The Scholarship Ch. 05 - New Arrivals

"Hey!" Lauren shouts after me, gently setting her massive stack of cards down on the table, "we're coming back to this so you can finish losing!" She says as she scampers to catch up to me. I walk away faster, not quite running, but definitely speed walking. "No no no, come back here! Face defeat!" She's running at me, I can hear her back there pounding towards me. I turn to face her right before she reaches me, and she stops just shy of fully tackling me.

"You making me run is a war crime right now," she whines. "My legs are still weak, painful noodles after yesterday's workout." She leans against me for support as we continue downstairs.

"Do you need me to carry you down there?" I suggest with a grin.

"Not down the stairs," she looks pensively at the long staircase in front of us

.

"Yeah, I couldn't actually do it."

Lauren jabs my ribs with one nuclear bomb of a finger. "You calling me fat?" Even if I had said those exact words she would know I was joking. There's even a little smile on her lips.

"No dear sister," I put a hand on my chest, "I'm calling myself weak."

"Good answer," she gives me another, much gentler, poke to the side, and we're off. We talk idly about what we're expecting from the newcomers, even though that title more accurately applies to us in this house, and about whether the pictures are going to do Alex and Kayla justice. Both of us are oddly nervous about meeting new people, not normally something we worry about, but knowing they're going to be naked and living with us has us on edge.

Soon enough our conversation dies down and we find ourselves waiting next to Ms. Larson in the foyer, waiting for them to come out of the changing room. Oddly, neither of us has been back in there since we arrived, but I guess we haven't had to go anywhere. Haven't really been able to, not being able to drive and all that. The sound of voices comes out of the room, steadily rising in volume, until the door opens and an Asian girl steps out.

Her hair is wavy, down to about her shoulders, and is black but with a streak of deep blue that runs down past her right eye. Perky C cup breasts stand straight off of her slender frame, and a tight bubble butt back there as she strides into the room, frustration evident on her face. Deep brown eyes look around the room, drinking in the sight of me and Lauren, looking us up and down quickly, and then they settle on Ms. Larson.

"Thank fucking God we're here, holy shit," she grumbles, throwing herself into a long hug with Ms. Larson, wrapping her arms around her and pressing her head against the taller redhead's shoulder. She's shorter than either of us, and looks like she takes care of herself well, with her body in excellent condition. Fuck, she's hot. She's upsettingly hot right off the bat.

"It's good to see you too, Alex," Ms. Larson says, patting her bare back with one hand. "Is everything ok? You seem... agitated about something."

"Ugh," Alex scoffs, and pulls away from the hug, looking up at Ms. Larson with adoration for a moment. "Just... Kayla and Tyler are having a thing and it was unpleasant being stuck in the car with them for so long while they bickered." She shakes her head, and then looks up at me and Lauren. "You must be Joe and Lauren! Pleasure to meet you," she says, extending her hand to each of us in turn.

"Yeah, uh, nice to meet you too," I say marveling at how soft her hands are. It's like shaking a cloud of baby dreams.

Lauren just smiles and nods. I can see the hint of a blush on her cheeks; she must think Alex is as attractive as I do.

"What do you do?" She asks. When she sees my cocked head and look of confusion, she clarifies her question for me, "What are you studying in school? What are your artistic desires?"

"Oh," right, that's a normal question for our situation, "Writing and directing. Film specifically.. Or, I guess, just anything on a screen, not stage."

"Double threat, cool as shit," she says.

"He's good," Ms. Larson chimes in. Alex nods, and turns to Lauren, the same question is unspoken but hangs in the air.

"I'm an actress, uh, well, I want to be," Lauren says softly. "And how about you?"

"Production design," Alex responds, "Specifically for theater sets, but I also enjoy art in general, so I really enjoy doing posters for movies and stage shows."

"You're a real artist?" I ask.

She shrugs in response, "Aren't we all?" She smiles at me, and I smile back. Her smile is delightful, all pure white teeth and bright eyes. A smile that shows she really means it every time. And then it vanishes as the door to the changing room opens up.

"Well even a single fucking text would have been nice!" This is a female voice. Kayla, then, most likely. She sounds incredibly angry with who I can assume is Tyler, but my mind glazes over her voice for a moment as I look at her body. Breasts that barely protrude from her body, but pert nipples that draw my eyes anyway. Toned body, almost as fit as Serena's, but less of a warrior goddess and more of a lithe assassin build, if we stick to the fantasy metaphor. Her legs and ass are toned, fit, and genuinely a little terrifying. Well, I call them terrifying, but the only image that comes to my mind is that of her squeezing those thighs around my head while I eat her shaved pussy.

