The Tutor, Volume II (ch. 9, 3/18)

[Drax6119]

This story is to relationship dynamics what Jackie Chan is to choreography. Perfectly captured both sides of the yin-yang. A guy telling the girl what to do to better herself, and the girl taking complete control in the romance, bedroom, etc. departments. So much delicious vulnerability. Truly we could solve society's ills if we just read stuff like this and studied it.

OK, This makes me ANGRY...bc I can only "thank" this ONCE.

[Fred Key]

Apologies to readers for the long delay on Chapter 8. I hope to be more productive this month.

Ch. 8 - Doors Open

Annie and I spent the next few days together as much as possible. We met for lunch, spent the afternoons studying or going to college events, and even went to a hockey game. I wasn’t all that surprised to find out that Annie loved hockey - she even explained what was happening to me, which was helpful, because what I knew about about hockey was largely limited to the words ice, skate, puck, and fight. It was actually a lot of fun, even when Annie started trading insults with some fans from the other team who looked like they could probably break both of us in half without effort. “It’s part of the culture,” she said to me. “If you aren’t ragging on someone, you aren’t enjoying the game. There are lines you don’t cross, but usually everyone is having fun, and if someone gets a little upset, you buy them a beer and you’re all friends again.”

During the week, we had plenty of work to get done; Annie’s chem classes were heavy-duty and she was TAing on top of that, and I was working a few regular tutoring jobs at Maxwell’s Help Center in the Student Union. Both of us wanted another opportunity for a real date, but our schedules made it tough to snatch more than an hour or two together during the week.

We were taking advantage of one of those short opportunities that Thursday afternoon, holed up in her dorm room enjoying some very pleasant kissing. Annie was an excellent kisser, and I honestly didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not being more physical with her. It actually took me by surprise when she took my hand and guided it to her breast midway through a kiss. She made a happy moan when I squeezed a little, rubbing my palm over her shirt until I could feel her nipple coming to attention under the fabric layers.

Things probably would have gone a bit further if my cell phone hadn’t loudly interrupted the moment. I was going to ignore it, but when the voice mail started, I could hear “Fred? This is Jenny. I need to talk with you. Give me a call when you get this, okay? It’s urgent.”

I looked apologetically at Annie, who shrugged and said, “Answer it. It sounds important. My boob isn’t going anywhere, I promise.”

Annie’s pretty awesome.

I grabbed the phone and caught Jenny before she had finished her voice mail. “Jenny? Sorry, it’s Fred. I was away from the phone. What’s up?” I clicked her onto speaker so Annie could hear the conversation, but motioned for her to stay silent.

“So we have a little situation here at SD. Apparently, I wasn’t the only sister who had academic issues. We have three girls in this year’s pledge class who are about to drop onto Academic Probation - not for SD, but for Maxwell University. Our chapter president is absolutely furious - she says we’ve never had three sisters fall out of eligibility in a single year, and we’d be looking at four if I hadn’t gotten my grade up. We might lose our status as Maxwell’s premier sorority, and worse, the Boats might end up with a better average GPA - and that CANNOT happen.”

I knew Boats was the less-flattering name given to girls in Rho Rho Rho, a sorority that also saw itself as the elite group at Maxwell. “Hips like a Boat” was a thing here. It was also ridiculous, because the Rhos were just as attractive as the SD girls, which is to say that no average guy at Maxwell was going to get even close to a date. The SDs hated the Rhos, and vice versa.

“So after the chapter meeting where we all got chewed out for letting the SD name tarnish on our watch, I went and saw Melissa - she’s the chapter president - and told her about you. That you could produce results pretty quickly, even if your approach was a little unorthodox. Then I told her about what happened in the meeting with Annie. How I ended up naked, and how freaking humiliating it was. How I NEVER wanted to be in that position again. And most importantly, how my paper revision took me from a D up to a B.

“Nice!” I said, congratulating Jenny on the good grade. “That’s got to feel good for you! Great work.”

“Thanks! It felt REALLY good.”

I paused for a moment. “I’m a little surprised you shared your tutoring experience with your president in that much detail, honestly.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but at that moment, it suddenly struck me that you might be the answer to our problems - particularly since we’re talking about brand-new members of the sorority.”

Annie looked at me and grinned, like she could see where this was going.

“Okay - so I should be ready if one of them calls?”

“No, Fred - Sigma Delta wants to hire you as our sorority’s private tutor.”

*Holy shit!* Annie mouthed at me. Her eyes were alight with excitement.

“Wait, wait - private tutor for the whole sorority? I can’t possibly do that. Even if thought I could handle the job - and I’m not sure about that - there’s no way I could put thirty or forty new clients into my calendar and even make it to my classes, let alone pass them.”

Jenny laughed. “That’s not what we had in mind. We were thinking that we could pay a flat rate for the semester, and that in exchange, you would be available to help a sister whose grade falls below a C in any course. Not every one of the sisters needs that help, but some of them really need it in a couple of classes, and these three girls seem to need help in several.”

“So would this be a contact for regular tutoring for the sorority on demand, but I would be able to schedule as I was available?”

“That’s where this gets interesting, Fred. Melissa thought my ending up naked in front of my English tutor was hilarious - I don’t share the viewpoint, by the way. As she put it, ‘Let’s have him put any sisters who get themselves into trouble into a program like that! I bet those freshmen will work a lot more diligently if they know they might end up naked in front of their tutor and their peers.’ And that I DO have to agree with.”

“Anyway, there’s another layer to this. It’s gotten harder and harder to get our pledge classes to buy in to the house traditions, and hazing is basically completely gone. Some of our members have actually threatened to sue Maxwell and SD for being assigned the most basic of duties, like kitchen cleanup. They don’t have any skin in the game, so they aren’t trying to be successful, these girls.”

“But if you send them for “special tutoring” to me, won’t they just cry “hazing” again?”

“No, because I went to you, and I’m not a pledge. They couldn’t claim you were intended as a punishment mechanism. I can attest that I went voluntarily, and that I had positive results.” Jenny’s tone became a little more snarky. “Of course, if you were to make your tutoring a little harder on our darling pledges than you might normally, we wouldn’t mind. A little extra encouragement is just what these girls need.”

Annie was practically bouncing up and down at this. Three new girls meant three new data points for her experiment, and she was clearly eager for me to take on the job, but I had one more question that I needed to ask. “So…how much does this pay?”

When Jenny told me the number, I took the job on the spot. For that kind of money, I’d be more than happy to be SD’s personal tutor on call. One semester of work would cover my food and textbooks for the full YEAR.

Jenny agreed to have Laura, Annalee, and Violet meet me at the sorority house on Saturday morning to discuss their new tutoring plan. “We have a “study room” on the first floor,” she said. “You can’t go upstairs, but men are allowed on the first floor, and the room has no windows. That may be useful for you given your methods.”

I agreed that it might very well prove helpful, and promised to be there Saturday morning. When I hung up, Annie tackled me immediately. “Fred, this is AMAZING! I told you this would work! Now you have some income, and I can really do this as a research project - if we get ten or fifteen sisters to participate during the year, we’ll have a decent data set. This might actually work for us!”

“You aren’t going to have a problem with me being around the SD sisters? Potentially seeing them naked?” I asked warily.

“SHOULD I have a problem? You’re dating ME, not them, right?”

“Right!” I said. “I wouldn’t cheat on you, Annie. I just wanted to make sure YOU were okay with this.”

“I’m okay,” Annie said. “But let’s agree that the two of us make decisions about the reinforcement choice together, so there aren’t any misunderstandings.”

