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Chapter 20 - In Tracy's defense

Following dinner and clean-up the sorority held its weekly members� meeting. Attending the meeting was mandatory for all members, but it was mostly a relaxed and informal affair. The women either could sit on the floor or grab a folding chair from the storage area. Most of the members simply sat on the floor, not wanting to hassle with pulling out a chair.

Clothing in the room ranged from formal dresses, to shorts and T-shirts, to nothing. Some of the women planned to go out on dates immediately after the meeting and were dressed in their best clothes. Others were getting ready to go out exercising or to walk back to campus and were more casually dressed. A few women who had just come in from the pool or the patio area had not bothered to get dressed at all, and entered the room with nothing but a towel to sit on. The pledges, of course, were naked.

Lisa noticed three other naked Four-Betas nervously sitting in chairs near the speaker�s podium. Lisa wondered what was going on with them, because normally they were not among the women Lisa was used to seeing running around the house with nothing on.

Lisa�s question was answered when President Alexandra took her position at the speaker�s podium and announced that the sorority had three �birthday girls� that week, three women who had a birthday within the past seven days. The three naked sorority members stepped forward while the entire room sang �Happy Birthday� to them. As the rest of the sorority sang, the Four-Beta social director snapped several pictures of the blushing �birthday girls�.

The sorority had a tradition that anyone celebrating a birthday had to receive a birthday spanking in her birthday suit, which was why the three women were not wearing anything. As soon as the singing concluded, President Alexandra sat down on a hard-backed chair to perform one of the more fun duties of her position. The first of the three women went over her lap, an attractive blond member called Annette.

Alexandra patted Annette�s bottom and loudly asked:

�How many years, ladies?�

�Twenty, President Alexandra!�

�Excellent! Twenty years, and one to grow on!�

SLAP!

Seventy women responded by cheering: �ONE!�

SLAP!

�TWO!�

SLAP!

�THREE��

President Alexandra spanked Annette a total of 21 times, 20 for each year, concluding with the traditional extra �to grow on�. Annette�s friends took several pictures of her while still over the president�s lap, and then had her pose with them for several group shots. The spanking was no big deal and Annette certainly seemed no worse for her experience as she bantered with her friends and wiggled her pink bottom in front of the camera.

The performance was repeated on the other two �birthday girls�, first a spanking from the sorority president and then posing for pictures with the dressed members of the sorority. Once all three spankings were completed and anyone who wanted a picture of the �birthday girls� had one, the three women stood at the front of the room to be formally presented with their birthday presents from the sorority; silver necklaces with the sorority emblem. The necklaces were made from pure silver and looked quite expensive. The three �birthday girls� posed together wearing their necklaces and nothing else, for the official photo celebrating the completion of one more year of their lives.

Once the cheering stopped and the three �birthday girls� joined their fellow sorority members in the audience, President Alexandra turned over the podium to her officers. Each officer had a few announcements, mostly items related to the upkeep of the house or academic issues. The social director spoke at length about several summer hikes and camping trips, including one to be held the following weekend with the Tri-Alphas. The hike was counted among the pledge tests, but more so for the male pledges than the females, because the males had to carry backpacks. The sorority and fraternity members would hike 12 miles on Saturday, camp overnight in a remote area, then spend Sunday hiking back.

The Pledge Mistress interjected to the four newcomers: �Next week you�ll need to break in your hiking boots, so I�ll be having you wear them on campus. If you don�t, you might get blisters on the hike.�

The Social Director continued by mentioning an event at the end of June called the �Skins and Shirts Ball�, that was a formal dance held each semester with the Tri-Alphas. Why it was called the �Skins and Shirts Ball� became evident when she explained to the pledges that before the ball each semester there was a wager between the Four-Betas and the Tri-Alphas. The losing side had to go to the ball naked, while the winners attended in formal clothing. The previous spring it had been the Four-Betas who lost the bet, and thus the entire membership of the sorority suffered the indignity of having to dine, dance, and be photographed in the nude next to their formally dressed male partners.

Lisa had an ominous feeling concerning the �Skins and Shirts Ball� and why it was being brought up in front of the four pledges. A bet, huh? What kind of bet?

The Social Director continued:

�I think we�ve already got some good wagers for the fall and spring semesters, and we�ve been trying to come up with a good one for the summer. I�ve discussed it with Social Director Phil of the Tri-Alphas, and the idea we came up with this year is a naked scavenger hunt for the pledges. Our pledges versus theirs.�

It was obvious everyone in the room liked the idea.