I blink myself back to reality in time to catch up with the conversation. "You told me you were going to be busy all summer and I shouldn't bother texting!" Tyler responds. He's a big guy, easily 6'2 or so, with a blonde beard and short blond hair. I'm, shamefully, a little pleased to see that his cock is about the same size as mine, at least while it's soft. It could grow a lot, but the competitive, idiot ape in me is happy with the current state of things. He also has a camera around his neck, a real one not a little digital thing.

"Well that's not what I meant, clearly!" She shouts back. Kayla takes a deep breath as she approaches. "Sorry Ms. Larson, he's been on my fucking nerves all day." Tyler scoffs behind her as Kayla gives Ms. Larson a deep hug and a long kiss on the lips. They linger long enough that I feel vaguely uncomfortable just watching them, and then they pull apart and Kayla turns to appraise my sister and I as Tyler greets Ms. Larson.

We go through the same song and dance with both of them as we did with Alex. Names and specific interests are traded. Kayla studies dance of all natures, while Tyler is a photographer and cinematographer. That explains the thighs and the camera respectively. Once introductions are complete, Kayla shoots Tyler a glare and stomps off to the kitchen, her anger clearly not yet dissipated.

"Julie, my lovely goddess of the kitchen!" She shouts as she walks off, "Do I smell lamb?!"

"Well..." Ms. Larson says, looking in the direction Kayla stormed off, "you want to tell me what that's about?" She turns towards Tyler, who sighs.

"I got a girlfriend and it isn't Kayla and she's mad about it."

Ms. Larson nods slowly. "Good for you. Let's get some lunch, and you can tell me about her." Tyler grins at that and walks towards the kitchen with Ms. Larson, following Kayla at a respectable distance.

"So," Alex says, looking at me and Lauren, "to get you caught up on the constant drama train that is Kayla and Tyler," she rolls her eyes, making no move towards the kitchen yet, "because this shit is likely to be a constant thing for the rest of the year until Kayla graduates. When Tyler was a freshman, he and Kayla started dating, and they've dated off and on for the past two years. They'll do like... this fight bullshit and split up and then a month later they're fucking again and going gaga for each other. It's annoying as shit." She runs a hand through her hair.

"Anyway, they broke up again at the end of last year, big whole fucking production, and it looks like Tyler met a girl while he was back home for the summer. And now he's dating that girl, and he told Kayla he's not going to fuck her, or anyone else for that matter, because he really likes this girl and doesn't want to cheat on her. So yeah, now you get to be part of the drama too. Yaaaaay." She mock celebrates, waving her hands back and forth in the air.

"Wow," is all Lauren can say in response at first. "Is she gonna be like this all year?"

"Nah," Alex shakes her head, "I give it a week, maximum, of her being a massive turbo bitch, and then she'll chill. If I know Kayla, and I feel like I do, she's gonna find some guy at school this year and calm down once she starts getting laid again." Alex looks over me for a moment, and then shrugs. "Unless you start banging her. That might relax her."

I blush at this. Obviously we all knew sex was a possibility, but to have it mentioned so casually, and in front of this girl I'm rapidly developing a crush on every time she widens her eyes in my direction or smiles at me, makes me feel uncomfortable.

"Oh uh, I mean, maybe but unlikely, you know? Not uh... not exactly something I'm worried about," I reply shakily.

Alex raises an eyebrow at me. "You a virgin? It's cool if you are; I was when I got here." I nod and she smiles at me, a quick glance of her eyes up and down my body accompanying the smile.

"Yeah, I'm a virgin," I respond, trying hard to meet her eyes and not stare at her tits. It's a very difficult game and I'm losing.

"And you, Lauren?" She turns, her hips swinging alluringly and her tits jiggling as she shifts her body to look at my sister. It's too early for me to be losing my mind over this girl, but here we are.

My sister nods back to Alex. " Yeah, also a virgin."

Alex giggles and looks back and forth between us. "Well that's a shame for you. Unless you like girls." Then she raises an eyebrow, "Do you like girls? I enjoy a girl here and there, and Ms. Larson very much prefers women, so it's not like you'd be alone. And I know for a fact Kayla likes girls. Hell, Kayla might only like Tyler when it comes to boys. Hard to say." With every word, Lauren blushes a little more, and Alex finally catches on and stops herself from continuing to ramble.

