Women's Studies Ch. 13

"That will be all for today, Ladies," Professor Holland called. "Read chapters 22 and 23 before next class, and if you've finished those papers on The Gender Revolution, you can turn them in to me early."

I couldn't believe the class had already ended. It felt like I had just walked in only moments ago. Gathering my things, I began stepping down the aisle towards the teacher's desk.

"Miss Allen, I have this for you," she said holding up a small yellow slip of paper. "Are you having issues in your other classes again?" she asked.

Cringing, I took the slip. I already knew what it was. Someone in the Admin Building wanted to see me, and from her implication it could only be one of two people.

"No, I'm not having any problems," I told her honestly. After my previous scare with academic probation I had been a machine when it came to my schoolwork. "I even have this for you," I said fishing my paper from my notebook. "I finished it last night."

"Already?" she asked. "I didn't really expect anyone to finish early."

"I kind of got caught up in it once I started. It's a really fascinating subject," I said. "I hope it's not too long. There was so much I wanted to put in there...I tried cutting it down as much as I could."

"Really?" she said, admiring the thick stack of papers held together by a binder clip. "If you were this enthusiastic about the subject, this might be the first one of these that I truly enjoy reading," she confided with a smile. "You have a good day, Miss Allen."

"Thank you," I said backing away, smiling as well. "And you too."

As I made my way out into the hall, I glanced at the yellow slip of paper, wondering what this was for. All of my grades were up, and I was off of academic probation. I hadn't gotten into any fights...why could he possibly want to see me? I sincerely doubted it was to tell me how well I was doing in my classes. Maybe the creep just wanted another excuse to stare at my chest or something.

Down the hall and out through the quad, I walked toward the Admin building. For once, I wasn't scared of being summoned to the office of the Assistant Dean. It didn't mean I was looking forward to this though.

"I got a slip," I said to his secretary as I entered the outer office.

"Go right in," she said looking up. "He's expecting you."

The door to his office was slightly open, and as I approached it, for Kennedy's sake I remembered to take note of the keypad. I had nothing to shine on it though, and all of the buttons still looked the same to my naked eye. I didn't think I would be able to tell, and with this method, it was kind of the point; for no one to notice.

Sighing, I pushed open the door to his office and walked in, closing it behind me as he instructed. The Assistant Dean was sitting behind his big wooden desk, lounging back in his chair smiling. I had to suppress a slight shiver seeing him like that. His smile suited his creepy nature, almost too well.

"Hello Miss Allen," Assistant Dean Decker said happily.

"Hello Mr. Decker," I said taking a seat across from him and crossing my legs. "You wanted to see me?" I asked, still not sure why I had been summoned.

"Yes," he began, shuffling some papers. "The last time we spoke it wasn't on the best of terms. I regret that. You've been making great strides now to become a better student and fit in with your peers. That, I can respect," he smiled sincerely.

This was almost too good to be true. He really asked me in here to tell me what a good job I was doing? That and stare at my tits, I thought wryly once I noticed his eyes on my chest.

"However," he continued, "something about you stuck with me, and I wasn't sure what it was. I thought about it for a while and couldn't quite put my finger on it. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me, so I pulled your file and did a little check on you."

As he spoke, the room seemed to be getting smaller and smaller around me. I thought this was behind me. I still had to hide for the most part, but I was a woman. My friends accepted me, anyone else in my position would have felt like they lived a charmed life. Well that charm seemed to be fading fast, and the walls of my dreams were crumbling around me.

The whole time I was trying to figure out why I was called in here, and not once had I thought about him finding out. How could I have been so careless? I had wracked my brain for anything that I could have done that would have gotten me into trouble, and having a dick at an all-girls school hadn't even registered.

"You do look so much like your sister, don't you Alex?" he asked smiling.

Hearing my old name struck like a blow. He really knew. I felt lightheaded, and I was trembling. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't deny it. The way he was looking at me, with such malevolent joy, reminded me of those kids who would burn ants for fun.

