It was her. It was hard to put a finger on why it was, but it just was. She did not have to be the smartest one in the room or the prettiest one in the room but make no mistake, she was the superior one in the room. She had the finest and silkiest, straight jet-black hair I have ever seen, cascading down to her mid-back. Even with her thirty-eight DDD bust, her body fat was less than ten percent, she was all muscle, and none questioned it. Her dress was all black leather, a formfitting, deep plunging bustier enhanced her tits, the knee-high boots glistened as several people have already worshiped them. Her leather skirt and panties were striking, topped off by a set of steel handcuffs, and a leather flogger. Oddly, her brown eyes were truly unremarkable.
She was a study of contrasts. What she portrayed to the world was not who she was. She had to keep up appearances though. You see, when she was abroad at college, she had a set time every day to have a video link with Mom. Lisa and her mom were close. Often, the video chat was during supper for her mom as this was very late for Lisa, often Lisa only had Ramen noodles and some juice.
Her mom was a health nut, often doing things people half her age could not do. Lisa often taunted the jocks at school about this fact. Then Lisa's world got turned on its head. Her mom got some form of super rare and unpronounceable form of cancer. She had to drop out of school so she could make medical decisions for her mom. It was an aggressive form of cancer, and her mom was gone well before her time. Her mom had a DNR, she always said, "If the Lord wants me, he can have me. I am His servant." Lisa had lost her identity when her mom passed away, she did not know where to turn. Lisa had her mom cremated so she could bring the urn wherever she went.
Lisa's dad was some sort of brainiac that she never got to know. He had a ton of inventions to his name, and he smartly had all the royalty checks to be paid in perpetuity. While Lisa was an heiress, she still wanted to have a job; it gave her a schedule and some extra money.
Lisa knew college housing could be a pain. She did not need the money, but she did need the companionship. One weekend before Halloween, Lisa and her lawyer visited all the owners on a block of prime real estate, intending to buy everyone. Her offer was more than double the amount the house was worth, and she gave an eight-month notice, which put it past the end of all the school years. She left the documents with the owners for their lawyers to go over.
The campus was planned well by the city planners. The city had two loops by the shuttle; the university shuttle was all day and took you close to wherever you needed to go on campus. The shopping shuttle took you farther out, but the mall was big, so it had one-stop shopping for all the students, including a ten-screen movie theater and a host of restaurants, and other eateries. The use of the shuttle made traffic light and reduced parking spaces at the mall by less than half. The shopping loop started at mid-afternoon, reducing traffic even further. Lisa's block was just outside the campus, but right on the shuttle's loop.
A week before freshman orientation, all the candidates had been screened, packets were made containing leases, and rules Lisa mandated. Lisa had a long waiting list. Lisa rented out a large high-end restaurant where she could broadcast to several screens at once, so all the rooms could see her on the main stage without moving. "I will make this announcement brief. All of you have passed your screening and have gained your chance on your own merits. All of you have packets waiting for you, which you can pick up before you leave. In it are all my rules and the lease. There will be a further one-on-one meeting to get to know you better and to sign the lease and get the key. The one thing I cannot stand is disruptive influences. Too many violations, which are spelled out in the packet, will put you out on your ear, and someone on the waiting list will be overjoyed to take your place. With that, enjoy your meal, it has already been paid for. I also want you to make a lot of friends with each other, let them into your life. I hope I can be one of those friends. As you can see, there are many people here, that is because I own the entire block; mix and mingle with each other."
There was a woman who tried to speak to Lisa after her speech. Lisa exited the eating establishment before the woman could speak to her. The woman could only look on as the car accelerated down the street, turned, and headed to the highway.
The woman knew her ID was not valid before the first day of class, and the shuttle was too expensive; she had a long walk ahead of her and a very strict deadline. At the end of the night, the barman noticed there was a single packet that was not taken. The name on it was Suzie Q.
Lisa's block was long and wide, so it housed many homes. Lisa's house was on a triple plot in the center and off the road. It seemed like a stately manor house. It had state-of-the-art security. Lisa felt more comfortable with a GPS tracker implant in her body than a mob of goons watching her.
Lisa was enraged when she heard someone left an unopened packet. It was one thing to reject the offer, but to dismiss it altogether without even looking at it was quite another matter. Lisa angrily pounded on the buttons to dial Suzie's number. As Lisa started to yell at Suzie, Suzie said, "Ma'am, I don't have much money left on my phone so let me try to summarize my situation."