“I’m fine with that,” I said. “Although I have a feeling the SD girls will regret that I’m bringing Annie Jenkins into their potential punishment decisions.”

“They absolutely will,” she said, grinning mischievously. “I’m already thinking about all the ways we could torment them. But seriously - if I’m going to do this as research, there are a couple things we need to work out. How would you feel about me designing an intake questionnaire?”

I shrugged. “I don’t object to it, but why?”

“Your plan works best when something significant is threatening the student. By using a good questionnaire, we can get students to reveal what makes them nervous or embarrassed - then we can plan their tutoring accordingly.” Annie reminded me that it would be easy for a student to lie to us about this stuff, though, and that we probably needed a way to check their responses. “We should send the results to Jenny and Melissa, and ask them if they can verify the answers. It won’t look good for us if we fail to achieve results because we started with lies from the subjects.”

After a moment’s thought, I suggested that we make part of the questionnaire a list of potentially uncomfortable things, and ask them to rank how much they would be bothered by them on a scale of one to ten. “Even if they lie, we should have several options to choose from, so they’d have to lie far more often to make sure that they don’t accidentally get something that does truly have an impact.”

“So you’d ask something like, “on a scale of one to ten, how awkward would you feel about stripping in public?”

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of “on a scale of one to ten, how much do you want to put this aside for the moment, climb into bed, and make out?”

Annie laughed. “I’ll go with an 8 on that. Edging toward a nine. And if you say “that’s what she said,” I’m going to hit you with my curling iron.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “No jokes. Got it.”

“No pants, either. Hurry up - we only have an hour before my roommates come back, and I want to get the most out of it.” Annie was already pushing her jeans down her legs, her red and white checkered panties bright enough to make me have flashbacks to bad Italian restaurants from my childhood.

No pants was new. Annie had apparently decided to move another step down the road to sex, even if she hadn’t told me so. “If your toes are cold, and you’re just looking for an excuse to warm them up….”

We tumbled into bed, and enjoyed a delightful hour that ended with both of us significantly warmer and happier. Afterwards, we pulled out my laptop and started putting together Annie’s questionnaire.

Annie and I traded ideas back and forth over the next few days about the best instructional approaches. My biggest concern was that with three different women, we would probably have three different needs or more to tutor, and that time would be an issue. Annie and I agreed to split tutoring so that she would take the hard science material, I would take anything that was more liberal arts like history or English, and that we would split the math as necessary. Meanwhile, Annie also created spreadsheets for each of our clients so we could track progress and keep up to date. I asked for and received class information from each of the pledges so that I would have a better idea of what I was going to need to have prepared when I arrived Saturday.

Laura Bonner was a fine arts student who was struggling mightily with her math. She was failing Precalculus, which was one of the easiest math classes at Maxwell, and her recent homework grades looked like she had basically given up entirely. Her grades in art history, music, and psychology were fine, but she was also getting a low C at the moment in her photography class, which made no sense to me at all. How do you fail photography? Was she not doing the assignments? I made a note to check on her habits and find out if she was missing multiple assignments in that course.

Violet Morris appeared to be in over her head in a number of classes. She was on the cross-country team, and while her performance athletically was excellent, it appeared to have cut into her study time, because her grades were low across the board. I guessed that most of her lost points were on tests, although I didn’t have any evidence to back that guess up. It just made sense to me that she was fine on assignments that could be done in a sitting, but that studying over time was the problem, as she had such an erratic schedule with travel to meets.

Finally, there was Annalee Allen. Annalee’s scores seemed fine in sciences, but were low in her Composition and Rhetoric class (a D) and, of all things, her Introduction to Christianity class (barely a C). Given that the profile Jenny sent listed Annalee’s major activity outside of the sorority as church groups, that was a mystery. Jenny’s only note beyond that regarding Annalee was to note that the young woman “had very strong opinions that she wasn’t afraid to share.”

Mystery solved. Annalee was arguing with her professors and ticking them off. Fixing that would require a strong set of rules - especially since Annalee didn’t seem to think she was having a problem in that regard.

On Saturday, Annie and I walked together to the SD house to meet our new charges. Jenny was there to greet us. “I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for agreeing to help with this, you two. I really didn’t want to have to manage this problem myself.”

She took us to the study room, where we were introduced to the three young women. Annalee was a tall, thin girl with straight, shoulder length hair and fashionable but very conservative dress. She was scowling as we came in, clearly unhappy to be there. Laura was dark-haired and seemed more relaxed, but was toying with the stack of math assignments that she had brought for us to look over in a way that suggested there was nervousness under the surface. Her short stature made her look like a little girl next to the willowy Annalee. Finally, Violet was a blonde girl with wispy hair tied back in a messy ponytail. She wore running shorts and a workout shirt, as if she planned to head out to practice the second this meeting was over.

I started by introducing myself and Annie. “We’ve been asked to come and provide you with some tutoring to try to raise your scores and keep you active in Sigma Delta. It looks to me like you all have classes where we could help, but you also need to understand that our system requires that you make a real commitment to improvement. Your success is going to be directly connected to your effort.”

Jenny interrupted here. “Ladies, you should keep in mind that Fred is not an ordinary tutor. He uses some fairly unorthodox approaches. Specifically, failure in the areas where he is tutoring you will result in some sort of punishment that you will find unpleasant.”

“Punishment?” Annalee asked. “I’m not letting some random guy punish me, grades or not. That’s not part of sorority policy!”

“You WILL let him punish you, Annalee, if you want to stay in Sigma Delta! Your grades are low enough for you to get booted out RIGHT NOW if you want to argue. The President has already authorized me to remove any and all of you. You are all pledges, not full sisters, and the rules for full sisters don’t apply to you. Test me, and see if I’m kidding.”

“Okay, okay - we get it. SD is unhappy with us,” Violet said. “But what do you mean by unpleasant punishment? Is this a hazing thing?”

“The specific punishments are up to your tutor. He isn’t allowed to injure you, force you to consume alcohol, or have sexual contact with anyone. Anything else is fair game. If you feel the punishment he selects for you is unfair, you may appeal it to me – but I have given him a lot of leeway, and if you complain and I don’t think he’s crossed a line, I’ll ask him to double whatever he’s given you just to remind you not to whine. Understood?”

Laura and Violet answered quickly. “Yes, ma’am.” Annalee remained silent, clearly fuming.

“Do we have a problem, Annalee?” Jenny asked coolly. “You know my preferred remedy for problems.”

Annalee stared challengingly at Jenny for a moment, then looked away. “No ma’am. No problem.” She then glared at me as if I was the one who had put her in this position.

“Good. I’ll leave you to get started, then,” Jenny said. “Good luck, guys. You’ll need it with these three.”

Annie and I sat down at the table opposite our three new charges. “I personally wouldn’t have led with the whole negative reinforcement thing,” I said, trying to change the tone in the room. “I’m not here to punish anyone. I’m here because your sorority thinks I can help you get your grades up. This is what I do, and I do it well. You can ask at the student support office, and they’ll tell you that I have a great record. Normally, I do regular tutoring - the type that involves weekly meetings and semester-long work. However, when time is of the essence, Annie here and I have worked up a sort of high-speed system for getting students on track. That’s what we’re using here, since we need your grades up quickly, and in multiple classes.”

“The first thing we’re going to do is fill out a questionnaire. Some of the questions will seem normal and obvious; other questions may seem unusual or irrelevant. We expect you to answer all of them honestly and to the best of your ability. Don’t worry about why we’re asking things; just answer. Of course, confidentiality is assured outside of this room, Jenny, and the President of SD. No one else will know about our work.” I handed out the survey document to the three young women, along with pencils. “Go ahead and begin, please.”

