Hip To Be Square

Five minutes later, and she was walking into the common room and giving the door a good slam. "What's wrong?" Katrina asked, looking up from her chessboard. "Did your date not go well?" Karen, who was playing white, looked equally upset, and not just because she'd just realized she had left herself open for a Siberian Trap.

"Oh, it went fine," Kim said angrily, "so long as you don't mind the fact that Darren was behaving like a microcephalic Neanderthal!" She stomped angrily past the chess game, fighting the urge to kibitz. "I swear, boys around here can be so...so...unenlightened!"

"I don't know," Nicole said from the couch, not looking up from her copy of 'Brave New World'. "I was talking with Marvin Dolenz from Epsilon Rho Rho yesterday after Trig, and he seemed to really respect my intelligence. He even liked my new shirt--you know, the one that says 'Physicists Do It With Uniform Harmonic Motion'?" Katrina let out an involuntary snort of laughter at that, but Kim's irritation was too dense to be moved by simplistic double entendres.

"Sorry," she said, "but the whole situation just left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm in no mood for conversation. I don't want to be rude, but do you mind if I just head up to my room?" The other girls nodded sympathetically, and Kim went upstairs.

She opened her door to find Jen on her bed, nude and idly pinching her nipples with her right hand while she held a book in the left. Kim was furious to notice that it was the brand-new copy of 'The Story of O' she'd bought just three days ago. "Hey!" she said, feeling what she knew was an irrational surge of jealousy towards the book. "Do you mind?"

Jen looked over at her, a sheepish grin on her face. "Sorry," she said. "I know I should have bought my own, but--"

Kim rolled her eyes at her room-mate's familiar excuse, her anger fading. "I know, all property is theft. I just hope you'll remember that when I borrow your shoes tomorrow." She started kicking off her clothes, still feeling the pent-up sexual energy of the disastrous date and eager to release it. "Can I have the book back?" she asked. "I wanted to do a little light reading before bed."

"Awww," Jen sighed. "I was really getting to a good bit." She shifted position on the bed a little, leaving space on her left. "Tell you what," she said. "We're both fast readers, and there's room enough for two. Just lie down next to me, and we can share the book." Jen grinned. "After all, I think we're both mature enough to handle close physical contact in an intimate situation without feeling uncomfortable, don't you?"

Kim wasn't entirely sure about the truth of that particular conjecture, but she was horny and in no mood to argue. She finished shucking off her outfit and lay down on the bed to Jen, her hands already gently roaming over her own breasts. For several long moments, the silence was broken by nothing but soft, heavy breathing and the sound of pages turning.

Finally, Jen spoke. "Kim," she said. "I've been, um...I've been doing some reading on...alternative sexuality."

Kim was suddenly very aware of the feel of Jen's hip pressed against her own. "Uh-huh?" she said, prompting the other girl to continue.

"And it's a well-known fact that..." Jen turned her head to look directly at Kim, and Kim felt soft breath in her ear. The tickling, whispery sensation sent a chill down her spine. "That, um, experimenting with alternative sexuality is perfectly natural for women in academic situations. It doesn't have to mean you're, you know, lesbian, or even bisexual. It just means you have a..." Jen shifted her leg, tracing her toe up the curve of Kim's calf. "A healthy attitude towards your own sensuality."

Kim shivered. "I've..." Her voice was thick, husky. It was hard to talk. She rested her hand gently on Jen's belly, feeling the other girl's warmth against her palm. "I've read the same thing."

Jen shifted the book to her right hand. It made it a little harder for Kim to read, but it meant that Jen didn't have to reach across her own body to slide her fingers down to Kim's soaking cunt. Kim exhaled softly, her own fingers brushing a trail down between Jen's thighs.

Jen seemed to have whole new ways to touch her, and Kim tried very hard to keep track of what she was doing for later reference as she felt the pleasure build. She hoped that she was demonstrating just as many interesting new techniques to the other girl. It certainly felt like she was; the warm, wet, slick feel of Jen's pussy clenching around her fingers was almost indescribably exciting. She felt like they were working together as a single mind, each one's fingers flicking the other closer to orgasm, each one's moans inspiring the other to new heights of ecstasy. They even had to work together to read the book--Jen held, while Kim turned the pages.