"I'm still figuring that part of myself out," Lauren says quietly. "But... I think maybe?"

Alex shrugs as if she doesn't care about Lauren's sexuality, despite the clear interest I can see in her eyes at the possible answer. "Ok, cool. I remember those days. I didn't think I was bisexual when I got here, but then Ms. Larson changed that real fucking quick." Hmmm, where have I heard that before? Sounds like Ms. Larson has that effect on girls. "Anyway, wanna get lunch? If Julie really did make lamb, and Kayla's nose is never wrong, then you're in for a treat. She makes these delicious gyros, right? She apparently learned how to make them..." I follow her as she rambles on about Julie and the first time Alex tried her gyros and how they're made. It's interesting, but my mind is currently on other issues. Namely, how absurdly hot Alex is, and how easily she's opened herself up to us.

Kayla has already made herself a plate and is animatedly talking with Julie by the island, occasionally shooting looks at Tyler while he makes himself a plate, still talking with Ms. Larson. I don't hear any of either conversation, but Tyler and Ms. Larson head out to the dining room to finish whatever they're talking about, probably Tyler's new relationship and how to navigate things with Kayla.

"Aw shit yeah," Alex says, pumping a fist at the sight of the food. "Julie, you fucking beautiful woman, you made gyros!" Julie holds a finger up to Kayla and hugs Alex, greeting her briefly while Lauren and I make up our plates. Pita bread, the option of tzatziki or some garlic sauce thing, lettuce, cucumber, and crumbled cheese, all combine to make a beautiful little wrap. Falafel on the side, and a homemade fruit drink. Julie really went all out on this, and it looks absurdly delicious.

"I like to make favorites for the first day back," she grins at Alex, and then at us, and then turns back to continue her conversation with Kayla, who has noticeably relaxed since Tyler left the room. I wonder how much she loves him, for this to be the effect. Or if she just misses having sex with him and there's no true love there. What the fuck do I know though? I've never been in love.

A quick look towards my sister makes me rethink that.

I make my plate and join Alex and Lauren in the dining room to chat while we eat. We give Tyler and Ms. Larson some room to have whatever conversation they're having, and sit at the other end of the table.

"What do you guys do for fun?" Alex launches us into the next topic conversation as we all try to get to know each other. Alex is, both short term and long term, the housemate I'm most interested in having a good relationship. We're going to be with her for three years, barring some kind of tragedy.

"Uh, movies," I say with a smile, "Making, watching, writing. All movies and shorts and stuff."

"And board games and some video games, and racquetball when we can," Lauren adds. She chews her gyro for a moment. "Wait, Joe, are we boring?"

"No no," Alex laughs, "not at all. Movies are awesome, and if you're good enough at them to have gotten here, then they must be great. Worthy thing to spend your time on," she gives that smile again and I think my heart skips three beats.

"How about you?" I ask, wanting to hear her say more words. Any words, really. I'm not picky.

"I play a fuck load of video games," she says with a shrug, "I actually stream on Twitch, not a huge stream, but like eight hundred viewers usually."

"I assume you don't use a camera," I say, gesturing to her nudity.

She laughs, shaking her head. "I'm a Vtuber," she explains.

"A what?"

"It just means I use a digital avatar thing instead of my real self. I can't wear clothing and stuff, obviously. And Twitch would ban me if my tits were out on steam. Soooo, I use a digital avatar instead. I could just go with no camera at all but it has notable effects on viewership." She shrugs and eats more of her gyro, happily munching away at the spiced meat surrounded by vegetables.

"Oh that's awesome!" Lauren says with genuine excitement. "What kinds of games do you play?"

"I'm a big fan," Alex says, chewing slowly and clearing her mouth before continuing, "Of rogue-likes and the Souls games. Bloodborne is a fuckin' masterpiece, but I like anything with some difficulty."

I've heard some of those words before. Lauren and I aren't big video gamers, and basically everything we play involves some couch co-op in some way. I'm aware of the Souls games and their notorious difficulty, but never touched them myself.

"Well that's cool," I say with a smile, "I imagine you have a pretty dedicated group of viewers?"

"Yeah," she replies, "I like doing silly challenge runs or stupid stuff to mix it up. I mean, I've played through all these games so much that the base game just bores me, but I like to keep things fresh for both me and the viewers."

"And it makes you money?" I ask.