At first, there was only the scratching of pencil on paper. However, a few minutes in, Laura looked up at the two of us, a puzzled look on her face. “Um…” she said, clearly about to ask a question.

“Just answer honestly and to the best of your ability, Laura,” I said firmly. She looked like she would ask anyway, but seemed to think better of it and went back to writing.

A minute later, Annalee stood up and tossed her pencil down angrily. “I’m not answering these questions! None of this is relevant to tutoring me, and it’s none of your business!”

Annie looked casually at the angry brunette. “That’s fine. I can just let Jenny know you opted not to complete the form.”

Annalee stopped short. She clenched her fists.

“Sit down, Annalee,” Violet said quietly. “Unless you want to stand up again for dinner like last week.”

The sentence didn’t make sense at first, but I saw Annalee’s hand move unconsciously to her backside. *Aha,* I thought. *Someone has been shown the paddle already.*

Annalee reluctantly sat down and finished writing. When she was done, she folded her arms and scowled at the two of us until the other girls were finished.

“All right. Annie and I will go over these, and we’ll meet with you each individually tomorrow to plan your tutoring. We’re free after 4 PM, so pick a time that works for you and sign up on this sheet.” I placed a sheet of paper with time slots on the table, and a pen next to it.

The girls signed up, and Annie put the completed surveys in her backpack. “That’s all for today. See you tomorrow.” Annalee huffed out the door at once. Laura and Violet stayed for a moment. “Don’t mind her,” Violet said. “She hates that she’s not getting straight As. She thinks she deserves them because she’s Annalee. I appreciate you helping us. I need my track scholarship, even if I don’t need Sigma Delta, and I’m going to be in trouble if you can’t help me turn it around.”

“We will,” I assured her. “We can get you there.” It was confidence I wasn’t sure I should feel, but I said it anyway, and I meant it.

Annie and I sat down to review the questionnaires we had given the pledges. There was some valuable information about study habits and time spent on homework (I believed Annalee spent 2 hours a night rigorously, because I believed she did EVERYTHING rigorously, but was skeptical of Laura’s hour claim.)

The part that was really interesting, though, were the questions about things that made the pledges uncomfortable. These had been set up as Lickert scale questions - you know, the “on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being worst” ones, and were revealing:

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being LEAST LIKELY, how likely are you to do the following:

Smoke?

Annalee: 5 (Comment: EW!) Violet: 5 Laura: 3

Consume Alcohol?

Annalee: 4 (Comment: Only at required SD events, and only ONE beer.) Violet: 2 Laura: 2

Streak or otherwise go naked/partially naked in a public setting?

Annalee: 5 (Comment: This will NEVER happen.) Violet: 4 Laura: 4

Model for a fashion event?

Annalee: 2 Violet: 4 Laura: 3 (Comment: I guess if I was asked?)

Pose for a charity calendar if it meant revealing (non-nude) photos?

Annalee: 5 Violet: 1 (Comment: Already did this for soccer team!) Laura: 3

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “This would be great” and 5 being “This would be horrifying”, how would you rate the following happening to you?

Performing on stage?

Annalee: 3 (Comment: Depends on what it is) Violet: 4 Laura: 3

Getting hit with a pie in front of a crowd of people?

Annalee: 4 Violet: 2 Laura: 2

Making out with a random stranger?

Annalee: 5 (Comment: NEVER) Violet: 4 Laura: 3 (Comment: Is he/she cute?)

Getting a spanking/paddling?

Annalee: 5 (Comment; I HATE paddles.) Violet: 3 Laura: 2 (Comment: This is confidential, right?)

Getting treated like a child?

Annalee: 5 Violet: 4 Laura: 5

Not being permitted to make your own choices?

Annalee: 5 Violet: 5 Laura: 3

Public shaming or humiliation?

Annalee: 5 Violet: 5 Laura: 5



The survey results were helpful insights into the sort of thing that might move each of the pledges to work harder to succeed. Annalee, unsurprisingly, was all about control and personal dignity. While she said she might be okay modeling, I doubted that she would be okay modeling lingerie based on her other answers. Her fervent dislike of spanking wasn’t surprising to me either - Annalee struck me as someone who had grown up in a strict, religious household, and she probably had been spanked as a child before her apparent recent encounter with the sorority’s paddle. LOTS of options for her.

Laura, on the other end, seemed like she would be tougher to embarrass. She wasn’t keen on public shaming or being treated like a child, but obedience, spanking, and even potential streaking didn’t make her “5” list. She was clearly a little more laid-back, but was paying for it academically as well.

Violet was somewhere in the middle. She was apparently relatively body-positive, so nudity wasn’t as strong a negative as it was with Annalee. She wouldn’t do it on her own, most likely, but she wouldn’t find it devastating. She was apparently unfazed by the idea of a spanking. On the other hand, she was adamant about being in control and being treated like an adult. That might well make a good lever to get her locked in.

More importantly, NONE of the girls were okay with public shaming. That would be our last ditch approach for all three.

We agreed that Annalee would get nudity and spanking as her motivators, and made a note to make sure Jenny and Melissa made it clear there was no room for debate. Violet would be public humiliation and submission. Laura’s focus would be public humiliation all the way.

“Dibs on spanking Annalee!” Annie laughed. “She’s a piece of work.”

“You shouldn’t be going into the project LOOKING for reasons to spank the client, Annie.”

“Oh, come on!” she said, rolling her eyes. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t like to take the paddle to that ass.”

I had to admit that taking Annalee down a peg or two would be satisfying - but I didn’t have to admit it to Annie. “You just make sure you have lesson plans ready for your study sessions, or I’ll be using that paddle on YOU. I know you procrastinate.”

Annie bit her lip. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

I smacked her bottom playfully, and she yipped. “No fair! I didn’t DO anything!”

“Call it a cautionary spank.”

“That butt could be off limits to you, mister….”
I pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “You could make it off limits, but then I wouldn’t be able to give you the best part of those backrubs you like so much.”

She looked up at me with a smile. “Speaking of which, I could use one of those. Think my masseuse is free tonight? I have the room tonight - Natalie is going to a mixer, so she’ll be gone until way late.”

“What’s the going rate for back massages with extras these days?” I asked, grinning back at her.

“Who said I just wanted a back massage? I was thinking I might need more service than that.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Well, for a discerning woman like yourself, we can offer a wide range of services, depending on your comfort level.”

“I’ll think about the options. 7 tonight?”

“I’ll block off at least two hours. Since you’re already a client and all.”

She laughed. “Generous of you.”

We kissed briefly. “So tonight then?” I said.

“Tonight. And Fred? I wouldn’t mind if you brought a toothbrush and a change of clothes. If you wanted to maybe spend the night?” She nudged me with a shoulder jokingly, but her face had a hopeful look. “I think it would be nice to see what waking up with you feels like.”

“What, I haven’t bored you to sleep over dinner enough for you to know?” I joked, but inside I was jumping up and down with excitement. A sleepover night with Annie sounded like heaven.

She bit her lip again. “It may just be sleeping, okay?”

“Annie,” I said firmly, “I’ve already told you how I feel about that. There’s no rush, and I’m okay with you wanting to take this slowly. I don’t understand why you’re so worried I’m going to change my mind.”

“Because you’re the first guy I’ve dated who felt that way!” Annie shot back. “And it makes me a little nervous, okay? Because I really like you and I don’t want you to just bail on me because you want someone who will have sex with you!” She shut her mouth hard, as if she wanted to take back the words that just came out.

