the kitchen producing an endless stream of
snacks, drinks, and sandwiches for the crush of guests.  Lisa was in the
kitchen right along with the others, taking orders from Elaine who had been
tasked with organizing the food portion of Rush Week.

   Tracy's training as a psychologist was tested as she listened to
interview after interview and conducted the initial screening of
prospective members.  Based on just a few minutes of conversation, she had
to implement a system of triage to separate curiosity seekers from
potential pledge prospects.  There were four groups of initial screening
results from the conversations: women who were just curious but had no
intention of pledging any sorority at all, women who did want to pledge a
sorority but would not be a good fit for the Four-Beta chapter, women who
seemed to be serious prospects, and women who were unsure whether they
wanted to join or not, but were carefully thinking over their options.

   The Four-Beta officers treated each group differently.  Simple curiosity
seekers were handed a general information pamphlet and cold-shouldered out
of the house.  Girls who "were not good fits" were interviewed, but then
given recommendations to visit other sorority houses.  The Four Betas were
doing their rivals a favor by sending potential members their way, which
was not something any of the other sororities were doing in return. 
Serious prospects and undecided women were taken into the sorority library
to be interviewed by Shannon and Alexandra.  Out of those candidates, about
half received invitation cards to return later in the week for a more
serious interview.

   At 10:00 p.m.  the first hectic night of Rush ended, with a total of 35
invitations issued to prospective members.  That was just for one night. 
If the invitations kept up at that rate, the sorority could expect to have
around 100 pledge prospects to formally interview at the end of the week.
That was far too many, which meant that for the first time in its history
the Four-Beta chapter would have to turn away a large number of potential
members.  Tracy understood that through selecting or rejecting aspiring
members, she had a rare opportunity to shape the sorority's character by
deciding who got to join.  Also, the high interest in the Four-Beta
sorority assured that it had a chance to become the most exclusive chapter
at the university and well-positioned to increase its influence on campus.

   How ironic, thought Tracy to herself.  What the Sorority Sports League
did to us during that volleyball tournament had the exact opposite result
from what they thought was gonna happen.

   *****

   Following clean-up, the members of the Four-Beta Sorority finally
gathered to hold their delayed election.  Alexandra presented Tracy and
gave a short speech stating that she thought the current Pledge Mistress
was the officer best suited to succeed her as chapter president.  Tracy
took her place at the podium and laid out her plans for the following year,
repeating what she had told Lisa.  The entire membership of the sorority
would take a greater interest in training new pledges and pledge training
would become an important part of everyone's life.

   "Participation from all of you will be important, especially this year,
because we've got a very large group coming in.  I'm thinking we might be
able to pledge as many as 40 new members...  that's right, ladies...  40
new members.  That's my goal.  Why?  Because if we can pull off the same
thing next year, we'll have the numbers we need to start a second chapter
on campus, and then we really will have the chance 'to bear honest witness
to the times in which we live'.  But, to pursue that goal, I will need all
of you to help me.  Each of you has a part to play in our future, but the
future I envision will take a lot of work and personal sacrifice.  Please
keep in mind this election is your chance to decide how much you get to
relax next year, because I guarantee if I'm elected, you won't be relaxing.
If you want to take it easy, then I'd suggest you vote for someone else."

   A few minutes later Tracy was elected as the next chapter president. 
Everyone present voted for her, with the exception of Heather's friend, who
abstained.

   The other officers were quickly elected, because the seniors already had
agreed among themselves who would get each spot in the directorate.  As
expected, Shannon became the next Sergeant-at-Arms, although several
juniors expressed regret over losing her as their class leader.  Following
the election of Shannon came the presentation of the candidate for Pledge
Mistress.  Tracy gave a summary of Lisa's performance over the summer,
followed by her leadership during the volleyball game that delivered a
trophy to the sorority, in spite of the tremendous odds facing her team.

   The vote for Lisa went very quickly, and she was unanimously elected. 
Lisa's appointment completed the sorority directorate, leaving only the
class leaders to be selected.  Each class elected its own leader
independent of the others, so those elections were held separately.  The
only contentious election that night was among the juniors, who had three
candidates vying for Shannon's former position.

   A few minutes later the six new members of the directorate and the three
new class leaders went to their rooms to strip.  Naked, they returned to
the sitting room to take their oaths from President Alexandra.  The new
officers were the only members of the sorority that were naked on that
occasion, because the other women were dressed in formal gowns.  The
sorority's tradition of forcing the new officers to be the only naked women
in the room had a purpose; as a gesture of humility from the sorority's new
leaders to the women they would be serving.  They knelt as they took their
oath, then stood up and faced their fellow sorority members as they waited
for the applause to die down.

   Once the official presentation of the new officers ended, all of them,
with the exception of Lisa, got dressed.  Lisa had vowed never to wear
clothing while in the Four-Beta house.  Anyhow, the new Pledge Mistress job
description stipulated that the Pledge Mistress and her assistant had to
wear the same outfit as the pledges at all times except during class, which
meant that neither would be allowed to wear clothing during the pledge
training season.

   Tracy took her place at the podium to make her first formal announcement
as chapter president.  She requested approval from the members to create a
new position, Public Representative.  Unlike the other positions in the
directorate, the Public Representative could be a graduate or former
member, and did not have to be currently enrolled in classes.  The Public
Representative would be the only member of the sorority authorized to speak
with the media and could take the place of the chapter president at public
events and meetings.  Once President Tracy got the approval through a
majority vote, she nominated her candidate for the new position: Former
President Alexandra.

