"Freshman Orientations" is a silly, tongue-in-cheek fantasy series about sexual curiosity and first time exploration in college, which reimagines freshman year the way you might have wished it had been... For a complete introduction to the characters, please consider reading from chapter 01.
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Dylan returned to his dorm after class and heard the elevator ring. He hurried to get inside while another student held it open for him. "Thanks!" he exclaimed.
"You're welcome!" she said, smiling at him. She was cute; a redhead struggling with a large backpack. He cherished any opportunity for a simple exchange with a girl, because he never knew how to talk to them otherwise.
One wall of the elevator was constantly wallpapered with flyers posted by students for assorted reasons, like selling a microwave or looking for a weekend hiking partner. Normally Dylan ignored them, but one caught his attention. It read: "Sexuality in Session - Feeling curious? Shy? Afraid to ask important questions about your body, safe sex, and other intimidating matters? Be brave and join us for a special interactive discussion and hands-on group workshop, in a safe and nonjudgmental environment."
Dylan's mind was instantly racing with a thousand questions. What did "interactive" mean? What kind of workshop? What would they show? What would he have to do if he attended? The girl in the elevator noticed him looking at it and turned to check what he was seeing. He felt awkward and embarrassed, realizing that she was observing his interest in something of that nature. He found himself desperate for the elevator to reach the floor so he could race back to his room and hide.
The elevator rang again and the doors slid open. They both rushed out into the hall, but the girl next to him was faster so he lingered back. The elevator doors slid shut. There had been an url to follow for more information and to sign up for the session, but Dylan was afraid to copy it down in front of the girl in the elevator because he didn't want to admit that he was the type of person this flyer was targeted at. He now regretted not memorizing it. Fortunately, as he made his way down the hallway, there was another copy posted on a bulletin board. Seeing that no one was watching, Dylan grabbed it, stuffed it in his bag, and continued on his way.
Dylan soon forgot all about the flyer.
Later that evening, he had to meet with the lab partner he'd been assigned to for the semester, Gabriela, to discuss the week's assignment. Gabriela was an adorable Puerto Rican girl, with smooth, deep brown skin, big shining eyes, and a mass of beautiful brown curls on her head. She was bubbly, fun to be around, and made Dylan impossibly nervous. They lived on the same floor, and so it was convenient to meet in her dorm room for their study sessions.
He knocked on her door and she let him in. Her roommate, Erika, was often not around, so they were able to work in peace, sitting on her bed with their books and notebooks strewn about. Gabriela always played some upbeat music and had coffee ready for them to power through their work together.
"Hey Dylan!" she said, cheerfully calling him into the room.
"Hi Gabriela," he said, dumping his bag on a chair, "Sorry I'm a little late."
"No problem! How was your day?" she asked, smiling. She was always enthusiastic and asked so many questions, which was intimidating to a non-talkative person like Dylan, but she seemed to genuinely enjoy being his partner. She was one of the few girls he felt he could actually label as a friend, even though they were just partners assigned to one another. They made chit-chat for a few minutes before agreeing to start working.
"Can I just use your bathroom real quick?" Dylan asked.
"Sure," she said, "Do you have your notes from yesterday handy? I can't seem to find mine."
"Yeah, in my bag," Dylan said, hurrying to the bathroom.
The freshman bathrooms were tiny, like the bedrooms themselves. Dylan had to pee badly, but was always afraid that someone could hear him urinating inside. He sat down so he could piss silently against the inner wall of the toilet. While he finished, Dylan carefully lifted the lid of a basket across from the toilet and peeked inside. It was the first time he ventured to do this. Finding that it was a clothing hamper, he suddenly felt excitedly voyeuristic.
He imagined every morning Gabriela and Erika returning from the showers to deposit their used bras and panties in the hamper. Sitting on top was a such bra. He wasn't sure if it was Gabriela's or Erika's. He picked it up, pressed it to his nose, and inhaled. It smelled flowery, like perfume. He rummaged a bit and found someone's panties as well, with no distinguishable scent, however it was still exciting to him that these pieces of clothing had recently been touching their private parts.
Dylan quickly put everything back, carefully trying to reconstruct the contents as he found them, afraid he'd be discovered. Then he washed his hands and headed back to the bedroom. His heart sank. Gabriela had pulled everything out of his bag, looking for his notes. Sitting on top of the bag was the sexuality flyer that Dylan had grabbed and forgotten about. She had clearly seen that he'd taken it from the bulletin board.
Dylan quickly sat on the edge of the bed and began repacking the contents of his bag with things they didn't need, starting with the flyer which he tried to casually slip back inside without her seeing, but it was too late.
"Are you going to that?" she asked, curiously.
"To what?" he replied.
"That sexuality thing, I was wondering about it."
"Oh, I dunno. I just saw it earlier. I haven't looked at what it is yet."
"Okay cool. It seems like it could be interesting, so I might check it out. Maybe I'll see you there?" she said.
Dylan nodded and they got started on their lab work, saying nothing more about the flyer.
However, it gnawed at him all evening and well into the next day. He couldn't believe that Gabriela had expressed interest, let alone expressed a desire to see him there. He waffled back and forth endlessly about whether he should sign up. Deep down, he didn't want to risk the regret he would feel if she went without him and it turned out to be an experience he'd been foolish to ignore.
Finally, when Dylan's roommate wasn't around, he sat on his bed and opened his laptop to check out the site listed in the flyer. The description of the session was very vague and wasn't clear about what they'd be shown, what they'd discuss, or in what way they'd be involved in a "hands-on" workshop. It did, however, state that bringing a partner was not necessary, that they'd be paired with one at the event. Leaving so much to the imagination made Dylan very nervous, and if it wasn't for the fact that Gabriela had already expressed interest in going, he'd probably have chickened out. But secretly, he was glad she had discovered the flyer, because he wanted an excuse to go.
Dylan remembered high school health class. They'd been shown pictures of nude men and women, their bodies at different stages of development, and got to listen to the instructor talk about their private parts in detail. It was thrilling to know that he might be sitting next to Gabriela while they both watched and listened to something like that together. Perhaps she would see those pictures and imagine what his body looked like if he took off all his clothes.
The signup process had a questionnaire. It asked him for his name, age, and some personal questions about sexual behaviors, preferences, and masturbation habits. It also asked him how he felt about casual sexual encounters. It was very unnerving to fill out, but he did, and it told him that he'd successfully reserved a slot.
Dylan didn't know what he was getting into, but what was done was done.