Dragging her into a hug again, I kissed the top of her head. “I’m not bailing on you, Annie. I like you a lot too, and you’re worth waiting for.”

She nuzzled her face against my chest. “Cheesy goober,” she murmured.

“I can’t help it if you inspire cheesy comments,” I laughed, rubbing her back gently.

“All right,” she said, letting me go and backing up. “I gotta get back to the dorm. If I’m having overnight company, I probably need to do laundry and clear up a little. And by a little, I mean a lot.” She kissed my cheek. “See you tonight, Fred.”

[JustHere10]

The wait is worth it! Love this story and it's such a good slow burner story. I like how it's still engaging even more the good parts. Really hoping one of the girls fail miserably this time around

[colomale2]

This is great! The wait is alright if the story is awesome like this one!

[Fred Key]

Ch. 9 - Annalee’s first lesson

I spent much of the afternoon going over the packets of graded work and tests from the three young women I would be tutoring. Of them, I decided that Violet Morris would be the easiest one to get back on track.

Violet, as I suspected, was a perfectly capable student. Her homework was always A or B quality, regardless of the class. However, her tests were regularly Ds, and her homework was only turned in sporadically - it was clear that she was overstretched and unable to manage her workload properly. I started planning out a study schedule based on her practice schedule, and emailed her to get a list of all her known test dates and assignments currently scheduled. I would plug these into the schedule to produce a time-management system for Violet, one that she could rely on to keep her focused and on track. I prioritized her math and history classes, where she was in the greatest danger, but I was fairly certain that she would be fine in all of her courses if we could just get her to a point where she was on top of the organization.

To that end, I started a list of rules for her:

• Assignments will be entered on a shared Google Calendar.
  All new assignments should be passed on to Fred within 24 hours of receipt for scheduling.
  Assignments should be completed on the calendar date listed, and copies should be sent to Fred as well as turned in to the professor.
  Any questions or tutoring needed should be handled in scheduled sessions twice a week. If an emergency arises (something preventing us from having the scheduled meeting), it is Violet’s responsibility to make sure that the meeting is rescheduled or that Fred is contacted for assistance as needed.
  Failure to adhere to these rules will result in punishment enforcement.

That just left determining what the punishments would be, and I had a pretty good idea of how we would go about that. Violet had issues with public shaming or feeling out of control, and we’d be using that. I sent an email to Jenny asking for some very specific information about Violet that she would need to obtain for me; when I got the response back, she was already catching on and said that she would be more than happy to get me what I was looking for - and that she wanted a heads up if the information was going to be used.

The process took me up through dinner, and so I headed to the cafeteria with Jack for some dinner. Over some questionable Turkey Tetrazzini, we talked about basketball season, about Jack’s plan for a blowout party before Spring Break, and about the Statistical Analytics class that Jack was taking this semester. “I’m already looking at existing models online,” he said, “and trying to find a way to refine the way I draft for my fantasy baseball league. Do you have any idea how much money is in fantasy sports leagues right now? It’s worth over 30 billion dollars right now - and is projected to be worth 100 billion in five or six years! That’s a perfect window for me. Companies will be in hiring and growth mode when I come out of school, and I can scoop up a good job with someplace solid.”

“That sounds like a good plan - especially with the amount of time you’re already spending on learning the ropes,” I said. Jack had already earned a few thousand dollars researching and writing reports for some website that specialized in fantasy analytics, and so he had an in there too. I wish I had that kind of clear exit strategy from college - I was still trying to figure my target career out.

“So how are things with Hurricane Annie?” Jack asked with a grin. “I notice she’s been by a lot, so I assume that’s a positive sign?”

“I’m not one to kiss and tell,” I said, “But we’ve kissed and there isn’t much more to tell. It’s actually been really good, though, Jack. Annie and I get along really well, we have a lot of common interests, and that smile of hers…”

“Oh, yeah, the Annie smile,” Jack said knowingly. “Many men have fallen victim to that smile, my friend.”

“Really? How many, exactly?”

“Relax, Fred. Figure of speech only. Annie’s dated a few guys I know of, but rarely more than two dates. She gets annoyed with most guys pretty quickly, and if you’ve held on for a month now, you’re an outlier, buddy.” Jack took a sip of his iced tea and raised his eyebrows. “Where are you on this relationship? Is it casual dating for you?”

“I don’t think it is,” I said. “I haven’t dated that often, but there’s something different about how well I mesh with Annie. It’s like I don’t have to work at making conversation or connecting. It just happens. And she fits with me, if you know what I mean? Her energy ought to be putting me over the edge, but it doesn't. It just makes me feel good.”

“I told you I thought you two would be a good match!” Jack laughed. “Sounds like you’re convinced already.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Right now, all I want is for things to continue to grow between us. We’re going to hang out tonight - maybe catch a movie or something. What about you? You have a big date for Saturday night?”
Jack nodded. “I met a girl at a Phi Mu mixer last week and got a number. We’re hitting the club tonight and then ‘seeing what happens’. She seems like fun, so I’ll at least get a good night of dancing with a hot girl out of it.”

“What, no pickleball date? I thought that was the go-to first date for you,” I joked.

“She’s too athletic. It would look bad if she kicked my butt on the first date.” Jack slapped my arm. “I gotta run, man. Good luck on the thing with Annie.”

“You too, Jack.” We cleaned up our trays and headed our separate ways - Jack to pick up his date, and me back to the dorm to grab a toothbrush and a pair of pajama pants, plus a small bottle of lavender massage oil. I had bought it back when I was dating Tara, and she would come back from volleyball practices with legs, arms and shoulders aching. I learned quickly that a little extra time spent working on those tired muscles with the oil earned me significant boyfriend points and a lot more enthusiasm during make-out sessions that followed.

I set out for Annie’s shortly afterward. As I walked, I thought about how things had changed since I met Annie. I had gone from just getting through the week to running an active business, one with all sorts of potential for the future, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn't met Annie. She was on my mind more and more often, and more than once I had stopped myself from texting randomly just to check in. I realized that I probably wouldn’t even bother to continue with the business if she dumped me - I think I was doing that as much to get time with Annie as to earn money.

Maybe this was getting unhealthy, I thought. We’ve only been dating for a month. But Annie was a big deal to me, no doubt about it, and surprisingly, even after how things had gone sideways with Tara, I was willing to take the chance. If this blew up, it would hurt a lot – but not as much as it would hurt if things just broke because I stood idle.

At her dorm, I called up and she buzzed me in. When I got to her room and knocked, she opened the door and I stopped dead in my tracks. I was expecting Annie - but not this Annie. In the place of her normal T-shirt and jeans, she was wearing a sort of cream-colored silk camisole and a pair of lace panties that looked absolutely stunning on her. “Hi, you,” she said. “Come on in.”

“Wow,” I said, getting into the room so that she could close the door. “Annie, you look…fantastic!”

“You like it?” she said, biting her lower lip. “I’m not usually a fancy underwear person. Not like this.”

“You carry it off without a problem.”

“Good answer,” she said, smiling. “So does this get me a special deal on my backrub?”
“It gets you pretty much anything you want, Annie.”

“Anything?” she asked.

“Pretty much,” I said. “This is above and beyond.”

“Okay - then take a really good look, because I freaking hate these panties and I’m going to go put on something comfortable.”

I burst out laughing. “I think that may be the single most Annie thing you’ve ever said.”