�Here�s what we thought we ought to do. We�ll be aiming to do the hunt Sunday night. You know that Stacy�� (who was one of the Four-Beta sophomores) ��has a job at the library and can get us in after it closes. John Walton has a job at the Student Memorial Center, and Bob�s still instructing at the gym. That gives us at least three campus buildings where we can set up, and Dr. Ruth Burnside told us she might be able to open up the Economics Department for us after midnight. If she can do that and we go with Sunday night, we�ll have four buildings to run around in plus all of Old Campus.�

The four pledges had a very sinking feeling. Bubbling with enthusiasm, the Social Director continued:

�Now here�s the really great part! Phil talked to Sergeant Polk from Campus Security, and Sunday night they�re planning on doing a huge parking enforcement operation in the dorm area. What that means is, (and this is a big secret) Campus Security is gonna be completely tied up towing cars out of the dorm lots all Sunday night. We can do what we want on Old Campus because Campus Security is gonna leave us alone! In fact, Arnold told them that if they let us do the scavenger hunt, we can keep an eye on Old Campus for them and they can concentrate on the dorm lots. So, what do you guys think?�

All of the women in the room, minus the four pledges, cheered at the idea. A member of the junior class raised her hand.

�I move we vote to make the pledges do the naked scavenger hunt!�

�Does anyone second that motion?�

Several hands went up.

�OK, Lets put it to a vote. Everyone in favor of doing the scavenger hunt raise her hand!�

Every woman in the room, with the exception of Tracy and the four pledges, raised her hand.

�Anyone against?�

The four pledges did not have the right to vote, so no hands went up against the idea. Pledge Mistress Tracy abstained.

President Alexandra�s voice bellowed out:

�Pledge Mistress Tracy!�

�Yes, President Alexandra!�

�You are directed to properly prepare your pledges for Sunday night�s scavenger hunt! I am holding you personally accountable for their success!�

�Yes, President Alexandra!�

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When the meeting ended, Tracy ordered the pledges to accompany her into the pledge room. It surprised none of them that her temper suddenly seemed much sharper, now she was to be held accountable if her group lost the scavenger hunt and the Four-Betas had to attend the �Skins and Shirts� ball in the nude. Lisa could see that her hands were shaking slightly. At that moment she saw the Pledge Mistress as very human, a woman who was quite nervous about the difficult task that had been thrust upon her.

Prepare her pledges for an all-night scavenger hunt on campus in the nude. Now, how in the hell was she supposed to do that?

Lisa realized there was one way Tracy could prepare the group. If the pledges spent the next two days completely familiarizing themselves with Old Campus and the four buildings they were likely to be exploring, their chances of searching efficiently and maximizing their time would be greatly improved. It would be especially helpful to systematically explore the area at night and even practice looking for things and running back and forth in the darkness.

As the other members of the pledge group gathered up their coursework to prepare for the mandatory two hours of nightly studying, Lisa approached the Pledge Mistress, knelt, and requested permission to speak. She instinctively knew it would be better to approach the sorority officer when the others were not around, because Tracy usually treated her much differently when they were alone.

Tracy listened to Lisa�s idea with interest, especially her suggestion that the pledges explore Old Campus at night. She responded:

�Very well, Pledge Lisa. You�ve thought this thing through quicker than I have. A night exercise and dry runs. OK. When study time is over, I�m taking you out for some punishment PT.�

�Ma�am�what�?�

�That�s how I�m gonna justify getting you out of the sorority house. A couple of the girls want the Triple-A�s to win, so they�re gonna be watching us to see what we�re doing to get ready. Anything they see us doing is gonna get reported to their Pledge Master, so I gotta make it look like I�m pissed off at you about something else and not worried about Sunday night. Get upstairs and study, but don�t say anything. At 10:00 I�ll have your uniforms ready. When you come back downstairs I�m gonna need to be a bit rough on you, but then we�re leaving.�

�Yes, ma�am.�

Lisa took a deep breath as she went upstairs, fully regretting making the suggestion to Tracy. Apparently the only reward she was going to get out of her effort to help was being yelled at and then a sleepless night running around Old Campus. No, there was no way she was going to say anything to the others. The last thing she wanted was for them to know that it was her dumb idea that was going to make the weekend very miserable for the entire group.

After two hours of studying the four tired pledges went downstairs. The freshmen were fully expecting to go to bed. Lisa knew that wasn�t going to happen, at least not for several hours. Sure enough, the pledges� jogging uniforms were laid out on their cots and the Pledge Mistress was waiting for them wearing a jogging outfit and a furious expression. The pledges immediately dropped to their knees. Tracy waved a sheet of paper, pointed at her own face, and asked:

�Is this the expression of a happy woman?�

�No, ma�am.�

�That�s right, ladies, this is not the face of a happy woman! This is the face of a woman with a CASE OF THE ASS! And do you know why I have a case of the ass?�

�No, ma�am.�

�Well, I�ll tell you! Your PT improvement scores SUCK! What the fuck are you doing to me? You�re supposed to be improving, and all I see is SHIT! All I see is a bunch of lazy bitches who don�t give a fuck about exercising! What the fuck is wrong with you? Don�t you care about fitness? Don�t you care about your body?�

�Yes, ma�am, we care.�

�Oh, so now you arrogant little freshmen are arguing with me! How nice! GET IN THE FRONT-LEANING REST POSITION � NOW!�

The four women scrambled to get into the standard push-up position. Lisa glanced up at the Pledge Mistress, who in turn kept looking towards the door of the pledge room. Suddenly it occurred to Lisa that something more was going on than what Tracy had told her earlier in the evening.