   Alexandra seemed a bit taken aback that President Tracy wanted her to
continue participating in the directorate, but the new chapter president's
purpose was purely practical.  Tracy knew that her own temper made her
ill-suited for confronting the media.  Because Alexandra already had become
the sorority's public face during the crisis over Heather, it made sense
for her to continue as the sorority's spokesperson.  Also, not having to
deal with public speaking freed Tracy to pursue her real ambition, the
expansion of the Four-Beta Sorority and the eventual creation of a second
chapter.  As strange as it seemed, Alexandra would play an important role
in helping her successor realize her goals for the sorority.

   *****

   There was a final appointment that needed to be made for the Four-Beta
directorate to be complete: the selection of the president's attendants. 
Later that night Tracy took Shannon over to the Tri-Alpha house to pick up
Ken and another Tri-Alpha.  Tracy's second attendant was a guy that Shannon
liked, and he would live under conditions similar to those of Ken.  When
Shannon found out that Lisa wanted to keep Ken naked whenever he was in the
sorority house, the new Sergeant-at-Arms decided to impose the same
condition on her own lover.

   Once Tracy made the announcement about her selection, the president of
the Tri-Alpha Fraternity called a meeting of the fraternity directorate to
release custody of the two members.  The two men were ordered to strip and
kneel while Tracy signed the contract to take possession of the two naked
attendants.  She ordered the men to stand and cuffed their hands behind
their backs.  The fraternity president asked:

   "Aren't you going to give them their attendant uniforms?"

   "They won't be getting uniforms this year.  We'll give 'em clothing for
going on campus, but this year the attendants will be naked whenever
they're in the house."

   "Well, would you at least like an escort to get them back to the
Four-Beta House?"

   "That'd be nice."

   A few minutes later President Tracy, her Sergeant-at-Arms left the
fraternity, accompanied by the two naked attendants and an escort of eight
dressed fraternity members.  The escort formed a circle around the two
naked attendants to shield them from public view, although in reality that
was not necessary.  There was very little traffic on the street and chances
were the two naked men would not have been noticed by too many passers-by.
However, better safe than sorry...

   Once Ken and his fellow attendant were safely in the Four-Beta house,
their fellow fraternity members from the escort took off their clothing and
jumped in the pool to play around with some of the Four-Betas.  Meanwhile,
Shannon took the two naked men into the basement.  After un-cuffing them
she recited the basic rules about serving as attendants.  She ordered the
attendants to shave their pubic hair, waxed their bottoms, and ordered them
to shower.  Finally she took them to the sitting room to take their ID
pictures.

   The attendants would have their own room next to the president's bedroom
and sleep in normal beds.  Each had his own desk and would have shelves to
store his textbooks and school supplies.  An added benefit was that each
had his own computer with an Internet connection.  In exchange for their
servitude to President Tracy, they would live in relative comfort and were
assured of constant sex.

   Also in the room was a pager for the chapter president, who had the
right to page either or both of her attendants at any time.  As soon as
they were settled in, Tracy paged her two attendants.  She told them to set
up her massage table and then undress her.  She lay on the table for a
night of massages, orgasms, spankings, and finally, yet more orgasms.  She
had worked hard all summer and faced a difficult year ahead, but at least
she could enjoy some of the privileges that accompanied her position as the
new leader of her chapter.

   *****

   Friday afternoon the final list of pledges was ready, with 38 pledge
invitations (because two of the fall spots already were taken by Brittany
and Erin) and 10 alternates.  If any aspirant dropped out of the pledge
program over the fall semester, the Four-Beta chapter would select an
alternate to replace her, which assured the sorority of 40 new members in
December, regardless of the attrition rate among the pledges.  Even if not
taken in that fall, the alternates had a benefit from being on the list. 
If they still wanted to join the sorority the following year, they would
receive priority over new candidates.  As Tracy put it:

   "If you can wait two semesters and come back next summer, I'd consider
that a test of your determination to join our community and it'll
automatically move you to the front of the line."

   By Friday at 6:00 the final list of 38 pledge candidates was compiled
and given to Bernadette.  The freshman class president left with Pledge
Brittany to deliver 19 invitations.  Cherine and Erin were tasked with
delivering the other 19.  The notes read:

   Congratulations Pledge Candidate ____

   The directorate of the Four-Beta Sorority has selected you as eligible
to join our community and share our journey in life, pending completion of
the Four-Beta Pledge Program.

   To participate in the Pledge Program and be eligible to be sworn-in as a
pledge, you will report to the front door of the Four-Beta Sorority house
tomorrow morning at 11:00.

   Please take advantage of your time tonight and tomorrow morning to
familiarize yourself with the Pledge Manual.  Memorizing and complying with
the contents of the manual is important, because knowing the pledge rules
will help you prevent making mistakes and avoid misunderstandings with the
training staff.

   When reporting to begin your pledging experience, you will bring with
you your university student ID, your driver's license, and any books,
notebooks, and research materials related to your classes.  You are
specifically instructed not to bring any other personal items, including
make-up or hygiene items.  Soap, shampoo, and toothbrushes will be provided
for you.  Please remember, except for course and academic-related items,
you may NOT keep personal belongings while staying at the Four-Beta house
as a pledge.  Failure to obey this rule will be counted as a violation of
the Pledge Manual and will result in punishment.

   You are also advised that upon entering the Four-Beta house, your
clothing will be confiscated.  Therefore, you are advised to wear as little
as possible (such as sandals and a light dress, or tennis shoes with shorts
and a T-shirt) when you present yourself tomorrow morning.

   Upon arrival, you will set your backpack on the front porch and kneel as
a gesture of respect to the sorority and your trainers.  If other pledge
candidates are present on the front porch, you may not talk to them unless
directed to do so by your training staff.  Once a member of the training
staff greets you, we will expect you to follow all orders issued in
accordance with the Four-Beta Pledge Manual.

   Correspondence - You should finalize all correspondence and telephone
calls before you present yourself for pledging.  You will not be allowed
use of the Internet.  You will be allotted two phone calls to your parents
each week.  Personal correspondence with anyone other than family will not
be permitted during pledge training.