Annie tugged at the back of the lacy undies, which apparently were not only itchy, but also were riding up. “You can tell that men make this stuff. It may look good, but wearing it is the absolute worst. That’s why you only wear it when you know it’s coming off.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Theoretically. Don’t get too excited. I thought you deserved a treat - but that doesn’t mean you’re getting the full banquet.” Even as she was saying it, though, she was giving me that damn smile - the one currently saying quietly “...but I haven’t ruled it out, either.”

“Well, I feel treated for sure. I don’t think I’ll forget that welcome for a while. Go change into whatever you want, and I’ll return the favor with that backrub,” I said.

“Okay. Wait here a minute?” she asked, going up on tiptoe and giving me a quick kiss.

I sat down on the couch and she disappeared into her room. A minute later, I heard her call “Okay, Fred - come on in!” I grabbed my bag and started rummaging in it for the massage oil as I entered.

“Do you have a…”

I stopped midsentence. Annie was lying face down on her bed, wearing nothing but a small pair of white cotton panties. Her head was pillowed on her arms, braid curled to one side, and a big grin on her face. “I’m ready for my backrub, Fred,” she purred.

The thing about Annie is that no matter what she’s doing, she’s gorgeous. However, topless Annie looking at me like she wanted nothing more than to lie there and tease me pushed way past the boundary of gorgeous. It was impossible to look away. And those panties - the simple cotton was more attractive than the fancy lace had been, because on Annie, simple looked right. She didn’t need fancy to be gorgeous. Sometimes I think women don’t really understand that - that to most men, makeup and fancy shoes and the like don’t matter all that much. If you’re interested, a woman could be wearing a t-shirt and jeans and be perfect. I’m convinced that women do half of their makeup and clothing rituals for other women, not for men. Annie wasn’t showing me anything beyond her bare back and a lot of leg, and I wasn’t looking at her makeup right now. I was looking at how amazing her body was - smooth skin, freckles here and there, a small scar on one shoulder, toned legs. Her ass was top-tier, with a curve that would merit a warning sign on a mountain road. And that braid - Annie’s braid was perfect against her neck and shoulder. I wanted her very, very badly in that moment.

But that wasn’t on the agenda right now. Instead, I dug into my bag and took out the massage oil. If Annie wanted a backrub, I was going to give her the best damn backrub she’d ever had. “You look absolutely stunning right now,” I said, putting a little oil on her back and beginning to work from the base of the spine.

“Mmmm..” she said happily. “Less talk, more rub.”

I dug in my fingers and got to work, slowly kneading my thumbs into the muscles around her spine and pulling outward to the sides with smooth strokes. I worked my way up to her shoulder blades, then on to her neck, making the strokes firmer and deeper as I hit the pack of muscle bunched up between her shoulders and at the base of her neck. She groaned appreciatively as I drilled down with my thumbs into a particularly tight point.

“How did you get this tense this fast?” I asked. “You seemed fine this morning.”

“I might have gotten a little nervous about having this guy coming over tonight, and might have cleaned a little too hard,” she murmured. “But I like him, and I was kind of panicky because I was going to let him stay over, and I wanted to make a good impression.”

I started kneading her shoulders next. “You probably shouldn’t have worried so much. If he has any common sense, he wouldn’t be looking at your room at all. If it was hip deep in trash, he’s an idiot if he sees anything at all but you when you’re lying here like this. And I’m fairly sure you wouldn’t date an idiot.”

She laughed. “You’d be surprised how many idiots I’ve been on a date with. A little harder, please? Especially at the neck?”

I did my best to comply, even though I felt like it must be hurting given how hard I was pressing. I used an elbow to try to put more pressure on the muscles there. “Well, you don’t have anything to worry about now. I promise you that this guy is completely and totally impressed with you.”

“Yeah?” She turned her head to look up at me with one brown eye. “He is, huh?”

“He thinks he’s way out of his league here, and that he better keep his mouth shut because she might figure that out at some point. But he thinks about her all the time.”

“Does he?”
“He does. It’s actually pretty distracting.” I patted her back. “How does that feel?”

“It’s good, but you aren’t done yet, are you?”

“I got all the major muscle groups…”

“For my back,” Annie said. “You didn’t do my legs.”

“Oh,” I said. “My mistake.” I put a bit more oil on my hands, and began to work on the soles of her feet. This was an unexpected but welcome development - like finding Annie in nothing but her panties had been. Our relationship had been progressing slowly, but comfortably, and it looked like Annie had decided another step forward might be in order. I certainly wasn’t going to complain, but I also wasn’t going to start grabbing things like I hadn’t been there before.

I was patient, slowly rubbing my thumbs into the pad of her foot while she made an occasional approving noise. After spending a little time on the tops of her feet, I moved up to her calves, keeping an eye on her to make sure all was still well. Hers were muscular but not oversized, and I was able to dig into them nicely, first with my thumbs and then stroking downward.

I decided that without any other cues, I was supposed to move on to the thighs, which I did carefully, starting with the section just above the knee. “Annie? Tell me if you get uncomfortable and want me to stop, okay?” She nodded, and I started rubbing. Slowly but surely, I worked my way up to her mid-thigh, and then higher. We were fast approaching territory where a couple inches inward would become very intimate, and a couple inches higher would have me rubbing her ass directly.

“Fred?” Annie said, and I stopped at once. “That was really nice. You have excellent hands. I don’t think I’m ready for you to go higher than that, though.”

“That’s fine, Annie - like I said, I’m totally fine with whatever makes you comfortable.”

She looked at me from the bed, head still pillowed on her arms. “You’re very patient.”

I stroked her back. “Some things are worth waiting for, like I said.”

“I certainly hope you think so,” she said, smiling up at me. Then she rolled over on her back. “Was this worth the wait?”

It took a second to process that Annie had just shown me her breasts for the first time, and that she was waiting for me to react. Her chest wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small, either - Annie had full breasts that were capped by rose-pink aureoles the size of half-dollars, and a pair of extremely hard nipples. Her freckles were largely confined to her upper chest, and her eyes were clearly searching mine to take in my reaction.

“It absolutely was worth the wait, Annie. You’re even more beautiful undressed,” I said, trying not to stare too long at her bosom. “But now you’ve put me in a very awkward position.”

“Oh really?” Annie said, sitting up. “Do tell!”

“Should I be pulling you up off the bed to kiss you, or should I be undressing and joining you? Both have a lot of benefits, the way I see it.”

“Hmmm. Maybe so. But if you’re asking me? I think undressing and joining me is the right response. We aren’t going to have sex tonight, but I think we’re going to be spending a lot of time under the sheets. It’s been a while since I liked anyone enough to let them get this far, and I have every intention of seeing what you can do with those talented hands.” Annie pulled back the sheet and climbed into the bed.

I quickly took off my pants and my shirt and climbed in with her. She rolled on top of me immediately and began to kiss me with enthusiasm. “You’re pushing every button I have, you know,” she said in between kisses. “I can’t remember ever wanting a guy like this, but you make me feel like you’re really seeing me. Like I matter.”

My hands slid up her stomach and she gasped as they brushed the underside of her breasts. I took one in each hand and squeezed gently, playing with her nipples with my thumbs. They were like pebbles, and as soon as my thumb touched one, Annie made a noise that was somewhere between a moan and a squeal of pleasure. “Like that - just like that!” she whispered, her head falling backward as she leaned into the caress. I obliged for a few more seconds, then I reached up to bring her head down to mine. “You DO matter to me, Annie Jenkins,” I said. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”

“Better than your ex?” she asked quietly, but I heard the nervousness in the question.