Until the second or third orgasm, at least. Then they set the book aside for a little while.

*****

Kim nodded animatedly. "I loved that series!" she said. "Niven is one of the best of the hard science fiction authors. You can really tell that he puts the effort into designing a coherent worldview for his stories; not just the physics, but the cultures, the ideas, all of it supporting the central structure. Plus, between you and me," she said, lowering her voice a little, "I always loved the idea of the tasp."

She watched Greg's eyes widen, and she smiled inside. Everything was going just according to plan. Of course, she probably could have gotten sex with Greg just by walking up to him after Calc and dragging him off to a supply closet; she was pretty sure, from his body language, that he was sexually inexperienced. But she didn't just want to screw him, she wanted to build a relationship founded on mutual respect. That meant a different sort of flirting, one that relied on the arts of conversation and a shared system of common interests and values. It meant patience, and Kim was happy to be patient if it meant getting a better class of partner.

Greg was definitely a better class of partner than the men she'd been dating. He was bright, for one thing. She'd never really noticed it before (primarily because she'd never paid attention to anything in Calculus class until a couple of weeks ago, but now the dance of numbers was as familiar and as beautiful to her as ballet.) But he was genuinely intelligent, perhaps even something of a genius. She had to admit, the thought of spending time with a kindred spirit, one whose intellect was equal, even superior to her own...it was breath-taking.

His social skills weren't the match of his pure intelligence, of course. She suspected he had a mild, undiagnosed autistic-spectrum condition. But Kim felt certain that with a little bit of careful social conditioning, she could help build up his self-esteem and help him make a few changes in his life. All of which would, in the long run, be beneficial to him...as well as make him more appealing to the opposite sex. She looked forward to introducing him to Jen. The two of them had already reached some firm conclusions about the viability of a polyamorous relationship.

Her train of thought was rudely interrupted when Darren walked up between them, angling his shoulders to shove Greg aside in a manner that was obviously intentional. "Watch where you're going, nerd," he said contemptuously. "You nearly rubbed your slime all over my girlfriend."

Kim's eyes narrowed. Push around Greg, would he? "Girlfriend? We went on two dates, Darren, and frankly, I was too drunk to exercise proper judgment on one of them. Can't you find some girl who still finds your testosterone-crazed attitude attractive?"

Darren looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong with you, babe? You're talking like one of those geeks or something."

Kim put her hands on her hips. "Those 'geeks', as you call them, are going to wind up running things once we get out of college! Look at Bill Gates. Look at Steve Jobs. They were just like Greg in college, too bright to fit in with inebriated simians like you, and now they have more money than someone like you could even count!" She was furious now, but she could see Greg staring at her in awe from behind Darren, and that made her swell with pride as she continued.

"Men like you, you're pissing away thousands of dollars in education and counting on the outdated, oligarchic fraternity system and its connections to keep you from failure when you reach the outside world! What are you going to do for a career, Darren? Get your Greek buddies to find you some middle management job, spend your life giving reach-arounds to every Delta who asks? Thanks, but I think I can do better."

Darren was flushed bright red with anger. She thought for a moment he was going to try to hit her, and she almost looked forward to applying her studies of aikido, but instead he just growled out, "Your loss, babe," and turned around, stalking off. No doubt looking for some poor freshman girl to impress with his physical endowments. Thanks all the same, but Kim wasn't that shallow.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" she asked Greg. He shook his head. Kim suspected his pride was a little stung by having a female defend him from an obvious 'alpha male', but that wouldn't last, if for no other reason than Kim planned to raise his consciousness a little on the subject of patriarchal hegemony.

After all, if she was going to spend the rest of her life with Greg, she wanted to make sure he was a suitable life partner.

*****

Kim walked into the common room, a spring in her step. "Guess what?" she said. "I have a study date with Greg tomorrow night!"

Katrina was on the phone with her new beau, Bert Kramden from Epsilon, and Delia was talking to a plain-looking girl that Kim didn't recognize, but several of the other girls gave Kim enthusiastic cheers. She plopped down on a chair, saying, "Knight to King's Rook Four" in passing to Sarah, and gave a big smile. And not just because she'd just forked Sarah's queen in the mental chess game they'd been playing for the past four days, either. She had big plans for that study date.