   If you decide between now and tomorrow morning to withdraw from the
Four-Beta pledge program, please notify us immediately so we can select a
replacement candidate from our list of pledge alternates.

   Lisa Campbell

   Pledge Mistress - Four-Beta Sorority

   Lisa got two calls that night, from freshmen who had decided to back out
at the last moment.  She called two of the alternates, who got the good
news to show up at 11:00 the next morning.  Lisa then called several of the
rejected aspirants to find two replacements for the alternates list. 
Tracy's system assured that there would be 40 active pledges and 10
candidates on the alternates' list at all times, because she was determined
to have 40 new members in December and have a list of candidates ready for
the following summer.

   *****

   That night Lisa strutted naked in front of her training staff in the
sorority basement, while the chapter president and the new Sergeant-at-Arms
stood in the corner watching her.  Each group leader was wearing a uniform
that was similar to the uniform the pledges wore to class, except their
T-shirts read:

   Group Counselor

   Four-Beta Pledge Training Program

   Lisa passed out five training folders and five biography sheets to each
of her staff members.  Now each pledge counselor knew who was going to be
in her group.  The new Pledge Mistress worked out a final schedule for each
of her counselors so the pledges could be moved through the first day of
training as smoothly as possible.  She drilled her counselors on discipline
and was satisfied that each would treat her group strictly, but with
fairness.

   In the main basement room there were 25 cots standing along the wall. 
The other 15 pledges would sleep in the guestroom, which had to be
converted to a second pledge room.  The comfortable furniture had been put
into storage and replaced with 15 cots.  Tracy had the foresight to order
three additional toilets and two additional showers installed in the
basement, to ease the pressure of having so many pledges using the
facilities.

   There were 40 lockers containing the pledges' uniforms.  Each pledge had
to include her clothing measurements in her pledge packet, so the uniforms
were waiting for them.  As for shoes, there would be a naked shoe-shopping
trip the following Sunday, similar to the one that Lisa and her companions
went on during the summer.

   Once the final set of instructions was passed out to the training staff,
Lisa and Kathleen went upstairs to look at the sitting room.  The
gynecological examination chairs were set up, along with treadmills and
other equipment for assessing the pledges' health.  Tomorrow afternoon
would be the first major pledge challenge, the gynecological exam.  Lisa
looked around with satisfaction.  Everything was ready.  As Tracy would
say, "showtime" would commence at 11:00 the following morning.

   *****

   Less than 12 hours later, the hardest three-month period of Pledge
Mistress Lisa's life was well underway.  Once all 40 pledges had arrived,
undressed in the basement, and had their clothing locked up, they were
ordered to report to the sitting room and kneel in formation.  Their naked
Pledge Mistress introduced herself as Lisa Campbell before presenting her
training staff.  She then read the names of which pledges were assigned to
each counselor and concluded by shouting:

   "PLEDGES, STAND UP!"

   The 40 naked freshmen scrambled to their feet, but did so clumsily and
ended up being ordered to assume the push-up position.  For the first time
of the semester they struggled with pushups.  Lisa screamed at them to
stand up a second time, but their uncoordinated efforts resulted in yet
another order to drop and yet more pushups.  After several more attempts,
the terrified, exhausted women gasped as Lisa read out the names of which
pledges were assigned to each counselor.  The pledges reorganized by their
new pledge groups, were instructed to introduce themselves to their fellow
group members, and then returned to their kneeling position on the floor.

   The next issue Lisa talked about was pledge discipline.  Lisa wanted to
address discipline right away and make sure her group understood that the
prospect of swats across the bare bottom would be a constant reality in
their lives until they swore in.  To drive home that point, Pledge Mistress
Lisa handed Bernadette a leather strap:

   "Each of your counselors is authorized to punish you, and I am going to
give you a demonstration of what exactly that means, using myself as an
example.  Each counselor is going to demonstrate her punishment skills by
giving me one stroke on my butt.  I'm doing this to show you that I take
discipline very seriously.  For this demonstration I'll only be taking a
total of eight swats, but whenever you get punished, you'll be getting a
lot more.  I want you to think real hard about what you're gonna be
watching in a moment before you disobey an order from either me or a
counselor."

   With that Lisa turned her back to her audience, spread her feet
shoulder-width, and grabbed her ankles.  As previously instructed,
Bernadette positioned herself alongside the Pledge Mistress, tapped her
bare bottom with the strap, and struck hard with a tremendous CRACK that
made every one of the kneeling pledges flinch.  Bernadette took a deep
breath, wishing she didn't have to take turns with the others.  She badly
wanted to give Lisa a sound punishment.  However, the only purpose of the
exercise was to make sure her group understood that she was capable of
inflicting a very painful swat with the strap.  The freshman class leader
handed the implement to one of the sophomores.  A moment later a loud CRACK
and another reddish mark on Lisa's bottom made the pledges flinch a second
time.

   Cherine was the final counselor to strike Lisa, but the force of the
blow made the Pledge Mistress realize that her group mate had learned a lot
over the summer.  Cherine's stroke was no less painful than the other
swats. Lisa knew that she would be perfectly capable of punishing the
members of her group whenever necessary.

   Lisa stood up and looked at the wide-eyed fearful expressions of her
pledges.  As the welts darkened on her bottom, she kept her back towards
the scared group to show what just eight strokes could do to a woman's
unprotected skin.  The Pledge Mistress demonstrated something else that was
very important.  She was not a hypocrite.  She would never inflict any
suffering on pledges that she was not willing to endure herself.