"Nothing to say?" he asked. "No matter, the truth of it is all right here," he said jabbing his finger down onto a piece of paper. "You know, I wanted so badly to be able to expel you before," he sighed, getting up to walk around to my side of his desk, casually leaning against it. "Not because you deserved it, you see? Most of the girls I threaten with expulsion don't deserve it. I just wanted you."

I was still stunned to silence as he spoke.

"Here's what's going to happen, Miss Allen," he said in a mocking tone. "If you don't want any trouble, you're going to do some things for me...let's call them extra curriculars."

The way he was speaking and leering at my cleavage made my skin crawl. My mind was swimming, and even though I could hear what he was saying, I was having a hard time getting my mind to comprehend. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

"If you say no, I will call the police and tell them that some deranged pervert found a way to weasel their way into our school masquerading as a girl, so that he could undoubtedly see girls in their underwear and naked in the showers. You will not only be expelled, but as someone who is here on scholarship, you will be charged with fraud and go to jail. This school is for women, not little boys playing dress up...no matter how...pretty they are," he smiled. "It's your decision, expulsion and jail, or a little fun with me. I'm sure you'll enjoy some of it..."

My whole world was crashing down around me. I tried to scream, tell him that I was a woman, that I belonged here. I wanted to tell him to go to hell, and that I would die before letting him touch me, but no words escaped my lips. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as he looked down at me from his perch against his desk. I didn't know how I missed it before. He had always looked like a creep, eyeing the young girls like he was undressing them, but the truth was written all over his face. He was a predator.

"You are so very pretty," he mused, reaching a hand out to brush my cheek.

I pulled away out of reflex and disgust, but before his hand could touch me the intercom buzzed loudly, causing the both of us to jump. "I have Mr. Richards here. It's about the faculty mixer tonight and he says it's urgent," her voice came through the speaker.

"We'll have to pick this up another time, Miss Allen," Mr. Decker said quickly moving back around to his seat behind the desk. "I expect to hear from you tomorrow."

My whole body was numb as I stood to leave. I felt scared, ashamed, dirty, but in complete contradiction, I felt like I was floating somewhere outside my body, far away from any emotion at all. I felt broken.

A few tears leaked from my eyes as I walked, and it took me a while to finally get a grip on myself. Drying my tears, I made the only choice I could. I knew who I was, and there was no way I was going to say yes to that creep. If this was my last night at Mayweather, or even as a free woman, I had a lot of work to do.

*** *** ***

"We're doing it...tonight," I said flatly as I closed the door to our room behind me.

Kennedy and Abigail were there. Abigail was at her desk studying, and Kennedy was most likely surfing porn on our bed. As soon as I spoke, all sounds of clacking keys fell silent and they both looked up at me.

"You better not be fucking with me," Kennedy said seriously. "Tell me you're not fucking with me."

"I'm not fucking with you," I said solemnly. "We're doing it tonight."

Kennedy leapt off the bed, knocking her laptop to the floor as she pulled me into a hug. Her squeals of delight filled the room as she jumped up and down.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she kept chanting.

"You're not talking about breaking into the Admin building, are you?" Abigail asked. "You said it wouldn't be ready for another couple of months."

"Does it matter?" Kennedy asked excitedly. "We're finally doing it. Tonight, I'll know who my dad is!"

Abigail eyed me suspiciously. I knew she would be happy for Kennedy, but I had the feeling that she knew something was up. I quickly put on a smile for her, trying to hide my own inner turmoil.

"Everything is good, Abby," I assured her. "I've been thinking about it, and I used some really cheap varnish for those buttons. It should fade a lot faster. And I think tonight is going to be our best night," I lied.

"If you say so," Abigail said. "You're the mastermind here."

"Hell yes she is!" Kennedy said, kissing my cheek noisily. "God, I don't think I'll be able to wait until midnight."

"You won't have to," I said, laying out the plan.

Normally, students wouldn't know a thing about faculty events. They weren't generally advertised, and we really didn't care since we weren't invited. If I hadn't been in Decker's office when his secretary mentioned the faculty mixer, I would have never known. With knowing comes opportunity though.

