It had been difficult for Kelli for a while, constantly trying to live up to her parent's expectations for her future. Kelli felt that she had an obligation to them. Like most good Asian girls, she came home early, focused on her studies, and never messed around with boys. Not that she didn't want to. She did, but Kelli always worried about the potential consequences if her parents ever found out. It didn't matter that she was in college, the same rules applied. Kelli was thorough like that in just about everything she did; she wanted to be the best at whatever she was doing.
Two semesters ago, her grades started to slip. Kelli just wasn't into medicine, and as the classes became more intense, she found it hard to keep up. A friend was sleeping with the TA in her biochem class, and offered to give her copies of the exams. If the options were doing her best and that not being good enough, or cheating and not disappointing her family, the choice was clear. Kelli was getting slightly nervous that the cheating would be discovered, when her roommate Stephanie returned, and asked if she was alright. "Fine, uh...I'm fine."
"What are your plans for the summer?"
"Oh, um. Nothing really. Probably just going home to work and stuff."
"Yeah, me too. I might even..." Just then the phone in their room rang. Stephanie answered it and immediately stood straighter, and a concerned look came across her features as she stole quick glances at Kelli.
"It's for you. Dean's office," and handed Kelli the phone.
Kelli felt like she had been punched in the stomach, and took the phone.
"Yes. Yes, ok, thank you," she spoke into the phone, her voice wavering.
"Is everything alright?" Stephanie asked.
"I think so. She said there was a summer opportunity for me. Hmm. Good thing I don't have any definite plans for summer. Odd that you and I were just talking about that."
It was late spring, so Kelli didn't need any additional clothing. She had a skirt on, and a comfortable top with some cute shoes she had bought last month and a pair of socks pulled up to her knees.
"I'm going to head over there now." The walk was quick, but she needed to be by herself for a minute to think. Opportunity? That was probably just because they didn't want to say anything over the phone. She was convinced that she was ruined, and the thought began to surface that maybe she would be free of her life of constantly trying to fulfill the expectations of her family.
The secretary at the dean's office had her take a seat and wait for him to finish some other business. Five minutes later she was directed to enter his office.
There was a smaller chair in front of the desk, which he indicated she should sit in. Too scared to say anything, she did as she was told, and waited for him to say what the "opportunity" he called her was all about.
"I will get directly to the point, young lady. It has come to my attention that you have been receiving the exams, and cheating your way through your classes."
Kelli could hardly breathe, and the oiled leather and old book smell in the room seemed to be suffocating her now. She looked up at him with scared eyes, on the verge of breaking down and crying, stammering nonsensically. This was everything that she feared would happen.
"I am so disappointed in you, Kelli. You were a promising student when we accepted you and for the first two years here, you were near the top of your class and you have just thrown away every opportunity we have given you!"
Kelli was crushed; this was exactly what she imagined her father and mother would be screaming at her when she finally faced them. The Dean just kept yelling. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
She muttered at first, trying to think of something that could get her out of the situation she was in.
"Well, Kelli. Your record here suggests that you were a model student before this was brought to our attention. You should still know that does not excuse what you have done. The customary thing to do is to make an example of you, to deter students from making these mistakes in the future. It seems several students know of your transgression, and I am under a lot of pressure to punish you."
"Isn't there anything I can do?" She was nearly frantic at this point, on the verge of yelling.
"There are some choices to be made, but maybe there is still something we can do. The first, and most obvious course of action is to begin the expulsion paperwork and notify your parents." She let out a small whimper, almost involuntarily at the mention of her nightmare. "Or, you work with me to find a way to avoid that unpleasant outcome." She looked up into his eyes, pleading, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"You know that tuition has been increasing year after year, and there are a large number of students who would be willing to volunteer in order to pay down some of their fees. This is a very serious commitment, Kelli. It will take all summer, and you will probably not have the opportunity to see or even speak to your family." That would be difficult to get past her parents, but if it would prevent her from being expelled, she would have to find a way.
The Dean did call her parents, but rather than telling them that she was expelled, he outlined the program, detailed why Kelli had been chosen, and gave them a few reasons why they should support her in this challenging work. They were not supportive at first, but in the end, they agreed. Kelli could not believe it.
The day had been such a complete roller coaster. On the way back to her room, she thought about what had happened since that morning. The dean had been incredibly supportive. Before she left, he had given her an envelope with some information about the program she would need when it started after the weekend. Most of the other students would be gone by then, it might be nice to have the campus to herself for a change.
The information in the folder instructed her to go to one of the old houses on campus for a meet-up Monday afternoon. The other participants in the program would probably be there and whatever faculty advisor runs the program. She spent the weekend relaxing, catching up on some of her favorite programs, thinking about the amazing opportunity she had been given.
The meet-up started just as she expected, there were snacks and drinks, and there were a few people she already knew there. She was surprised to see her roommate, Stephanie, there. "I thought you were packing up and leaving, girl?"
"I didn't want to say anything about the program, in case you weren't accepted. You know how you get, super competitive and stuff. Here, take this drink and relax, we don't really start until tomorrow anyway, this is just for fun, and to get to know one another. I'm going to get another drink, I'll be right back. In the meantime, why don't you talk to that guy over there, I think he was checking you out." She giggled as she went to the bar to grab another drink. Kelli was still out of sorts from the ordeal of the cheating scandal. She downed the drink Stephanie had given her, and checked out the guy she was talking about.
He was cute, she thought. He looked well built, and taller than she was. He was talking to a group of people, but he kept looking back at her. Stephanie returned with two drinks, gave one to Kelli and started giggling again. "I told you he was checking you out. He's kinda hot."
Kelli agreed, but she had promised herself to stick to her principles after she was nearly caught. It was a good thing Stephanie brought another drink because she was pretty thirsty. They mingled and talked with the other guests, and as they kept drinking, they danced and generally were having a good time. She was definitely buzzed by the time he came over with more drinks.
Kelli had never really been with a guy before, the farthest she had ever gone was feeling one of the boys through his pants before she became too scared and backed off. Kelli and Stephanie had danced together in the past, they had even kissed to tease the boys at some of the parties they had been to. Feeling good about herself, she wanted to loosen up just a bit. The drinks were helping. Unfortunately, some of the university types took that time to make some speeches about service and how much this or that alumni group did for the school.
Stephanie grabbed her hand, and started to pull her out of the room by a side door. The cute guy had Stephanie's other hand, and he took them down the hall and upstairs to some kind of sitting room. It had couches and a couple of chairs; the walls were lined with books. Once they were inside, he closed the door behind them, and went over to the stereo and began playing music. Stephanie laughed, put her hands on Kelli's hips and started swaying to the music. He turned the blinds on the windows, and took a seat at the edge of the sofa and watched as they moved together. He was clearly getting excited by their little show, and that made her feel very sexy. She didn't resist when Stephanie began to lick at her lips, and kissed her back softly and slowly. As the kissing became more and more intense, both girls were trying to steal glances at him.
At first, he just watched with a slight smile, but they made a point of rubbing their tongues together in the tight space between their lips, and making eye contact with him. He shifted in his seat a little, the growing bulge in his pants the cause of his discomfort. Stephanie started using her hands to rub Kelli's thighs and hips. He let out a soft moan and began rubbing himself through his pants which made both girls excited to see. Stephanie pulled at Kelli's hand again, and brought her over to the couch, sitting next to him. He kept staring intently at the two of them, lust clearly written all over him. It made Kelli a little wet to make him writhe like that.