   Chapter 45 - A perfect lovers' triangle

   As September drew to a close, President Tracy reminded her sorority that
another important athletic event was coming up on the final Saturday of the
month: the annual Tri-Alpha nude 10K run.  The nude 10K run was a yearly
tradition at the university and counted as an essential task of the
fraternity's initiation for new pledges.  What set the Tri-Alpha run apart
from any other university-sponsored 10-K run was that all runners had to be
completely naked throughout the entire race, as well as during the ceremony
preceding the event.  The only permitted items of clothing for anyone
participating were running shoes and socks.

   The run had been a yearly tradition since the early 1960's, when the
Tri-Alphas began incorporating nudity as part of their initiations.  During
the first two decades of its existence the 10-K route went not only through
the university, but also through Fraternity Row and a couple of nearby
commercial streets.

   In the late 1980's there was talk of banning the nude 10-K race, given
that most of the universities around the US that had nude student runs were
stopping them.  However, the push to abolish the race came to an abrupt end
when a fraternity alumnus and multi-millionaire died and left a huge grant
to the university.  The benefactor deposited his money in a trust fund,
stipulating that $ 10 million would be paid out each year until the account
was exhausted.  The grant had two conditions.  The first condition was the
entire amount had to be used to pay the salaries of non-tenured professors
and Teaching Assistants.  The second condition was that the Tri-Alpha nude
run had to be held each year, kept at its original 10-kilometer length and
held in the middle of the day on the last Saturday each September.

   Whatever moral objections there might have been to the spectacle of
naked runners streaking through the university each year, no one in the
Board of Regents was going to argue against $ 10 million in guaranteed
salary money for instructors.  Money talks, and bullshit walks.  So, the
Board of Regents negotiated the details of a revised race with the
directors of the Tri-Alpha fraternity.  The race would take place within
the confines of the university, but would remain a full 10-K run.  The
starting line was at the Memorial Stadium.  The runners would do two laps
around the football field, then leave the stadium to follow a route around
the university, pass through the old part of campus, then circle back to
the Stadium and do a final lap around the track to the finish line.  The
event drew a large crowd that filled the stadium and lined the race route
around the university.  Attendance was restricted to students, active
alumni, faculty members, and reporters.  The campus was sealed off to
outsiders during the race, but even with the restriction, typically between
50,000 and 60,000 spectators attended the event each year.

   Participating in the race and running the full 10 kilometers non-stop
was a requirement for all Tri-Alpha pledges.  The fraternity encouraged
other students to participate by offering a trophy and $ 1,000 in prize
money to any non-Tri-Alpha member who managed to win the men's race.  A
second prize of $ 1,000 was offered to the winner of the women's division,
as an incentive to encourage female students to run.  The male 10-K winner
usually was a Tri-Alpha pledge, because the fraternity forced its
prospective members to train for the race.

   Lisa narrowly won the women's division of the race the previous year,
but she was not participating because she wanted to.  Her friend, RA, and
rival Cecilia Sanchez needed to recruit participants from her floor to
satisfy the dorm director, and the way she got her runners was to defeat
them at a game of strip poker.  Lisa was a good card player herself because
her father worked at a casino in Reno, but she made the mistake of bragging
about her card-playing skills to Cecilia.  Lisa's talk of cards gave
Cecilia an idea, because she too, was a good card player, having learned
Poker at a very early age from her brothers.

   Cunning little bitch that she was, Cecilia got her own boyfriend Jason,
as well as Lisa, Ken, and Mike, who was Lisa's boyfriend at the time, to
play strip Poker in a game of elimination.  Lisa and her friends did not
know it while playing, but waiting for the game's four losers were
registration packets to participate as runners in the Tri-Alpha race.  The
guys were eliminated first and forced to stand naked with their hands
behind their heads, while the real game ended up being played between
Cecilia and Lisa.  When Lisa lost, Cecilia first took her into the hallway
to photograph her.  Afterwards came the night's awful news, those
registration packets and the knowledge of having to run naked on a clear
autumn day in front of approximately 60,000 spectators.

   At first Lisa was horrified at what Cecilia was forcing her to do, but
when she walked naked to the stadium in front of a procession of the
residents of Huntington Hall and then started running, she discovered that
she was thoroughly enjoying the experience.  She found out that she liked
being naked and liked having people look at her body.  When she won the
first-place trophy of the women's division of the race and stood in the
nude for the winner's portrait alongside Jason, a profound change took
place in her soul.  Lisa realized that she enjoyed being without her
clothing, especially in public places.  As a result of the race, Lisa
became both a nudist and an exhibitionist.  When she was in her room or
running around the women's wing of Huntington Hall, Lisa never wore any
clothes.  When she went out she began experimenting with wearing the most
revealing clothing she could purchase, starting with low-rider jeans during
the winter and moving on to skimpy dresses during the summer.

   *****

   There was no question that Lisa wanted to participate in the race for a
second time.  The thought of spending several hours in the nude in a
totally public setting was a complete turn-on for her, but also there was
the enticement of the $ 1,000 cash prize for the first place winner of the
women's division.  There was no question that Ken would participate as
well, given that he was a Tri-Alpha and every bit as much an exhibitionist
as Lisa.

   Lisa was tempted to order all 40 pledges sign-up.  However, she decided
against the idea because they had started their pledge training just one
week before and were not yet conditioned to run 10 kilometers.  Instead she
told her pledges about the run and made participation voluntary, although
she couldn't see that anyone in her group would want to participate.

   However, an idea occurred to Lisa that would get at least a couple of
additional female runners to run the race for the sorority.  She decided to
contact the 10 women on the pledge alternates list.  If any of the
alternates was willing to participate in the run and could go the full
distance without stopping, Lisa would offer her a pledge contract.  Yes, it
would increase the number of pledges to more than 40, but as far as Lisa
was concerned, any woman willing to run 10 kilometers in the nude was
worthy of joining the sorority.  When Lisa brought up the idea to Tracy,
she got the president's full support.