The party would probably go on all night, meaning that there would be no good time to sneak in. Waiting for the guard to go on break would be pointless if he knew people would be going in and out at some point during the night. So, how was breaking into a building full of teachers and staff a good idea, you ask? Because we wouldn't be breaking in.

"This sounds way riskier," Abigail said.

"Not really. The front door will be unlocked because there will be staff there," I explained. "No breaking and entering needed. We waltz right in and-"

"Waltz right out?" Abigail cut in.

"Pretty much," I said. "Now if you'll let me finish," I paused, making sure I wouldn't be interrupted again. "We go right in the front door. They'll be on the top floor getting wasted and pretending they're teenagers for a night, I'm sure. We just keep an eye out as we make our way upstairs, and if anyone stops us, we say we wanted to talk about summer classes and assumed they were still working because the lights were on.

"No one should be on the first two floors anyway," I continued. "We go up to Decker's office, figure out the combination, and get in. The keypad shouldn't take more than ten minutes tops, finding the file, less than five. We're talking in and out in twenty minutes."

"What about if the security guard sees you going in?" Abigail asked.

"You don't see it?" Kennedy asked. "It's genius! They're partying up there. The guard will know it. Seeing a few more people go in will be nothing out of the ordinary."

"I guess it sounds pretty solid," Abigail acceded.

"Damn right it does," Kennedy said. "More solid than our first time going in, checking damn near every window to find one that was unlocked. At least this time we know the way in."

"I guess it's time to get out our B&E gear," Abigail suggested.

"No B&E gear," I said. "Normal clothes. Remember, we're not doing anything wrong. We just wanted to talk about the summer program," I reminded her.

The last thing we wanted to do was skulk around in dark clothing looking suspicious.

*** *** ***

It was half past nine when we made our way out of Evens Hall and into the night. We looked as natural as could be. I was wearing a pair of faded jeans with a few holes in them and a cute top, Kennedy was dressed similarly, and Abigail was in a fairly modest skirt and blouse. We weren't the only girls out and about, and we didn't look a bit out of place. The only thing that differed between us and them was our destination. They were most likely heading out for a night of drinking and trouble at a local bar, while we were finding our trouble a little closer to home.

"I still think it's too early," Abigail said.

"That's the whole point," Kennedy said. "It's early enough for us to pretend it was an honest mistake, and late enough that the party is already started."

"All I'm saying is that I'm still not sure about this," she said. "Last time we had more time to prepare."

She wasn't wrong. This wasn't a very well thought out plan, regardless of what I had been spouting earlier. There were so many things that could go wrong and it would only take one of them to end this horribly. I was flying by the seat of my pants, because I knew it was tonight or never. At least for me.

I still hadn't told them about my secret being out, or Decker trying to blackmail me. I knew I should have said something, but I couldn't. They would insist on making the best of our last night together, of my last night with them. We would have partied, danced, drank, and fucked until I was arrested and expelled tomorrow. I just really wanted to do this for Kennedy before it all ended. She was the best friend a girl could ask for. She knew all of my secrets from the first day she met me, and she loved me anyway. I knew how much this meant to her, and I wanted her to have it.

As we neared the front entrance, everything looked clear. No one else was out on this part of the grounds that we could see, and no one in sight on the ground floor either.

"All right," I said stopping them short of the entrance next to a bench. "You two wait here and I'll go in. There shouldn't be much to keep an eye out for, but just in case-"

"Wait, what?" Kennedy asked. "I'm going with you!"

"Don't worry, I got this," I smiled.

I didn't want her to risk getting caught. I was going to jail either way. If I got caught it was just one more thing to add to my list. This was basically a suicide run.

"The hell you do!" she said. "I'm not letting you go alone, without me. This whole thing is for me. I can't just sit back and watch my friend do all the heavy lifting."

I tried to argue, but she was firm on her stance. She was going with. Maybe I sold her too well on how safe this would be. It was frustrating, but also one of the reasons I adored her. She was with you until the wheels fell off.

"I think I should go too," Abigail said a little reluctantly. "It's for Kennedy."

"Oh no you don't!" Kennedy said. "Someone's gotta stay here to watch. Besides, if you got caught, your dad would kill us."