I rolled her onto her side and turned onto my own to face her, looking into those deep eyes. “It’s different, Annie,” I said as honestly as I could. “Tara was someone I had known for a while and had dreamed of dating. Getting into a relationship with her was almost impossible for me to believe, and it was amazing. I can’t pretend it didn’t happen, or that she wasn’t my world for most of a year. But…” I paused for a moment, choosing my words carefully. “You came out of nowhere, Annie. I had no expectations, and wasn’t expecting to have this amazing woman fall into my life. Then we started working together, and from the first session I had with you, I think I started falling for you. It was like finding a part of myself I didn’t realize I was missing - someone who laughed with me, made me think. Made me happy again. What I had with Tara was great, Annie, but this, between you and me? It feels special - and I know that’s a word that gets used a lot, but that’s what it feels like. Special.”

Annie looked at me, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward. I let myself take a breath, thanking every divine force out there that I hadn’t screwed that up. “I don’t know how you do that, Fred. You say things that seem so straightforward, and sometimes so cliche, but when YOU say them, they sound like everything I hope for. I’m a little scared that you can do that, honestly, because you’re the first person who ever has. But it isn’t scared run away scared. It’s scared roller-coaster scared.”

“Are you comparing me to an amusement park ride?”

Annie laughed. “You’re complaining that I say I want to ride you?”

“I didn’t complain - just asked,” I smiled back.

“Enough talking. I have better things to do with that mouth,” Annie said, and kissed me again.

I spent the night with Annie. The two of us spent much of the night curled together under the sheets, half-naked, taking turns picking movies to watch on her laptop while just being together. In between, I got to know Annie’s breasts quite well, and discovered that for her, the undercurve of her breast was far more sensitive than the upper slope. I also learned that if I wanted Annie to lose her shit entirely, rubbing the very tip of a nipple as lightly as possible with one finger was apparently the fastest way to get her total sexual frustration. She actually bit my wrist the third time I did it and told me that if I didn’t stop she’d break off my finger before I got to use it to take care of the problems I was causing her.

After watching Stranger than Fiction, we both were yawning, so we took a moment to redress, brush teeth, and then climb back into bed, spooned comfortably. Annie had pulled on a T-shirt to sleep in, but her breasts were just as pleasant to fold an arm over with that thin cloth on them as they would have been bare. I kissed the back of her neck and behind her ear, and she pressed backward into me, smiling happily. We fell asleep that way, tucked together, totally content with one another.

You don’t always sleep well with someone else in a college bed. They’re narrow and not particularly comfortable on a good night. With Annie that night, however, I slept without a problem. I didn’t even have the usual backache from sleeping in an awkward position when I woke up. Annie had already gotten up, and she was sitting in her desk chair by the bed, sipping coffee. She handed me a thermal mug, and I took off the lid to find a steaming cup waiting for me. “Marry me,” I said, taking the mug gratefully.

“Maybe,” she said, grinning. “We’ll see.”

As much as I wanted to spend the day with Annie, I had a session scheduled for noon with Violet. Her training schedule had her out on the course every day around 2 pm, and she had conditioning as well as her classes. The best time for us to meet appeared to be at lunch, so we met inside the cafeteria. She had a plate of pasta and some grilled chicken on a salad; I had a turkey sandwich and an apple.

Violet didn’t seem to resent the sorority forcing her to get help. “Honestly, Fred, if you can help, I’m all for it. I don’t want to have bad grades, but I need the athletic scholarship, so I have to keep that a priority. I just have a lot of trouble with time because so many of my days have only an hour or a half hour in between classes or training, and so I tend to put everything off until the end of the day. Then I come back to my dorm room, and by the time I’m cleaned up, I’m tired, and I only get some of the work done, or I can’t focus.”

“I saw some issues there,” I nodded, taking out my laptop and opening up the calendar. “Here’s what I think we should do.” I started explaining how the calendar showed her schedule and had blocks specifically for getting certain assignments done. “It only works, though, if you do what I need you to do - I have to get copies of your assignments as far ahead as possible, and I need you to stick to the schedule as closely as possible.”

“Okay,” Violet nodded. “I can do that.”

“Now from what I can see, Violet, your problem is that you haven’t been able to maintain a schedule, so that’s what we’re focusing on. That means that for the coming week, your success will be tied to keeping that schedule. If you don’t keep the schedule and send me assignments within a day of getting them, you’ll receive a consequence. You’ll be expected to put notes or assignments into a document shared with me. I will check your work daily to ensure that you followed the schedule - I can see the time stamp on your documents, so if you try to play catch up late at night instead of doing things on time, I’m going to know. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t do what I’m supposed to do, Jenny paddles my ass or something. Got it.”

“Or something.”

“What happens if something unexpected comes up? If a practice runs late or if an assignment takes longer than I expected? Do I still get in trouble?”

“No. But if something comes up, I expect that you let me know when it happens, so I can adjust your schedule to make up for the missed time. This isn’t about keeping a specific schedule as much as it is about making sure there’s a way to keep you focused and on top of your work. If you don’t learn to keep track of your work, you’ll get further and further behind. That’s where you’re going wrong - when you fall behind. It’s clear you’re smart enough to handle your classes, but you miss turning in work, or you don’t build in regular study time. That’s what we’re going to fix.”

I went over how to send assignments to me, and made sure her schedule was visible on her calendar. Then I sent her off with a reminder that her work schedule starts tonight, and that she should text or email if she has a problem. Violet promised she would, and then took off for her practice, leaving me to start planning for Annalee and Laura.

Annalee would be pretty straightforward. Something was going to have to be done to get her to understand that she wasn’t going to be successful if she didn’t curb her attitude, and that she needed to spend some time learning to look at other perspectives, even if she didn’t agree with them. It was also pretty clear from our first meeting that Annalee was getting paddled at the sorority for mouthing off, and that it was having some limited effect. Based on her survey, though, I wondered if that was as strong a motivator for her as her perceived dignity. She had listed as “hates” anything that would cause her to be seen as immature, the butt of a joke, or as someone who could be mocked. It was tempting to stick with the paddle for her, but I thought that doing something that undermined that dignity would be more effective, and I thought I had a good option for that.

Laura was going to be harder than the other two. Her laid-back attitude was costing her in class, but I didn’t know how to break her of that attitude if I couldn’t find an adverse consequence that mattered to her. I wondered if simple, straightforward math tutoring might be enough to get her through in that class - maybe making her sit under my supervision and do her work? Maybe Annie would have some ideas.

Thinking of Annie made me pull out my phone and text her. Had a really nice night with you. See you again soon?

The reply came quickly. Dinner tonight?

We agreed to meet up at the Caf at 6:00, and I had a nice afternoon hanging out with the guys back at the dorm. It was a lot more pleasant than usual, and I thought that it was the Annie effect - knowing that we were together and going well was making everything feel better as well. I told myself to dial back expectations, but I knew it was too late. I was in deep over Annie Jenkins, and if it went south, it was going to be bad for me. But I also knew I was okay with that. Annie was worth it.

Dinner was a little flirting, a little eating, and a discussion of ideas for Laura. Annie thought that we might be able to come at her from the laid-back side of things a bit – put her under some sort of military regimen where she was forced into a rigid system. I was skeptical about that; it would be difficult to pull off (what would we do? Enroll her in ROTC?), and it would require a lot of time and intensity. It did make me think, however, about Laura’s survey, and I pulled it up again on my laptop. Annie pointed to the last item on the list – public humiliation. “She gave that a 5. Could we come up with something there?”