   Lisa called the alternates and received three positive responses.  She
told the three aspirants to go to the Four-Beta house and pick up race
packets.  Assuming they completed the race, they were to show up at the
sorority the following day and would be sworn in as pledges.

   There already was one woman in the Four-Beta house who would be a
perfect candidate for the run: Kathleen.  Lisa's lover was the best runner
in the sorority and was almost assured of winning the race if she
participated.  As much as Lisa wanted that trophy and prize money for
herself, she knew that it was her duty to make sure the sorority's best
runner was in the race and motivated to win.  Lisa would still participate,
but the best she could hope for would be second place.  Lisa handed
Kathleen a registration packet and flatly told her that she was
participating:

   "As far as I'm concerned, you're gonna be taking the trophy for the
sorority.  I'm running and I'm sure I'll do well, but that trophy's gonna
be yours.  You're the best runner we've got, and this'll be the chance for
you to prove it."

   Lisa was pleasantly surprised to find out the Four-Betas would have
several additional runners representing the sorority in the run, including
Elaine, a couple of juniors, and one that was a huge surprise: Bernadette.

   The freshman class president explained that she had several reasons for
wanting to participate, including the need to set an example for the
incoming members of her class.  She also was genuinely curious to see what
running naked in public for an hour would be like with her newly acquired
good health and a body that had gone nearly five months without smoking.

   Also running would be Cherine, Brittany, and Erin.  Cherine was running
for a very simple reason; Jacob was running.  Wherever Jacob went, Cherine
went, even if that meant participating in a nude marathon.  As for Brittany
and Erin, they wanted to run for the same reasons Bernadette was running,
to see if they were capable of running such a long distance and put their
physical training to the test.

   *****

   Saturday morning the Four Beta Sorority members and pledges dressed in
their PT outfits, with the exception of the runners, who remained naked
except for their shoes and socks.  The entire sorority waited to be
escorted by some of the Tri-Alphas, who by tradition marched to the
sorority to pick up any participating female runners before going to the
stadium.

   Among the Tri-Alphas there were about 30 naked members and pledges.  The
pledges were required to run, but typically there were about 10 members
that volunteered to run as well.  Among the runners was Ken who, like Lisa,
was participating in his second race.  Also naked was Jacob, the
fraternity's vice president, and Arnold, who still was serving as Pledge
Master.

   The fraternity had an agreement with the local police that allowed it to
march its runners in the nude along a pre-designated route towards the
stadium, crossing the boulevard in formation, and walking across Old Campus
towards the stadium.  Normally the naked participants marched double-file
with a line of dressed fraternity members walking along either side before
they got on campus.  Once on campus, by tradition the runners were required
to walk in the open ahead of the main group and fully expose themselves to
the spectators lining the sidewalks.  This year there would be 11 female
runners from the sorority participating as well, a number much higher than
during a typical year.

   The eleven naked women were quite nervous as they lined up and walked
down a public street behind their 30 male counterparts.  They were only
partially concealed by the walking arrangement as they made their way to
campus, and they knew that imperfect veil of modesty would pull aside
completely once they crossed the main road and walked across Old Campus. 
There would be a 10-minute walk completely in the open, then about an hour
at the stadium participating in the opening ceremony and stretching, and
finally the naked run itself.  After the run ended there would be more time
recovering and cooling down on the stadium field as the fastest runners
waited for the stragglers to come in.  Finally all participants finishing
attended the formal presentation of the race winners, and posed for the
final group shot before they could retrieve their clothing.  For the
Four-Betas, there would be another naked walk back to the sorority house
before they were allowed to get dressed.  At the very least the eleven
female runners could expect to spend between four and five hours in the
nude along with their Tri-Alpha counterparts.

   In spite of the cheering and whistling coming from the spectators lining
the sidewalks, the walk across Old Campus was one of the happiest moments
of Lisa's fall semester.  She loved the feel of the warm sunshine and cool
breeze blowing on her body, wishing that she could walk across campus like
that every day.  Yes, she was usually naked inside Burnside's office, and
always naked in the Four-Beta house, but Lisa wished that she could be
naked all the time, especially outside, and especially on comfortable
autumn days.

   Lisa looked around at her fellow Four-Betas.  She could tell that
Bernadette and Erin were enjoying themselves, but Elaine, Brittany, and
Cherine were very nervous.  Jacob seemed indifferent about walking naked in
such a public setting, but Arnold and Ken enjoyed the daring feeling of
exposure as much as Lisa.  As for the other Tri-Alpha pledges, some seemed
much more nervous than others.  However, from the beginning they had been
told that the nude 10-K race was a pledge challenge that needed to be
completed as part of their requirement to join.

   The stadium loomed ever larger as the Tri-Alphas and Four-Betas passed
the Student Fitness Center.  Already crowds were filing through the gates
and finding seats.  Down in the field several Tri-Alpha seniors and
Four-Betas were setting up the stand where the six trophies were displayed,
the announcer's microphone and podium, and the platform where the winners
would stand once the race was over.  Several Tri-Alpha juniors and a
Four-Beta were erecting three large "A's" that would serve as the backdrop
for group photos of the runners that would be taken both before and after
the race.

   Although many spectators were still looking for seats, the crowd cheered
when the Tri-Alpha and Four-Beta runners entered the stadium with their
escort.  The 41 naked college students filed down the bleacher stairs and
made their way to the football field, where other runners were beginning to
gather.  Campus Security had several officers walking along the track to
make sure that the only people on the football field were participants in
the race.  Among them was Sergeant Polk, who was directing several
photographers to step off the track.

   The number of runners was higher than it had been the previous year.  A
total of 197 runners would be in the race: 132 men and 65 women.  Lisa was
satisfied to see so many women participating, but of course that meant more
competition for the women's trophy.  As she looked at the physiques of some
of her competitors, Lisa realized that she probably would not have had any
chance of winning the race.  Definitely this group looked tougher than the
runners from the previous year.  It would be up to Kathleen to win for the
sorority, and even she would be hard-pressed by some of the women on the
field.

