September 2020, and it should be "Freshers Week," well technically it still is. This year it's slightly different to the norm. To add to the difference, I've just found out that I have to go into isolation, total lock-down.
I'm a first-year student, starting out on life at Manchester Metropolitan University. 127 of my fellow students, most of whom I haven't had the chance to meet yet have tested positive for the 21st-century version of "The Plague". Ergo 1700 of us now have to isolate. Maybe we should do as the village of Eyam did back in 1666. That wasn't far from here, up in the Peak District. At the urging, of the local pastor, the whole village decided to isolate itself to try and prevent the plague, spreading to the surrounding villages. It had been brought there by some contaminated clothing in 1665. I'm not sure many people would be that selfless today.
I have to isolate myself despite the fact I'm not actually living in 'halls' but am sharing a flat with my bestie, Kim. She is starting her academic journey at the same time as me. She's studying to be a doctor at Manchester University. Me? I'm reading Microbiology, the irony of ironies.
I'd got nothing to do that morning, so had accompanied her, as she was being issued with her scrubs. Yep, even as a first-year medical student Kim, would be working in a hospital or something similar from the off. Manchester Uni and a few others do that. They had decided why waste two years studying the theory of medicine. To then decide that you couldn't hack it the first time you were exposed to blood or the environment of a hospital. Makes sense to me.
We'd seen the headlines on the billboards as they appeared around the city, then I got a text telling me I had to isolate. "Why, I asked if I'm not in halls?"
"Dunno, but you have, come on let's get back to the flats. I think there may be a bit of a party going on on our floor. Have some fun tonight, and you can sort things out in the morning."
We got back to the flat, and sure enough, there were a few students, milling about, not all freshers, but most were. Some were going into the flat next to ours, which was being shared by four guys. A couple of whom were quite sexy. Sexy enough that I would like to meet them and get to know them well. If you know what I mean?
In total, there were about a dozen of us. Equally mixed between boys and girls. Everyone was having fun, with lots of drinking, a bit of dancing, and a lot of snogging going on. Then somebody decided it was a good idea to play strip poker. I was hesitant at first, not because I'm shy or a virgin. Well the first a little bit, the second definitely not. I hadn't got that many clothes on so I couldn't afford to lose that many hands before I would be naked in front of a load of strangers.
"Come on, Dee, what's the harm?" Kim, my so-called best friend, asked.
"I've not got much on, no bra for one thing. If I lose..."
"So a bunch of guys get to see your tits. And pussy if they're lucky. Half of them you're bloody interested in any way, and the other half you probably won't see again."
"Yeah, and if one of the half I fancy becomes my boyfriend, then he knows all his mates have seen all I've bloody got. You know I'm not that type. Christ my swimsuits are so flamin' modest."
"I don't know why you've got a great body. I'm always telling you that. Come on, Dee, You're in your first week in Uni, relax and do something wild. You're eighteen and away from home for the first time."
"Exactly!"
"Well, I'm playing. Guys, what's the rules?"
Somebody said, 'normal' poker rules, but the lowest hand has to remove a piece of clothing. You can fold at any time, until the first person is naked for the guys, or showing something for the girls, then everyone has to go all the way. If you didn't want to strip, then you could do a dare decided by the winner of the hand. The later on in the game and the less clothing you had on, then the dares could get more extreme. To try and keep things in hand dares were agreed on. They could be repeated, but not for the same person. I know complex, and how we decided on it I don't know, but hey we're University students.
I looked around, and all the girls seemed to be going to play. Fuck it, I'm in.
A few hands have gone by, and fortunately, I've only had the lowest hand a couple of times. I've lost my shoes and blouse. Most of us are in the same state.