"Not a shit ton, but some good spending money. It helps that all my basic needs and then some are taken care of by Ms. Larson, so everything I get from streaming goes to fun stuff or into savings."

We talk more about her streaming career, if that's the right word for it, and about the movies Lauren and I have made. I get the feeling, watching her eyes flit back and forth between us, that she can sense there's more to our relationship than just siblings. She might not know exactly what amorphous, developing situation we have, but it's something.

When lunch is finished, and we're done devouring the deliciousness that Julie made for us, Lauren stretches and yawns. She leans back in her chair and pats her little tummy, looking as satisfied as I've ever seen her.

"Ok, that was great," Lauren says with a sleepy grin.

"Right?" Alex jumps in, "Julie's gyros kick dicks. She's a fucking wizard." Alex has a way of speaking that is simultaneously disarming and endearing. It helps that everything is said with a smile that makes you think she really means whatever she's saying and is really invested.

"Uh, yeah. Definitely kicked those dicks, I think," Lauren says hesitantly, earning a wide grin from Alex. "But uh, after the swim and everything this morning, I'm gonna take a nap. I can barely keep my eyes open. I'll see you guys later," she says, patting my knee affectionately as she gets up and takes her plate to the kitchen.

"So, after lunch, you wanna help me put my computer together?" Alex asks, looking at me from across the table.

"I have no idea how to put a computer together," I say with a laugh, "I've only ever played on consoles."

"Oh, that's fine," she waves a hand dismissively, "I don't need actual help, I just need someone to hand me parts and pieces and hold stuff steady and provide some conversation so I don't go blind with boredom."

"Oh, ok, I can handle that," I smile at her.

"I'm sure you can, big boy," she teases me and I think I turn into a puddle. I'm just a little puddley goo boy for a moment before I snap back to reality. Stay cool. Stay cool.

We clean up our dishes, compliment Julie again on the food, and head on up to Alex's room. I get a glance from Kayla that says... something. It had the general vibe of displeasure or disappointment, but I'm not sure what exactly it is supposed to mean. Conversely, Ms. Larson gives me a smile, happy to see that I'm already making friends with one of my housemates.

Alex tells me about her upbringing as we head upstairs. Raised in New York, five siblings--five more like her? I hope they're all sisters--and found alive of design in her high school theater. She loved drawing the posters, designing sets, and helping bring a whole production together on an aesthetic level. I can understand that, even if it isn't my thing specifically. She found gaming at a young age, as a way to connect with her older brother who was eight years older than her--fuck, not all sisters--and kept at it ever since. Even the way she talks about normal things is infectious and delightful. I've quickly developed a crush, and I hope it isn't too evident.

When we get to her room, someone has already brought up all of her bags and boxes. It looks like one is general stuff, and then there are two boxes full of monitors, computer equipment, and an Xbox controller. "If you play a Souls game with mouse and keyboard you deserve to be shot," she explains matter of factly. I'm not willing to debate her on that, mostly because I have exactly zero feelings on the subject, but also because it was said with such conviction that it must be correct.

I sit on her bed and bring her cables when she needs them and we talk. It's nice, and it's easy and I like getting to know her. Even if she wasn't drop dead gorgeous, I'd still really enjoy talking to her. But she's hot. And that tends to throw me off a little. Soon enough, her computer is all set up, and she lets it boot up and test everything out, ensuring it's all plugged in properly with no issues. Both of her monitors are crisp and clean and beautiful displays, and I'm honestly, for a moment, a little jealous.

"Do you wanna play stuff with me sometime?" She asks suddenly, looking at me with a grin, "I mean, I could teach you. If you're up for it you could even come on the stream, that would be solid content. 'Teaching the noob how to play Dark Souls'. People love that shit."

"So I'm just driving views for you?" I joke.

"Yes. And we get to hang out and have fun together. It's a win-win."

"Definitely. I think it would be fun." And I mean it when I say it.

"Cool." She turns back to her computer for a moment, clicking through some prompts and running some tests. While they run, she turns back to me. "Do you wanna kiss me?"

"Uh, what?"

"It's not a trick question, Joe," she says gently, "I'm not going to be upset if you say yes or only kiss you if you say no like it's some test of your chivalry, that shit is dead anyway. I'm not stupid, I've seen you checking me out. You're cute. And maybe I just think that because I haven't been kissed or seen a penis in a while. But maybe not." She shrugs as if this is a normal conversation. "But if you're not into me, that's cool. I respect that."