"He would not," she scoffed. "And what exactly am I supposed to be looking for?" she asked. "People coming and going? You said that's supposed to be normal."

"I will tie you to the bench with your panties, woman!" Kennedy said threateningly.

"Listen, Abby, people going in and out is normal for the security guard, not for us," I said. "If you see people going in while we are getting ready to come out, you can let us know so we don't run headlong into them. Also, you'll be able to tell us if there is some kind of mass exodus because the old people ended the party early. Okay?"

"Fine," she sighed sitting down.

"Call Kennedy so you can keep us up to date," I said patting her shoulder.

"Bless that girl," Kennedy said, shaking her head as we walked towards the entrance and away from Abigail. "I love that girl, but a dad with that much money? He would bury us, and no one would know it. Hell, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. You know, with him finding out that we turned her gay?"

"He's actually pretty cool," I said, recalling the time I'd met him.

"Yeah, well..." Kennedy trailed off as she answered her phone and put her bluetooth in. "Hello."

Just as I thought, the bottom floor was a ghost town. Not a soul in sight. I eased the door closed behind us, making the click of the latch as quiet as possible, after that, I took a deep breath and strolled casually towards the stairs.

"No, no one is here," Kennedy whispered. "No, I don't know if there is anyone in any of the offices. Abigail...Abigail!" she said annoyed. "This isn't going to work if you keep asking questions. Just keep your eyes peeled for us and we can give you the play by play later."

I would've had my own bluetooth in, but since we were together, I figured we both didn't need to be in communication with her. At the door to the stairwell, I paused to listen for sounds, but it was quiet as a mouse.

"I think we're good," I nodded to Kennedy as I opened the door slowly.

I peeked up the stairs trying to catch a glimpse of anyone, but the coast was clear. Our footfalls were quiet in our aptly named sneakers as we climbed up to the second floor. Again, I paused and listened before slowly opening the door and strolling out. We were well and truly in it now. I could hear the distant sounds of music playing, and loud muffled voices from somewhere above us.

"Could you look more suspicious?" I admonished Kennedy in a whisper. She looked like she was walking on eggshells, tiptoeing as she made her way down the hall, leaning slightly forward, as if that would help.

"Sorry," she blushed.

Her demeanor relaxed, but only slightly. She still looked ridiculous, and if someone spotted her, I just knew she would jump out of her skin and give us away in an instant.

On the outside I looked as calm and casual as could be, but my heart was definitely thumping away. My days might have been numbered, regardless of how successful we were, but breaking and entering was still a bit of a rush.

As expected, the door to the Assistant Dean's outer office was unlocked. There was really nothing of importance to safeguard in here. All the private files were behind the next door.

I motioned for Kennedy to close the door behind us while I made a beeline for the keypad. I fished out the flashlight I had in my pocket and held my breath as I shined the black light over the buttons.

"It worked!" Kennedy squeaked behind me, causing me to jump.

"Yes and no..." I said once I got over my shock. "I don't think any of the nail polish was even worn down. It just looks like dirt and oils built up over the varnish."

I hadn't even thought about that outcome, but sure enough four of the buttons were darker than the others that shined in the light. They were a disgusting brownish green. Shaking my head, I began working on the combination.

Sort of like how you figure out a maze by always turning left, I had devised a set of rules to follow so I didn't try the same combination twice. I started with the lowest number first and worked my way up, and when that failed, I switched the last two numbers and then the third, and then the last two again until I tried all of those combinations with the lowest digit in the first position. After that I went to the next highest.

I was mashing away on the buttons as quick as I could with one hand, while using the other to try the handle. I was thinking to myself that it would be just my luck if it was the last combination I tried, or that he pressed one of the buttons twice, making it a five-digit combo, when the handle swung down.

"All ready?" Kennedy asked surprised. "You've barely been at it two minutes! I could have done that."

I glared at her as I stood up. Barely waiting for me, she swept right past and into the office.

"You know, with all your planning, that was pretty anticlimactic," she went on in a hushed voice. Then to Abigail on the phone, "We're in."