“Maybe. What if we combine it with…” I explained my idea to Annie, and she bounced. “Oh, that’s good! If that wouldn’t work, I don’t know if anything would do it. But do you think the SDs would go along with it?”

“Only one way to find out.” I sent an email to Jenny outlining the idea, and asking if it would be too much for SD to accept. We’d know soon enough if that was going to fly.

After saying goodbye to Annie, I went back to Collins to do a bit of work, and then back to my dorm. I read for a while, and then checked in on Violet’s first day of work. She had gotten almost everything done, and appeared to have stayed on schedule. I knew tomorrow would be the real test, though - the first day of weekday classes, training, and obligations.

There was also a terse email from Annalee agreeing to meet with me tomorrow regarding her study plan. I didn’t know that it was possible to put as much condescension in an email as Annalee managed to cram into hers, but she left no doubt in my mind that she was of the opinion that she had no need of any help I was going to give her, and that she was only having this meeting because the SDs had insisted. I ignored her attitude and sent confirmation that we would meet at my usual spot in Collins at 4 tomorrow.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Annie. Actually, it was a picture of her in bed, making a pouty face while buried under the covers.

I’m cold! Where’s my personal bedwarmer when I need him?

I texted back immediately.
On call at a moment’s notice. Want me to come over?

I wish. Can’t tonight. Early morning class tomorrow, plus roommate is studying.

I can be very quiet.

But I can’t - at least not when you start with the more hands-on warming.

Well, you COULD come over here…

Annie’s reply was quick.

Not quite ready for your roommates to see me coming out of your bedroom in the morning. Esp. Jack.

Can’t say I didn’t make a gallant attempt to assist.

My hero! If I freeze to death, I’ll remember you fondly. Night!

See you soon - please!

ASAP. *kisses*

I put down the phone. Then I had a thought and picked it up again.

About 30 minutes later, my phone buzzed again. I picked it up and smiled at the picture. Annie was sitting in her bed again, but this time, she had three large cups from the Buzzy Bean, each with her name and a large heart on it in black marker.

My boyfriend is the best boyfriend. A+.

I wasn’t sure if you would rather have Hot Cocoa, a Mocha, or one of those cinnamon latte things, so I sent all three. I apologize if you’re up all night hopped up on caffeine, but I had them do the Mocha and the latte decaf at least.

For the record, the right answer was all three, because you can never have enough sweet hot drinks on a cold night.

Noted.

There was a short pause, and another picture came through. It was Annie’s hands making a little heart sign.

Seriously, Fred - this was really, really nice. Like “where have you been my whole life” level nice. You are making it very, very hard for me to remember that we’ve only been going out for a few weeks.

Last pic made it totally worthwhile.

I need to get Tara’s phone number from you. I gotta call her and find out what horrible thing is waiting for me to find out that could have possibly made her decide to dump you, because as far as I can tell, she’s an idiot who didn’t have any idea what a prize she had in her hands.

LOL - I’m sure she could tell you a few things.

Doubt it. Goodnight, Best Boyfriend.

Goodnight, Annie. Sleep well!

I put down my phone with a big smile on my face. Worth every damn dollar of that overpriced delivery service. Hell, I went back on the app and bumped up my tip by an extra five dollars. Then I read a little while longer, and decided to call it a night.

Mondays are a little busier than other days for me, because I pull a tutoring shift at the Help Center that day on top of a couple of classes. I didn’t really have time to think about my meeting with Annalee until 3:00, when I clocked out and headed over to Collins to secure my favorite table. As usual, the library was fairly empty on my floor, so there wasn’t any problem getting the best spot, right near where the stairwell door was.

I sat down to go through my email, make sure I had my plan for Annalee ready, and then check on Violet’s status. As of last night, she had been on track, but as of 3PM today, no assignments had been added to the calendar following her morning classes, no notes had been submitted from either of those classes, and there was no sign that the assignment due that morning for her psychology class had been turned in. It was not a positive sign, but I figured I would wait until tonight to decide if steps needed to be taken. It looked, however, like Violet was going to need to be persuaded that the rules I was setting up were to be taken seriously.

I had just looked at my watch when I got a text from Annalee.

Where are you? Collins is a big place. You could at least tell me where you wanted to meet.

Hi, Annalee- I’m on the third floor, at a table right outside the main stairwell.

Fine. On the way. Let’s make this quick, please.

Well, I thought, Annalee is still a happy camper. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a great meeting.

Turns out I was right. Annalee put her bag down at the table and immediately launched into a speech about how ridiculous this was, how she didn’t need tutoring, how the sorority was forcing her into this, and how she couldn’t see how I could possibly know anything helpful in her classes anyway as a math major. In between, she complained again about me not telling her where we would be meeting and that her professors were sabotaging her.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, why don’t we start with that. What makes you say your profs are out to get you?”

“It’s perfectly obvious! Like in my History of Christianity class, I got a D on my last essay, and it was clearly because the asshole in charge didn’t like me pointing out that he was completely mistranslating the Bible and that his chronology was totally out of whack with accepted theological timelines. He wrote all sorts of stuff on my essay about a lack of supported claims and primary sources, and he clearly is just anti-Christian.”

Oh, boy.

I let Annalee vent for a while, then probed a little about her composition class and heard a very similar story. Apparently, she had decided to write her opinion essay on “why Americans are stupid,” and had pointed to things like freedom of speech and social justice as signs that the United States was going to hell in a handbasket. Unsurprisingly, the response had been less than positive, particularly given that the argument had been liberally (pun not intended) scattered with Tucker Carlson talking points.

Finally, I called a stop to the tirade. “Ok, Annalee, I hear what you’re saying. It sounds like you’re pretty frustrated with these professors, especially since you think that they are dismissing your point of view out of hand. The thing is, though, that when you make an argument in a college class, it is held to a different standard than one that is made in the world of TV or internet discussions, and even one different than what you might find in a Sunday School class. The rules of the game are different, and even if you don’t agree, you have to play by those rules if you want to be successful. I can help teach you those rules, which will result in more success on your essays.”

Annalee glared at me. “Why should I have to play by their rules? What about the freedom of speech they’re always going on about? Or does that only apply to speech they like?”

“You have every right to argue whatever position you want in your coursework, and I’ll be happy to fight on your behalf if that is called into question. However, the right to free speech doesn’t mean that you have a right to a good grade on your essay. That’s what we have to work on - how to say what you want in a way that meets all the criteria for a good essay, so they can’t take points away even if they don’t agree.”

“This is still typical liberal bias,” she said. “This is why everyone hates college professors now. They’re all communists.”

“All right,” I said, ignoring the comment. “Here’s the plan. Your next assignment for composition class is due on Monday, right? What’s the topic?”

“Capital punishment. We’re supposed to write an essay arguing in favor or against with evidence to support our claims. I’m writing in favor of it.”

“Fine. Tomorrow we’re going to meet here again at 4. You’re going to bring an outline of the arguments you want to make in favor of capital punishment - at least three good reasons why you think it should be legal.”

“I can do that, easy.”

“BUT,” I said firmly, “You will not have any argument that relies on the Bible, cites a political commentator or politician from later than the year 1975, or depends on an argument involving the end of the world or civilization falling into anarchy.”

“What?”

“Write them down, Annalee. Those are off limits.”

“But I…”

I cut her off again. “Annalee, this is only going to work if you listen to me and follow directions. You already have made it clear that you think this is stupid and pointless, which makes me think that unless I am very clear and very direct with you from the start, this IS going to be a waste of time. So let me be clear and direct. Jenny told me you each were given a paddle. She also told me that you are particularly well acquainted with yours.”