"I could only pay for college because I got a full scholarship, but that renewal is dependent on future grades. Only the school and you have my number, so I do not waste money talking to other people. I only get one meal a day from Meals on Wheels because the county pays for it. The family I live with gave me strict rules to abide by. I can use the toilet once per day, and I can use the microwave to heat my frozen meals from Meal on Wheels. The next neighbor allows me to use his hose to wash my plastic wear.
After class is over, I will disconnect my phone so I can buy firewood. I hope to find a cave near here to pitch my tent in and dry more wood out while I have a fire burning. I live in an unfurnished basement, so I just have my tent, sleeping bag, and foam pad. I must be in the basement before they get home, and I can have no interaction with them. I am more of a nuisance to them than anything else. Even letting me use their address for Meals on Wheels was a chore. I had to walk over four miles to get home from your meeting."
"Suzie, an LED light bulb uses more electricity than you do. Let me guess, you have hardly eaten anything in the past month."
"You grow numb to the pain of not eating after a while. And yes, that is how I feel about myself, a light bulb has it better off than me. I am sure my cognitive ability has gone down. I bet I could not get good grades if I tried." Suzie hung up after getting a warning her money was low.
Lisa's countenance changed drastically; she was no longer mad at Suzie. She was so mad at the inhumanity Suzie was put in, and what steps she would soon have to resort to, which it seemed Lisa could set off a thermal-nuclear bomb.
"Stevens, get me the address for Suzie Q. Tell my driver he has three minutes to be outside. Judy, you are with me." All the staff knew asking questions was not an option. The driver was lucky the new Cadillac was parked two spaces away.
"Driver, how far to our destination?"
"Twenty miles ma'am. They live on the very outskirts of town. It must have taken her hours to walk to and from your meeting."
Lisa was exiting the car before it stopped. She was in no mood for pleasantries. She banged on the door so hard it woke the neighbors.
"Who the hell are you!"
Lisa responded, "I am your worst nightmare come calling. I had a chat with Suzie today until the money on her phone ran out. She summarized everything and the plans she had to make after the semester ends."
"I am not stupid. I know the cost of water and electricity. What do you spend on her, less than a dollar a month? Let us see five minutes on high per meal for thirty days is one hundred and fifty minutes on the microwave, plus three gallons of water per flush times thirty days a month equals ninety gallons of water a month. I am surprised you let her use your monogrammed toilet paper. I do not call that abusing her privileges, I call that inhumane treatment. Please get Suzie and her things up here this instant, I need to take her to the hospital."
The couple felt like they just got steamrolled in their own home. Suzie soon appeared with her backpack, tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, and some outdoor survival items stuffed into the side pockets. Lisa looked on in horror.
"James, stow Suzie's things in the trunk. We are off to the hospital. Not a word Suzie; it will be better all-around if you said nothing. Even my untrained eye can see you are very ill. I shudder to think what the doctors will think."
"Suzie, meet James, he is the chauffeur. I know it is a little cliché to call him James, but he is the best damn driver in the state. This here is Judy, my Head Chef. You will be needing to go on a special diet. She is here to understand your needs and ask any pertinent questions."
Lisa hit her speed dial button, "Stevens, let our accountant know we are adding a medical insurance policy in the name of Suzie Q. We may also need to make a cash payment tonight. Have the head of HR at her bedside at one pm. Suzie will feel better after she eats. Make sure she has all the documents with her, including Suzie's welcome packet and those damn thick books they give you.
"As she recovers, add dental and vision to the list. The policy will be the same as mine and billable to me. She is going to be a student so she needs a laptop. Call my expert to get the best one, not too heavy as she will be lugging it around, but one with all the bells and whistles. While you are at it, get the best phone for her, high capacity, great resolution, great camera, plus great reception.
"WHAT? I do not care what time it is, wake the damn president up if you must. I do not give a fuck if either the phone or the laptop is from a competitor. That is why I pay him; to make executive decisions on his feet. Unlimited data on the phone. Make everything compatible with each other and with what the school has. I do not care if she spends her free time playing FORTNIGHT or just surfs the web. Make damn sure no hackers or virus can penetrate it."
"I am sorry my dear. When I get worked up, I tend to swear, a lot. You see my mom never made it out of this hospital, my world got turned upside down, and I lost my way. I do not intend to let that happen to you."
By now they were approaching the hospital. As Suzie stepped out of the car, a valet ran over to grab her before she collapsed, followed by another with a wheelchair. As she was wheeled in, the head nurse immediately was calling for a bed. Suzie looked ghost-like even though she was only eighteen.
Suzie started with the admissions giving her all the personal information and medical history; Lisa and Stevens were emergency contacts. Admissions had already got a call from Stevens notifying them of the appointment with Suzie the following day to sign all the paperwork. The situation was unusual, but if they got all the documentation it should be okay.