The pledges tired themselves out doing several sets of military-style four-count pushups, and then Lisa looked up to notice that Sergeant-at-Arms Heather was standing at the door. Standing next to her was a junior who happened to be dating one of the Tri-Alpha officers. As soon as the two women went upstairs, Tracy immediately ordered the pledges to �recover� and put on their jogging uniforms.

A strange coincidence, if that�s what it was. Apparently Tracy was hazing the pledges precisely so Heather could see her. As soon as Heather was out of sight, the hazing stopped. Lisa became even more convinced there was much more going on with the scavenger hunt than what Tracy had been willing to tell her.

As Tracy continued to scream her guts out, the pledges desperately put on their uniforms and scrambled up the stairs.

�You�re gonna improve those PT scores! If I have to run you all night, every night, I�ll make you improve! You are NOT gonna be Four-Betas with your PT scores the way they are! Now, MOVE-MOVE-MOVE!�

The pledges scrambled out the front door ahead of their Pledge Mistress. As Tracy continued to yell at them on the sidewalk, the five women ran away from the direction of the university, turned a corner and disappeared onto another side street. When the group had run to a small park about four blocks away from the Four-Beta house, Tracy suddenly calmed down. She led the pledges to some bushes and pulled out a backpack containing five dark T-shirts and five pairs of shorts. She passed out the new sets of clothing and ordered everyone to change. She took the pledges� Four-Beta clothes and stuffed them in the backpack along with her own.

Then Tracy did something truly shocking. She pulled out a large thermos of soda and passed out some paper cups. The pledges gratefully accepted the unexpected treat, because normally Four-Beta pledges were not allowed to drink soda. The soda completely changed the mood of the group and mentally prepared the younger women for what was about to follow.

Tracy explained that both Friday and Saturday night she and the pledges would conduct what she called a �recon� of Old Campus. They would look for likely hiding spots, memorize where everything was, and identify escape routes and concealment if they were pursued by either the police or Campus Security. On Saturday and Sunday they would walk around to see the same area during daylight. Of course, during the day they would not be able to disguise themselves and thus could not be too obvious about what they were doing. Anyhow, the nighttime exploration was much more important, because the scavenger hunt would be at night.

�By Sunday night you�re gonna know Old Campus better than you know the Four-Beta House, and we�re gonna win this thing.�

The pledges were not about to argue with Tracy�s logic, even if it meant less sleep over the weekend. They were aware there would be hell to pay if they lost the scavenger hunt.

The three freshmen, however, were still very angry at their Pledge Mistress because of the way they had been treated before they came out to the park. Looking around Old Campus at night made perfect sense, but why did Tracy have to be so mean to them back at the sorority house? What did that have to do with winning the scavenger hunt?

Lisa, meanwhile, partly understood what was going on and was becoming very worried about Tracy�s behavior around Heather. Whenever the Pledge Mistress was around Heather, she became Psycho-Bitch, but whenever Heather was not nearby she behaved much more normally. It was obvious that she felt the need to �perform� for Heather, and her behavior in the pledge room that night was simply a more extreme example of something Lisa already had noticed.

Lisa also wondered about the secrecy of Tracy�s plan to familiarize the pledges with Old Campus. Having the pledges memorize the layout of Old Campus made perfect sense, so why would she need to hide it from the sorority�s other officers? Was there a rivalry or fight between Heather and Tracy? Would that dispute eventually require the pledges to take sides?

Or worse yet, was it possible that �the couple of girls� who wanted the fraternity to win were actually Heather and that junior? If so, that was a very scary thought; the knowledge the Four-Beta Sergeant-at-Arms was spying on them and could not be trusted. Lisa remembered her first impression of Heather, that she did not like her. It seemed to Lisa that something about Heather�s personality wasn�t quite right. Tracy�s caution around her seemed to confirm Lisa�s unease about the Sergeant-at-Arms� trustworthiness.