   Lisa realized that she was relieved at the thought of not having a
realistic chance of finishing among the top three women.  She could run the
full distance at a leisurely pace and enjoy herself.  The run would be
little more than a lengthy jog, probably shared with either Ken or
Bernadette.

   Kathleen on the other hand, would run hard because her competitive
instincts would kick in as soon as she started moving.  She would stick to
her strategy of thinking about things in her life that upset her, get
angry, and then run aggressively.  This year it would be Kathleen, not
Lisa, who would be the runner the other women would need to try to beat.

   The opening ceremony was the same as it had been the year before, with
the naked participants walking a full circle around the football field
while the Tri-Alpha Fraternity song was played.  The runners carried
banners and were grouped by the organizations they were representing, which
included several university departments, some of the dorms, the women's
volleyball team, and a couple of rival fraternities.

   As the 197 competitors gathered at the starting line, Lisa looked across
the football field at the line of photographers waiting to catch the
runners in action as they circled the track.  As always, the bare bodies of
the race participants would be well-documented in pictures and videos that
would be splashed all over the Internet.  The race definitely was not an
experience that anyone with any modesty would have been able to endure.

   Lisa took her place behind Kathleen and put her hands on the girl's bare
shoulders.  She quietly spoke into her lover's ear:

   "Run the best you can.  That's all I want from you.  Not to win, but to
do your best.  You know what your best is; I don't.  But I want you to give
me a performance that will make everyone proud of you when this is done."

   Kathleen took a deep breath and nodded.  She was tensed up, but Lisa
could tell that she was ready to run.

   When the starter pistol went off, the runners began moving forward, but
there were so many of them clustered at the starting line that the ones in
the back started out very slowly.  Lisa and the other Four-Betas were in
the middle of the group, but they knew that in a 10-K race endurance was
much more important than a fast start.

   As the runners moved around the track to complete their first lap, the
photographers lined up at the base of the bleachers rapidly took pictures
of the group.  By the end of the first lap the runners were somewhat spread
out, but still concentrated enough that the viewers could get the
perspective of nearly 200 naked bodies either approaching or running away
from the camera.

   Lisa, Ken, Arnold, and Bernadette decided to run the race together. 
During the previous year Ken burned himself out early by running too fast
during the first two miles of the race and barely finished.  This year he
was not in any rush, so he would keep a much slower pace and finish,
instead of rushing to the front only to be humiliated later on.  Lisa
decided to let Bernadette set the pace and to make the race little more
than a casual long jog with a group of friends.  Lisa was in no hurry to
finish, because she thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of having her body
uncovered in a place where she normally would have to be dressed.

   Once the runners left the stadium and made their way towards the dorm
area, they spread out as they ran along the university's sidewalks.  The
entire route was planned in advance and lined with spectators, many of whom
had cameras or camcorders.  There was no rule against photographing or
cheering for the runners, but reaching out at them or getting in their path
was strictly prohibited.  A long line of orange construction ribbon along
the sidewalk separated the runners from the spectators along the entire
6.6-mile route.

   As Lisa enjoyed herself in the company of her friends, she watched
Kathleen pull further and further ahead in the race.  Once the group hit
the 5 kilometer mark, Kathleen picked up her speed and soon her thin body
disappeared from Lisa's sight.  As Lisa had foreseen, it was obvious that
Kathleen was competing to win, whereas all of her other group mates were
simply running to participate in the event.

   As Lisa's small group exited Old Campus and made their way towards the
stadium, they heard a cheer coming from the crowd inside as the fastest
runners crossed the finish line.  All three of the male trophies were taken
by members of the fraternity.  First place went to a Tri-Alpha junior, the
second-place prize went to one of Ken's fellow pledges from the summer
group, and third place was taken by a member of the fall pledge group.

   Very shortly afterwards came a loud cheer for the first and second place
winners of the women's division.  Kathleen and one of the university's
Varsity Volleyball Team members were running hard against each other in a
closely fought finish for the women's first place trophy.  The race was a
repeat of the finish from the previous year, where Lisa's long legs and
tall body were matched against a shorter woman that was a better runner. 
Although Kathleen was much shorter than her rival, she was the more
seasoned runner.  The two women stayed close to each other until the very
end, but Kathleen had been in similar situations throughout her time in
high school and knew how to eke out a narrow victory.  At the very end she
put forth one last burst of energy and passed her opponent just before
crossing the finish line.  The Four-Betas cheered wildly upon seeing one of
their own take the first place trophy.  They cheered again twenty seconds
later when Elaine bolted across the finish line to take third place.

   Lisa's group circled the football field and finished about a minute
after Elaine crossed the finish line, along with a cluster of other race
participants.  Lisa felt quite good and was not burned out at all, in
comparison with the previous race, which left her totally exhausted.  She
ran up to Kathleen and gave her a big hug, but then noticed that the winner
seemed somewhat nervous upon seeing that she had run the race with Ken. 
Yes, that was an issue, that business between Ken and Kathleen, one that
Lisa would need to address as soon as possible.

   A few minutes later Lisa and the other runners from her sorority
stretched out while the slowest participants from the race straggled into
the stadium and passed the finish line.  After the 178th contestant crossed
the finish line, the track was empty of additional runners.  The Tri-Alpha
president radioed out to fellow fraternity members watching outside the
stadium to see if any other runners were still en route, but it appeared
that there were not.  About 20 runners had dropped out of the race, which
was a fairly normal rate of attrition among the participants for any given
year.