The color drained from Annalee’s face. “She did NOT tell you….”

“She did. Jenny will be making sure that your paddle is in your backpack when you come here to meet me tomorrow, Annalee. And if any of the things I specifically told you NOT to include show up on your outline, I will immediately take that paddle out and use it on your here in the middle of the library. If you argue with me about it, I’ll make sure your pants are down or your skirt is up when I do it. Do you understand?”

The pale white was replaced by red very quickly. “If you think for ONE MINUTE that there’s any way I will EVER let you…”

“Stop right there, Annalee. Think very carefully about your next words. My understanding is that you have had to be repeatedly disciplined at SD for saying things like “you can’t”, “I won’t”, or “there’s no way” when you’ve been told otherwise. You clearly want to stay in that sorority a great deal, because there’s no way you’d ever let someone humiliate you that way if you weren’t desperate to get something you want. What do you think will happen if I take out my phone, call Jenny or Melissa, and tell them you believe that I can’t spank you right this minute? Do you think they would hesitate to tell you to get your ass over my knee and to BEG me to pull down your pants AND your panties and turn your bottom as red as your hair? Because I’m more than happy to put it to the test right now.” I took out my cell phone. “Now - do you want to finish that sentence?”

The look on the woman’s face would have curdled cream. “You lay one finger on me and so help me, I’ll scream.”

I opened my contacts and pressed a button, holding the phone up so she could hear it ringing. Then Jenny’s voice came over the line. “Hello? Fred?”

Annalee grabbed the phone and pressed disconnect before shoving it back into my hands. “Fine! I’ll be here tomorrow.”

The phone rang. I answered it. “Hi, Jenny? Sorry about that. Annalee and I were meeting and I wanted to check in with you—can you hold on just a second?” I pressed the mute button, and turned back to the redhead. “Bend over with your elbows on the table. Now.”

She looked at me incredulously. “What?”

“Bend over. You wanted to test me? If you aren’t in position in three seconds, I’ll tell Jenny you are being difficult. We can have tomorrow’s lesson with you standing up.”

All I had to do was make a motion toward the mute button, and Annalee nearly threw herself onto her elbows. “Stay there, and don’t make a sound,” I said, clicking off the mute.

Annalee watched me as I put the phone back to my ear. “Sorry about that, Jenny. Yes, the meeting went fairly well.”

I stepped behind Annalee and raised up my hand, making it quite clear what was about to happen. I put one finger to my lips, then spoke into the phone again. “I think so. Annalee needs to learn how to listen to instructions….

My hand slammed down on her ass hard. Annalee clamped a hand over her mouth as she squealed loudly.

“…and restrain herself…”

My hand landed a second time on the other cheek, and I got another muffled squeal of outrage.

“...and she’ll be fine. Yes, I’ll keep you posted. No worries. Oh, and do me a favor - make sure she brings her paddle with her to our meetings - just in case. Thanks! Bye!”

I hung up, then motioned for Annalee to stand. She was furious with me - that was abundantly clear - and was rubbing her backside vigorously. “Now, is there any question about who is setting rules here, Annalee, and who will be following them?”

With a scowl, Annalee shook her head. “No.”

“No, what?”

Annalee scowled even harder. “No, SIR.”

“Good. Look, this is very simple. Follow instructions and we won’t ever mention this again. Your grades will improve, and you can be done with me within a few weeks. If you don’t, you’re only going to make this drag on, and you’re going to end up getting punished in worse ways than a simple spanking. Seems like an easy choice to me.”

“May I go now? SIR?” Annalee snarled.

“Be here tomorrow at 4,” I said, “and don’t forget the outline.” She snatched her bag and all but ran out the door to the stairs.

I texted Annie.

First meeting with Annalee. First spanking. No surprises.

Annie’s response appeared a minute later:

Do you think you’ll be able to actually get her to change her writing? Or is she just going to keep being stubborn and getting punished?

Not sure. She isn’t stupid, but she’s stubborn - I can already see that. It may take a couple of weeks to break through with her.

For her sake, I hope not - she’s going to be seriously unhappy if we have to go up a level or two on her punishments. The spanking is humiliating enough, but if we start adding the public component, she’s going to have to decide just how badly she wants to stay in Sigma Delta.

I felt fortunate that I didn’t injure my hand on the stick she keeps up her ass.

LOL maybe she’ll take it out before your lesson next time.

DInner tonight?

Take me out for Chinese?

Sounds good. Pick you up at 7.

I packed up and headed toward the stairwell, but as I did, I dropped my phone, which bounced on the carpet floor and landed to the side of me. As I bent to grab it, I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before. There was a security camera on the wall at the nearby corner where the walls met. It was pointed in the general direction of the stairwell, but it made me stop for a moment and think about whether what I had just done was now on tape somewhere. I left in more of a hurry than usual, and the question of just where the camera could see bounced around my head all the way back to the dorm.

[Fred Key]

Author note - as of tonight's post, this story is now at 85 pages - nearly the same length as volume 1! Thanks to all those who have left thanks and comments. The encouragement is always appreciated.

[colomale2]

Love it. Any chance I can read the next chapter now? You got me hooked!

[WingDing]

Geez, I come for some smut and instead get a damn fine story that I can't put down.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapters.

[Somebody]

Their relationship is so cute and perfect. You are dead right, only women care about make up and clothes and stuff, so they do it for each other. They would rather we did it, even if they're not aware of that these days. Our appearance is what they're supposed to be judging.

But I have to say that basically everything with Annalee has totally soured me on this story. The irony of a character who supposedly gets all of her information from media narrative being written entirely with information from a warped 2020s media narrative. Absolutely wretched strawman.

[Fred Key]

That's rather the point, actually. Annalee's politics aren't the issue. If anything, the point here is that if you walk into a community and try to argue, you need to be prepared to use the language and rule set of that community. Otherwise, you're hamstringing yourself. Annalee could be much more persuasive and take AWAY all of the dismissiveness unfairly directed toward her positions if she would actually write a reasonable argument, supported by evidence. Her refusal to do more than rail about how others are dismissive of HER dismissiveness is, sadly, a significant part of the problem in discourse today. You see a character who is being reduced to a simplistic straw-man figure. I see a character who will never rise ABOVE being a straw-man figure until someone explains the rules of the game.

Look, language can be a weapon. It can be used to define who is and is not good enough to be allowed an opinion. It has been used for centuries as a way to draw lines between social classes, educated and uneducated, and now liberal and conservative. But just like Fred had to explain the idea of supporting a claim to Annie early on in the story, Annalee is coming from a place (her family, her high school, and her church) where actually justifying a belief was unnecessary because no one was challenging it. Now she's in a place where discussion is expected, and she has to learn how it works.

If you mistook that as being a dig at a particular political/social/religious group, that's my failure as an author to communicate effectively enough, but Annalee is intended to be a self-righteous brat who thinks she's superior to everyone else around her. She could be just as obnoxiously liberal if you prefer. Replace her anger in History of Christianity with outrage at a professor who refuses to accept a claim that Shakespeare was racist without actual evidence. Replace Tucker Carlson with Rachel Maddow or any liberal talk show host of your choice. Tell me that she isn't suddenly a liberal straw man. That's the point, and I think there's more than enough of it out there on both sides of the aisle to make it viable for a minor character's defining behavior. That said, no intent to slight a particular political or social ideology is intended. This is an ENF story, not a political one, and I apologize if that's the way it was taken.