On the couch, she overheard Delia say, "...not trying to make excuses for my behavior, Sandy. Yes, the 'pledging' system is designed to be an emotionally intense bonding process, and when I went through it myself, I was indoctrinated to pass on the values of the group to new initiates, but that doesn't mean my behavior was anything but abominable. I focused in on your appearance not because you're ugly, but because in my cruelty, I saw that as a point of psychological vulnerability in you, and I'm so glad you were willing to take the time to let me apologize."

Good for her, Kim thought. That should clear up some of her karmic debt. Kim wasn't sure whether the sorority house was the best place to hold such a conversation, though; Sandy undoubtedly felt more than a little threatened by the setting of her past humiliation. But the act of contrition was the important thing. Kim had already spent several afternoons going to various girls on campus and apologizing for her behavior, and nothing had ever felt so cathartic. Delia would probably be a lot more pleasant to be around now that she'd come to terms with her previous aberrant behavior. Then again, all the girls had been a lot more pleasant to be around lately.

After a few hours of light debate on current affairs and world events, though, Kim was more than ready to head upstairs. It wasn't that she was upset; she could see the virtues of Nicole's position on the euro. But to suggest that the European Union could be used as a model for Africa overlooked a lot of serious issues with the reliability of trade relations in unstable countries, and Kim wasn't ready to hash them out just yet. Instead, she decided to go and tell Jen the good news about Greg.

When she opened the door, she found Karen tied spread-eagled to the bed. Jen was standing over her, holding a riding crop and slapping it gently but firmly against Karen's pussy. "Oh, hi!" she said. "I was hoping you'd be coming up soon. We've been doing a little bit of reading on sadomasochism and the D/s relationship, and we know you have some really fascinating ideas on the subject." Karen let out a little squeal as the crop smacked down just a little harder on one stroke, but otherwise stayed silent.

"Oh, I do!" Kim said, her eyes alight as she began to swiftly remove her clothing. She didn't bother closing the door; by this point, most of the girls had at least expressed a passing interest in Kim's growing erotic library, and a live demonstration would probably be more intriguing than offensive. Besides, Kim suspected she had a bit of an exhibitionist streak, and not just because the social conditioning of Phi Gamma Beta encouraged a sexually open style of dress. "If I'd have known you were engaged in this, I would have come up sooner. But Nicole was holding court downstairs, and..."

"Not the euro again?" Karen asked, before her eyes went wide and she pursed her lips.

"Oh," Jen said, a gleam in her eyes, "that's speaking out of turn, Karen. We established the rules. You know what happens when you speak out of turn."

Karen's eyes widened with fear, but she didn't safeword as Jen loosened the ropes. Kim half-suspected she'd spoken out of turn on purpose, as so many submissives did. Jen flipped the other girl over on the bed, exposing her naked bottom to the air. It was already glowing a dull red from previous strokes of the crop. Kim definitely regretted debating the euro now. She made no apologies for her high sex drive; shame was just part of the 'virgin/whore' dichotomy, and Jen refused to lower her own self-esteem because she indulged her natural urges. She felt her pussy lubricating as she watched Karen wriggle. Definitely time to indulge an urge or two.

"You know you have to count for me, Karen," Jen said, smacking the crop down hard.

"ooone," Karen moaned out, squirming under the crop. Kim reached over to her dresser, and grabbed an ostrich feather that she'd bought a few days ago from off of it.

"twoohhh..." Kim heard the wavery pleasure in Karen's voice and thought that the girl might be a true submissive. Kim and Jen were both switches, and Katrina next door seemed perfectly happy to top them both whenever they were in the mood, but adding a sub opened all sorts of new possibilities.

Like this, she thought, tickling the soles of Karen's feet with the feather while Jen whipped her. The response was definitely gratifying.

*****

Kimberly knocked on the open door of Professor Wanderly's office. "Hi," he said. "Door's open."

She walked inside, and closed it behind her. "Um, Professor," she said. This felt awkward to her, even a little shameful, but she needed to just do it and get it over with. "I know I've had some, um, troubles with Drama 101."