   As the winner of the women's trophy, Kathleen shyly smiled for the
multitude of photographers eager to get her picture.  Her bare sweaty body
was thoroughly documented, alone with just her trophy, with the other two
race winners, with the winner of the men's division, and with the fellow
members of her sorority.  Although she was shy by nature, fortunately
Kathleen was not shy about having her picture taken or about displaying her
body.  However, President Tracy quickly headed off any reporters wanting to
conduct a live interview with the race winner, directing them instead to
talk to the sorority's Public Representative about the race and Kathleen's
participation.

   Among the naked women recovering on the field were the three pledge
alternates Lisa had recruited to run in the race.  Lisa and Tracy
congratulated each of them.  They now had the opportunity to become
pledges, in spite of the fact that would bring the total number of pledges
to 43.  One of the girls was rather shy, so Lisa introduced her to Cherine,
who would be her counselor and group leader.  The other two would be
assigned to Brittany and Erin, who were the pledges with the most
seniority. Brittany and Erin would be mentors to the two newest pledges and
let them know what was expected of them.  Lisa gave the aspirants final
instructions to show up at the sorority house the following day at 11:00
a.m.  There would be some catching up to do with their training and they
would have to undergo the medical exam, but as of Monday they would be
fully integrated with the other pledges and hopefully swear in as members
in December.

   *****

   That night there was a huge party at the Tri-Alpha house to celebrate
the successful race and the fact that members of the sorority and
fraternity had taken both first place trophies.  Kathleen was one of the
two most honored guests, and shyly listened to dozens of compliments and
congratulations.  Lisa could tell that her lover was quite happy and a
little overwhelmed at being the subject of admiration instead of ridicule.
There was no doubt about it; Kathleen's life had radically changed during
her four months with the Four-Beta Sorority.  Her accomplishments were real
and finally her personality would have a chance to grow.  Lisa still
planned to exert control over her lover's life, but her main goal was that
Kathleen be happy and never again face the humiliations she had to deal
with in high school.

   Bernadette had her own way of rewarding the three male winners of the
race.  As the party progressed Lisa noticed that Bernadette was absent
three times from the party, and each time she was missing one of the
Tri-Alpha trophy winners was missing as well.  As for the Tri-Alpha vice
president and Cherine, they showed up at the party, but within a half an
hour they were nowhere in sight.

   There was a final surprise that night that over the next few days would
fuel some gossip throughout the Four-Beta house.  President Tracy had
invited Sergeant Polk from Campus Security to the party as her date. 
Polk's presence in Tracy's life was a mystery to everyone in the sorority,
and it was a mystery that would never be understood by the other women.

   Tracy admired Sergeant Polk and was grateful to him, for reasons that
neither ever would be able to tell anyone else.  He had been there for her
when she most needed him, quietly helped her in very crucial ways, and knew
when he needed to keep his mouth shut.  He was not a flamboyant or
glamorous person, but his willingness to risk his career for her had earned
President Tracy's friendship and trust.

   *****

   The following Monday morning Lisa showed up to Ruth Burnside's office as
usual, took off her dress and hung it on the hook her boss had provided,
and neatly put her shoes under her desk.  She began working on grading a
stack of quizzes the professor had given to her classes the previous
Friday. However, Lisa went very slowly because she had trouble
concentrating.  Her mind still was on her adventures over the weekend and
she felt very sexy.  Every so often she rubbed her legs together, although
she knew that was not a good idea because eventually she would want an
orgasm.

   Ruth Burnside and Jim Halsey entered the office and Lisa stood up to
greet them.  The professor no longer expected Lisa to stand "at the
position of submission and respect", but, like any other student aide or
teaching assistant, Lisa was expected the stand up when the professor or
her partner entered the room.

   Burnside could tell right away what was going on in Lisa's mind.  She
knew her student well enough to understand that unless she was brought to
orgasm, she would be unable to concentrate on either her work or her
studies and would waste the day.  The professor decided to fix that
problem, and in doing so, continue mentoring the young woman as a
dominatrix.

   As Burnside contemplated the naked student standing before her, she knew
that Lisa would follow a different path in life than she had followed.  The
girl would not be as heavily into S&M as the professor and already had
established who her subs were going to be.  In a way Burnside admired Lisa
because she would be more loyal to her two primary lovers and was much more
sure of herself then Ruth had been when she was 20.  However, both women
knew that Lisa still had a lot to learn and fully expected her mentor to
share her knowledge of human nature and sexual control.  Lisa understood
that the only way she truly could learn was by sharing real-life
experiences with her professor.

   Burnside walked over to Lisa's desk and noted that her progress on
grading had been rather slow.  She held up the meager stack of completed
papers and turned to confront her student:

   "Lisa, how long have you been in this office?  This morning, I mean?"

   "I...  I guess I got her about an hour ago, Dr.  Burnside."

   "An hour?  And in an hour you managed to grade just eleven quizzes?"

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside...  I guess I was kinda distracted."

   "Distracted, huh?  Distracted by what, Lisa?"

   "I...  it's just that sometimes I'm thinking about...  I don't know,
it's hard to explain...  "

   "No, it's not hard to explain at all.  Not hard at all.  You're not
focused because your mind's on sex instead of your responsibilities in this
office.  Let me explain something.  The department's not paying you to sit
here thinking about your sexual fantasies.  We're paying you to help out
with the classes.  Obviously this morning your priorities are not
straight."

   "I guess not, Dr.  Burnside."

   "Now, let me ask you this.  What happens if you see that one of your
pledges is not focused?  At the Four-Beta house, what do you do about a
situation like that?"

   Lisa took a deep breath, because she knew where the conversation was
going:

   "They get disciplined to make them focus, Dr.  Burnside."

   "Good.  They get disciplined to make them focus.  A subordinate who gets
distracted and is not focused needs a bit of discipline to improve her
performance.  That's always the best way to handle things.  You agree?"

