This is an adult story.
It is not for children, or young pets.
It does not represent anything that has ever been done, nor should it ever be tried.
If you are not interested in adult material, please hang up now.
Please do not reprint this anywhere without asking me first.
You have been WARNED.
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Dedicated to Celina, to help her see me better.
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Chapter I
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Renee stepped carefully into the dorm room, tired after a long day of classes. Her mood was sour, and coming back to this hovel of a "home" wasn't helping. Everywhere she looked her gaze met junk. Specifically, her roommate's junk.
Elisa was a total slob. She always had been messy and planned to continue the tradition. Actually, "planned" was too strong a word. Slovenliness just followed Elisa around like a dusk shadow, always looming, always visible. Of course, she'd tried to clean up her act, so to speak. She had frustrated friends, family, lovers, and now roommates with her inability to keep a tidy place. Or even a passable place. Instead, clothes would be piled up, dishes would be undone, papers, pencils, and books strewn about. It was hopeless, but she did try. The last thing she needed was Renee to point it out--again!
Renee never minded pointing out other people's flaws, especially if they inconvenienced her. She could be cutting, nasty and short tempered-- and was very comfortable with it. She was one of those people that enjoyed the look on another's face when she put them down, demeaned them, or otherwise made them miserable. A night out on the town didn't compare with her satisfaction in crushing someone's spirit, especially Elisa's.
Elisa had proved very easy to push around. Her tendency towards disorder, to put it mildly, only made her more of a target for Renee's abuse. There was always something about Elisa that Renee could make an issue of, and Elisa generally favored Renee with enjoyable reactions-- pain, discomfort, anger, frustration. All of the ineffective emotions of an ineffective woman with no more organization to her emotions than you would find in her closet.
This was about to change.
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Elisa looked at herself in the mirror. "Ugh," she mumbled as she tried to maneuver her hairbrush through the tangles in her shoulder-length auburn hair. The face in the mirror looked just the slightest bit dazed, her wide, child-like gray eyes like smoky marbles under an inch of water.
"Ah, shit," Elisa cursed, nostrils flairing. She had half a mind to cut it all off.
From behind her, she heard a soft chuckle. Glancing sideways into the mirror, Elisa followed Renee's progress up to the glass, watched her long slender, perfectly manicured fingers grip her favorite brush and smooth her already perfect, blonde mane. Renee's hands moved with practiced grace as Elisa looked on, bitterly, angrily.
"Problems, 'Lise?" Renee cooed, smirking. "Maybe if you occasionally had someone other then Floyd the Barber cut your hair, it wouldn't be so difficult. But probably not."
"Thanks, Renee. I can always count on you for a kind word." Elisa quipped, engaging in her ritually frustrating rebuttals. This time, however, she smiled a broad smile, catching Renee a bit off guard.
"Hey, Renee, did you ever try virtual reality?"
Renee stopped, puzzled. "You mean the games where you have to put on a big helmet and look like a total dork? Uh, no. I don't
think
so," snipped Renee.
Ignoring the jibe, Elisa pressed on, "Actually, I have a friend who is working on a really sophisticated model that you'd swear was reality. I tried it and pretended I was going to Paris. I could completely believe that I was there. It was wild. AND, you'll like this part, it's been reduced to a small pair of designer sunglasses and earbuds. Won't leave any creases on your perfect 'do."
Renee turned to look at Elisa, "And exactly why do I care?"
"Well, You don't have to. I was just asking. Damn. If you don't want to try it, don't. It's only going to be the biggest thing and you'll pass up your chance," Elisa taunted, hoping to sucker Renee.
"Come on, dear. You can do better than that. Why do you want me to try it?" Renee asked.
Elisa, trying to contain her anxiety, let her emotions do the work, and lucked into just the right response. She got mad. "I don't. Forget it. Really, I don't know why I brought it up."
Renee laughed at her, "Aww, poor little 'lise. Am I getting under your skin? You are SUCH a baby. And so easy to see through. But, you know, it sounds like a lark and I have some time before my date. Let's go see your little toy."
Elisa was seething, but she held it back. It would be worth seeing how easy she would be to see through an hour from now. "OK, fine. But you have to listen to me and do just what I say or no deal."
"Whatever," Renee answered, not interested in her demands. "I'm going to really give it to her if this VR stuff sucks," Renee thought, grinning, "And I'm sure it will if it's Elisa's. Probably doesn't work to save her life. This could be fun..."
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The two women walked down to Bonnie's lab. Bonnie had been Elisa's long time friend and since Elisa's recent change of heart, her lover as well. Renee had always hated the idea of same-sex relationships and Elisa was very careful to keep this one from her, lest she make her life even more difficult than she already managed to do. Elisa walked in, knocking furtively on the lab door.
"Bonnie? It's 'Lise. You here?" called Elisa timidly.
"Over here," replied Bonnie, a statuesque, but ungainly brunette. Bonnie could have been beautiful, if she cared one whit for living the role. She had a beautiful body, clean, china doll face, and piercing blue eyes. Her long legs were only outdone by her 1000-watt smile, when she chose to flash it. She tended to whenever Elisa came around, and now was no different.
"Hi 'Lise!" Bonnie chirped, "How's it going?"
"I'm good, Bon. This is my roommate, Renee. I've mentioned her before," Elisa said, a bit unsteadily.
Bonnie's eyes turned to Renee, focusing uncomfortably on the woman her lover had complained about for months. The conversations about her abuses had become one of the driving forces behind Bonnie's decision to help Elisa's plan come to fruition. Her open distain for lesbians was just icing on the cake.
"Hello, Renee. Elisa's told me SO much about you," Bonnie intoned, keeping her feelings out of it for the moment.
"Oh?" Renee smiled, turning curiously to Elisa, "she hasn't mentioned you at all."
"No," said Bonnie discomfortingly, "I don't expect she has." Bonnie turned to Elisa expectantly, "Are we ready?"
"I think so," breathed Elisa. "Renee, where would you like to go, virtually?"
"Hmm," she mused, "I've always wanted to go to Tokyo. Can you manage that with this...thing?"