"Well, yes," Professor Wanderly replied, "but your work's improved a lot over the last two weeks. I don't think you'll have any problem passing the class."

"I know," she said, looking down at the floor. "But I was really hoping for a better grade than I can get just by doing well on the remaining classwork. I, um...I know it's irregular, maybe even a little presumptuous." She steeled herself, and looked him square in the eyes. "But could I, um, maybe do a little extra credit work for you?"

Professor Wanderly had a cynical, knowing look in his eyes. She didn't blame him. He probably got this sort of thing all the time. And it really wasn't fair. By the rules of his classroom, the social contract he'd established at the beginning of the semester, she had earned a B-minus fairly and squarely. Then again, she thought, nobody else had ever come up with the 'extra credit' ideas she had. "What did you have in mind?" he asked drily.

"Well," she said, "I was thinking about doing a comprehensive presentation to the class on the state of drama in Gainesville--not just here on campus, but in the community. I know that we're really better known for our independent music than for our drama, but the ART and the GCP are doing some really interesting things lately, and I thought that if I interviewed some of the directors, maybe made it into a multi-media presentation, I could get some of the kids excited about the theater scene here." She realized she was on the verge of babbling, and forced herself to stop. "What do you think, sir?" she asked.

Professor Wanderly sounded almost disappointed when he said, "Good idea."

*****

"Alright, Greg," Kimberly said, standing on the threshold of Epsilon Rho Rho. A half-dozen other Phi Gamma Beta girls stood behind her. "We want to know what you're doing to us, and we want to know now."

Greg's eyes widened. "I, um...I don't know what you're talking about, Kimberley, honey. We're, I mean I'm not doing anything."

Kimberly sighed. "Greg, there are seventeen distinctive signifiers in vocal inflection and body language that indicate a lie. You just managed to trip thirteen of them. Please give us some credit for the intelligence you put into our head and be honest with us."

Greg's shoulders slumped. "Alright," he said. "It's...it's in the basement." He led them through the common room. A number of Epsilons waved to their girlfriends, but one look at Greg and their friendly smiles turned into frowns of despair.

The device was massive, practically the size of a car. It hummed with strange energies, occasionally letting out a loud beep as lights flashed across its central display. "We...we figured that the reason none of you girls looked twice at us was that you just couldn't understand what it was like to be interested in something other than sex or clothes. So we came up with something that we thought might make you into better girlfriends. You know," he said. "More compatible."

"I see," Kimberly said through pursed lips. "Is it reversible? If you turn it off, will the effects go away?"

Greg glared at her defiantly. "No," he said. "You're stuck like this. And I'm not sorry, either. You're a better person now than you ever were as that fucking bimbo 'Kimmie'. I--"

"I agree," Kimberly said.

"--wouldn't reverse it even if I could, because...huh?"

"I said, I agree." Kimberly looked at the device with something approaching reverence. "You have no idea how happy I am, how many new worlds you've opened up for me. You misunderstand us, Greg. We didn't come here to ask you to reverse the effect. We just want to hear you explain how it works."

"Oh!" Greg smiled as though the weight of the world was off his shoulders. "Well, you know how neurons are thought to be amitotic, right?" Kimberly nodded. "Well, some of the latest research actually points to the idea that adult neurogenesis is possible. Naturally, this has a number of applications for intelligence increase, but it's not just a matter of growing extra brain tissue and hoping for the best. You see..."

Kimberly and the other girls listened, impressed by Greg's genius. Truly, creating a machine like this took a one-of-a-kind intellect. She was right about him, right in every way.

Duplicating it, on the other hand, would be child's play for her and the other girls. She started to form a checklist in her head. Darren first; as a physical specimen, he was far superior to Greg, and with sufficient mental upgrades, he was bound to lose his male-dominated egotism. Then, perhaps, some of the other Deltas--Delia had insisted that Jake was excellent in bed, and a little study of the Kama Sutra could only improve that. After that, who knew? So many yummy guys, so little time.

Which wasn't to say she'd abandon Greg. He was, after all, a nice guy. But he'd need to learn how to deal with a little healthy competition if he wanted to stay the smartest guy on the block.

THE END