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Tracy and the pledges walked a route towards Old Campus that bypassed Fraternity Row and the businesses on Pageant Street. The women slipped across the street and began wandering around the tree-lined sidewalks and century-old buildings as their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Tracy began by having her group systematically find and count the windowsills, stairwells, and side entrances to all of the old buildings. They moved around the trees and bushes, identifying potential hiding places, and then explored the fishpond behind the University Alumni Clubhouse. The women compared their observations to campus maps, measured distances between buildings, and practiced running along the dark sidewalks. They identified all of the newspaper racks, bulletin boards, and public phones, as well as finding all the dumpsters and recycling bins. Finally, Tracy put two dollars into a soda machine and asked each member of her group what she wanted. For the second time that night, the pledges indulged themselves in the illicit pleasure of soda-drinking.

Tracy then led her group to explore the outside of the four buildings they would likely have to enter Sunday night. The pledges familiarized themselves with the outsides of the buildings and their surroundings. The following day they would spend on campus, eating at the Student Memorial Center, checking out books from the library, and working out at the gym. They would spend most of the day inside the three buildings making sure they knew where everything was located. As for the Economics Building, Tracy took it for granted that if it were included in the scavenger hunt, Lisa would be leading the forays inside.

It was nearly 2:00 a.m. when the group left campus and returned to the park near the Four-Beta house. The women stripped in the darkness and put on their Four-Beta clothing. Tracy stashed her backpack in the bushes and ordered the group to do some pushups to build up some sweat, and then to start running back to the sorority house.

�Pledge Lisa!�

�Yes, ma�am!�

�Call cadence!�

�Yes, ma�am!�

Following Lisa�s lead, the women started clapping and chanting:

�Left�right�left-right-left!�

�Left�right�left-right-left!�

�Runnin� that midnight Four-Beta left!�

�Runnin� that midnight Four-Beta left!�

�I don�t wanna be no drunken fat-bitch!�

�I don�t wanna be no drunken fat-bitch!�

�I don�t wanna party �till I puck!�

�I don�t wanna party �till I puck��

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The pledges returned to their room totally exhausted and covered in sweat. Their first priority was showering, and the second priority was a good drink of cold water. The freshmen were utterly perplexed at what had happened with the Pledge Mistress: the hazing, having to go on campus in disguise, and most of all, the soda. If the Pledge Mistress was such an odious bitch, why would she let them drink soda, and in fact buy it for them? That didn�t make any sense.

Once they all had showered and were sipping on water, Lisa called her group together and whispered:

�I don�t want any of you to talk about what we did tonight. If anyone asks, just tell them that Tracy was dogging us in the park because she was pissed about our PT scores. That�s it. You cannot tell anyone we were on campus.�

�But�why not? Wouldn�t they want us to get ready?�

�I don�t know. But I have a feeling the Triple-A�s aren�t gonna have their guys explore the campus like we just did, which is why Tracy wants to keep what we�re doing a secret. We�re gonna know where everything is. They won�t, and that�s gonna let us win.�

Bernadette, as always, expressed her skepticism. "Lisa, this is totally crazy. I still think that..."

"Yes, it's crazy, but I have a suspicion I know what's going on."

"Then what is it?"

"I'll tell you later, once I'm sure myself. But I will tell you this. We need to trust Tracy, because she's the only officer in this sorority who actually cares about us."

Lisa noticed the disbelieving reaction on her companions' faces and continued:

"I'm not asking you to like her. I'm asking you to trust her judgment."

"That's easy for you to say. You do like her. Of course you'd trust her. I can't stand her."

Exasperated with the argument, Lisa finally countered:

"Look. We've been here nearly two weeks, and we've had a lot of shit thrown at us. Now, who's been doing most of it?"

"Tracy."

"Exactly. Tracy. Now I want you to think about something. The other officers have all left us alone, except for Heather. I don't think it's occurred to any of you that maybe it's because of Tracy that we're not being bothered by anybody else. You guys ever think about that? We have one person dogging us instead of the entire sorority. If you think things are bad now, imagine what'd they be like if we had the whole sorority on top of us. Tracy has to treat us the way she does so the others will leave us alone."

Lisa paused to let her companions think about what she had just said. None of them responded. Annoyed by their silence, Lisa emphasized her point.

"There's something else. Before you're so quick to hate her, let me ask you: who was it who got us those two nights in the guest room? Tracy. Who is it who gets us a few minutes in the pool whenever she can so we can relax? Tracy. Who is it who sits up in the library every night after we go to bed writing up our training packets? Tracy. Who was it who bought us cokes when they're prohibited? Tracy. Who is it who's giving up her weekend so we don't lose the scavenger hunt and get out asses whipped? Tracy. So, guess what? I'm really not interested in hearing you guys bitch about what a rotten person Tracy is."

The three freshmen were taken aback by the forcefulness of Lisa's defense of the Pledge Mistress. Her anger was genuine and her companions realized that any further negative thoughts they had about Tracy were best left unspoken.

"Let's go to bed. We got a long weekend ahead of us."

With that Lisa went straight to sleep, for once not troubled by the confused thoughts that normally kept her awake.

The Pledge Mistress - Chapter 21