   "Yes, Dr.  Burnside."

   With that Burnside took off her jacket and blouse, leaving her wearing
just a sports bra above the waist.  She sat down on her office sofa.  Lisa
said nothing more, but approached the older woman and settled over her
thighs.  The spanking would begin in a few moments, but first the professor
wanted to take advantage of having her student lying across her lap to
enjoy the sight and feel of the girl's lovely bottom.  The professor
sensuously explored Lisa's bottom-cheeks with the palm of her hand, and
gently caressed the girl's bottom-hole and labia with her fingertips.  As
Lisa's body began responding to the touches, the professor took control of
her.  Lisa knew better than to try to resist, nor did she want to.

   By the time Burnside was ready to begin spanking Lisa, the student
already had completely surrendered herself.  Loud slaps rang out in the
office and would continue for at least 30 minutes before Lisa could expect
to be released through a delicious orgasm.  The professor and her student
had plenty of time, because neither had a class for the next two hours.

   Lisa was both scared and nervous, but she would not have traded what was
happening to her for anything.  She knew that lying across her mentor's lap
and surrendering herself was where she needed to be.  Burnside would,
through real life experience, teach the young woman everything she knew
about sensuous discipline and total sexual control.

   Lisa would use that knowledge throughout her life and pass it along to
her pledges and lovers.

   *****

   That evening Pledge Mistress Lisa took a break from the sorority's
training regimen, turning over the newcomers' instruction to Shannon.  The
Sergeant-at-Arms directed the counselors to lead the pledges through
stretching, yoga, and swimming exercises.

   Lisa told Kathleen and Ken to go up to her room, because she needed to
discuss the future of their relationship.  Once the door was closed she
flatly told her two naked lovers to kneel next to each other and to stay
silent until she finished talking.

   Her morning with Ruth Burnside had made Lisa realize that the moment had
come for Ken and Kathleen to know the truth about each other.  More
importantly, it was time to tell the truth about what she wanted from her
two lovers and explain the future she envisioned sharing with them.

   "I need both of you in my life.  I love you, both of you, in very
different ways.  You have no right to be jealous of each other, because
each of you fills a part of my life that is completely separate from the
other part.  What I'm getting at is that, if you love me, then you'll need
to accept the life I'm gonna create for you, for both of you...  well, for
all three of us, actually.  You promised to obey me, and right now I'm
collecting on that promise.  You'll obey me, together."

   Ken and Kathleen exchanged glances, very nervous about what was being
asked of them.  Their mistress continued:

   "Keep in mind, our lives are not gonna be a three-way relationship. 
Both of you need direction and guidance, and that will be my role in your
lives.  When you need to be disciplined, I am the one who will punish you.
When you want an orgasm you'll have to ask, and I will decide whether or
not you get it."

   Lisa walked behind her two companions and ran her hands through their
hair.

   "If you want to make love to each other, I will encourage that, but
you'll always need to ask my permission first.  Remember that I'm not mad
about the fact you made love to each other at Dr.  Burnside's party.  What
I'm mad about is that you didn't tell me.  Now, Kathleen, are you ever
gonna lie to me like that again?"

   "I...  no Lisa...  I promise...  "

   "Ken?"

   "No Lisa, I won't lie to you."

   "Stand up please.  Both of you."

   Ken and Kathleen stood up.

   "Face each other and hold hands."

   Lisa's lovers faced each other.  Very nervously Ken took Kathleen's
hands.

   "Now, I want you to kiss.  That's an order, so I expect you to do it
with passion."

   Ken and Kathleen held each other and kissed, for the first time since
July 4th.  With that first kiss they realized something that Lisa already
knew.  They were attracted to each other.  Lisa ordered them to continue
kissing while she massaged both their bare bottoms.  Having their bottoms
rubbed heightened their sexual desires.  Then she began lightly slapping
their exposed backsides in anticipation of giving them what they needed, an
afternoon of sensual spanking and love-making.

   Lisa's two lovers took turns lying over her lap as their bottoms slowly
turned a soft shade of pink under the loving slaps of her hand.  Once both
her lovers were properly aroused, Lisa lay back on her bed and spread her
legs, directing Kathleen to get on her elbows and knees to give her an
orgasm.  While young woman's tongue concentrated on her mistress' clitoris,
Ken took her from behind, pushing hard and giving her the second
pleasurable experience in her life that she had ever received from a man.

   After they were satisfied and had a chance to calm down, Lisa and her
two lovers entered the bathroom to shower together.  They soaped each other
off and rinsed, but then Lisa ordered her attendants to return to her room.
While Kathleen watched, she ordered Ken to lie on his back on the floor. 
She massaged his penis until it was fully erect.  As soon as he was hard
and ready to make love again, Lisa ordered Kathleen to squat over his face.

   "Ken, your fellow servant likes attention on her bottom, and not just on
her clit.  Please make sure she's satisfied, and I'll take care of you."

   With that Kathleen spread her bottom and presented it to Ken, who
dutifully kissed her most intimate spot and began circling her sphincter
with his tongue.  Her body immediately shuddered with pleasure.

   Lisa lowered herself over Ken's very erect penis.  Once he was safely
inside her, she leaned forward to kiss Kathleen.  She placed her hands on
the younger woman's shoulders and kissed her passionately.  Kathleen was
clearly excited by Lisa's kisses on her mouth and the explorations of Ken's
tongue in her bottom.  She climaxed precisely at the same moment Ken's
penis began pumping semen into Lisa's body.

   The Pledge Mistress climaxed as well; gasping with delight as semen
continued entering her body and the sound of Kathleen's orgasm filled her
ears.

   So now Four-Beta Pledge Mistress Lisa knew her own future.  It was just
as she envisioned, a perfect lovers' triangle with two servants who truly
understood that she was the mistress of their souls.