My name is Melanie, and I am a student at a large state university—a place that has quite a reputation as a party school. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I am masquerading as a student to get some interesting perspectives on college life in the millennial age. I am really a writer/blogger working for an alternative newspaper. My editor approached me with the concept and offered to pay all expenses if I would be willing to go undercover to experience college life firsthand. I was admittedly rather hesitant since I am a rather modest person with limited experience in the world of parties and sex, but I agreed when he told me that the project might lead to a book project and possibly an independent art film. It seemed like a promising way to take my career to a new level, and so I accepted the challenge. I vowed to push myself to explore experiences I might otherwise have avoided, and, in the end, I surprised myself with a newfound sense of courage and adventure. Here is a chapter in my series titled "Coed Confidante".
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I had settled in to the sorority life over the past few months and had quickly made good friends with many of my sorority sisters. Still, I did not think I had done anything to stand out from the others, so I was surprised to get a text from Nikki, the sorority president, asking that we get together as soon as possible. We were able to meet the next day, and I was surprised when I heard what she had to say.
"Thanks for getting back to me so quickly," Nikki said. "The leadership teams at both the sorority and our partner fraternity had our monthly meeting a few days ago, and your name came up."
"It did?" I replied. "In what context?"
"We were making plans for our annual charity auction and we all agreed that you would be a good choice to be one of the participants."
"Participants?" I asked warily. "I have never heard of this charity auction. What exactly is being auctioned?"
"Let me explain," Nikki answered. "Every year, we pick three guys from the fraternity and three sisters from our sorority to be auctioned off to the highest bidders. It's always a popular event and we raise a sizeable amount of money every year for a charity that we target."
"What do you mean when you say that these people are auctioned off? Are we supposed to do some community service work?"
"Not exactly," Nikki answered with a guarded voice. "The volunteers are auctioned off to be dates for an evening with the people who pledge the highest bids. I know that sounds a little kinky, but I assure you it is all in good fun for a good cause."
"So why me?" I asked nervously. "Certainly there are more popular people than me that would raise more money."
"It's not so much a question of popularity. It's more a question of visual appeal. I know it does not sound politically correct, but we have found that the sexier the contestants, the more money we raise."
"I get the impression that you are not telling me the whole story here," I said. "What does sexy have to do with the auction?"
"You are right," Nikki admitted. "I just wanted to gauge your interest before I laid out the details."
"Go on," I persisted.
"Okay, here's the full scoop. The contestants stand on the stage in the Little Theater and take turns answering trivia questions. When the contestants answer correctly, nothing happens. If the person gives an incorrect answer, the contestant who asks the question gets to remove an article of clothing from the person who gave the wrong answer. At the end of every round of questions, the audience members get a chance to bid on any of the contestants in the auction."
"How long does the auction go on?" I asked.
"We continue until all but one of the volunteers has been stripped naked," Nikki answered in a guarded voice. "At that point, we tally up all of the bids and announce the six audience members who have submitted the winning bids."
"And what exactly do they win?" I responded in surprise. "This is sounding like a nonstarter for me."
"They win the right to a date with the person they have bought in the auction," Nikki explained. "Usually it involves dinner and some companionship. I know it may sound intimidating, but past volunteers have told us they were glad they did it and that they were happy they could help to raise money for a good cause."
I was about to decline the invitation and walk away, but I decided to ask about the charity cause first. Nikki told me that they were raising money to help fund a substance abuse clinic on campus to provide counseling for students fighting addiction issues. Now I was truly torn because this is a cause that I support. I had to decide if the cause was important enough for me to stand on stage before an audience and risk being stripped naked in front of them. I asked Nikki how long I had to make my decision and I told her that I would think about it.
Over the next two days, I asked around about the auction and talked to a few people who had volunteered in past years. They told me that it was a very challenging experience but rewarding at the same time. When I asked what the winning bidders expected, they confessed that there was an unspoken understanding that some form of sexual attention was a part of the bargain, but they also pointed out that nothing violent or kinky was allowed. The girls I spoke to said that their dates ended with an obligatory blow job and nothing more. I knew down deep that this was the kind of adventure that my editor was encouraging me to explore, so after some serious soul searching, I texted Nikki and told her I would volunteer for the auction.
On the day of the auction, I reported to the Little Theater to meet the other volunteers and to learn the details of the evening's events. The organizers told us that each of us was to wear only four articles of clothing, and that we were expected to forfeit one item each time we gave an incorrect answer. They explained that the questions were to come from cards modeled on the Trivial Pursuit format, and that the questioner was free to choose from six questions on the card he or she selected. That questioner also had the right to choose the article of clothing to be forfeited when an incorrect answer is given.
