"Are you ready, Cindy?" April asked me, her blue eyes ice-cold as she stared hard at me. My stomach was a mess of butterflies; here I was, Ms. Cindy Longsford, little miss nobody...about to take the initiation of one of the most popular all-girl fraternities on my college campus. I fidgeted in my chair, and looked around me at the four Alpha Omega Alpha leaders. All of them were looking at me expectantly, and they all wore the same odd smile on their faces. I swallowed hard, and gave my answer. "Yes, I'm ready."
"First of all, by the Alpha Omega Alpha law, none of what goes on here will be disclosed to anyone else. You cannot tell your teachers, your friends, or your family. If one word gets out, you are automatically expelled from the fraternity, and also we will do everything in our power to have you expelled from this college as well. Do you understand this?"
"I do." I wondered if my voice sounded as squeaky and nervous to them as it did to my own ears, but I didn't dare ask. April gave the other girls a secretive smile, and then turned back to me. If there was one person on this campus I wanted to be, it was April Wallace. She had it all: rich and traditional family pedigree, natural beauty and athleticism, and the brains enough to make her one of the top of her class. All the girls at our school envied her long blonde hair, her incredible body, and her beefy football boyfriend that she seemed to have wrapped around her little finger. But just because she was envied didn't mean she was perfect; April had a reputation for being the "College Bitch". Even with that reputation, I would have traded lives with her in a heartbeat. Better to be "Ms. Popular Bitch" than to be the "Ms. Plain Jane" I'd been for my high school years. I realized they were all waiting for me to do something, and guiltily flushed because I hadn't been paying attention. "I'm sorry...what was that?"
"I told you to take off your clothes." The command was sharp and left no room for debate. My mouth must have fell open, for one of the other girls began to snicker. I hesitated, and that hesitation didn't go unchallenged by April. "Look, Cindy, we're giving you the opportunity of a lifetime here," she practically growled. "If you're not serious about being an Alpha Omega Alpha, then get the fuck out. But if you are serious, then take off your damn clothes. It's that simple."
"N-No, wait, I'll do it," I was hasty to amend. I brought my shaking hands up to the buttons of my blouse. April and her girls followed the rapidly exposing strip of skin until the last button came free. I took off my blouse, then fumbled with the zipper of my skirt. Slipping the sheath free of my legs, I stood there before them in my bra and my panties. The room was cool, raising instant goosebumps. I realized to my horror that my nipples were also reacting to the temperature, their centers raising to press against the white satin cups that hid them. April arched her eyebrows. "Did we tell you to leave your underwear on? Lose them."
My face flushed scarlet with embarrassment. Did every Alpha Omega Alpha have to do this? Was this some sort of cruel joke on me? I'd never even undressed in a locker room in front of other women, much less now, in this dorm room, with these four popular girls staring me from head to toe. But, this was the initiation, and if they wanted me to do it...I brought my hands behind my back, unclasped my bra, and slid it from my body. Hooking my thumbs in the elastic waist of my underwear, I closed my eyes, and slid them down in one quick motion. I kept my eyes shut as I stepped free of them, and fought the urge to cover myself. I've never been a buxom girl, more on the skinny side. My legs always seemed a little too long, my breasts too small, my butt too flat. I was proud of the muscular tone my body had, and the tan my skin naturally seemed to keep year-round, but other than that I felt like an idiot exposing myself. Someone in the room murmured something too low for my ears, causing another girl to giggle.
Then I heard the click and whirr of a Polaroid camera, my eyes flying open just a second too late to prevent the picture from being taken. "Why are you doing this?" I shrieked, and jumped at April, who was removing the incriminating photo from the camera at that moment. Two of the other girls held me back as April triumphantly held up the picture. "Now Cindy, this is what the true initiation is. None of that "expelled" from college crap. If you don't do what we want you to, this picture will be copied and handed to every teacher and student in the school. So unless you WANT everyone to know what you look like without your undies...I suggest you pay attention."
"This is blackmail!" I was outraged at their trickery. My naked body racked with anger, I stood there and glared at the four of them. "All right, damn you. What do you want from me?"
"Get to your knees, Cindy," April purred. "I want to see you beg." She handed the picture to another girl and waited for me to obey. My teeth clenched in rage, I dropped to my knees and glared up at her. Smiling silkily, she walked over to me. "I like your hair. It's such a pretty shade of black." She rested her fingers on my head, stroking the long tresses lightly. "Don't you think it's pretty, girls?"
"Please, April-" I was begging now, pleading at her with every ounce of hope pouring from my eyes. "I am begging you. I'm pleading with you. Let me go, and give me the picture, and I'll never bother your fraternity again."