Raven Stone Academy

“So, care to finally explain everything, Jessi?” Bridgette asked as she made herself more comfortable on her bed. She wrapped her arms around Sam and they cuddled and waited for Jessi’s explanation.

“Sure,” said Jessi. She eyed the couple for a bit before eyeing Mat who was leaning against Bridgette’s desk. Jessi sat herself down on one of the chairs in Bridgette’s dormitory as she readied to speak. “I, Jessi Traurigkeit, am a spy for the noble Sorrowsworn house of California. I came to this academy searching for information on one Emilia Sorrowsworn. She is the wife of the current head of the family, Claudius Sorrowsworn.”

“You work for the Sorrowsworns?!” Mat was genuinely surprised. “They’re more prestigious than the Deverauxs!”

“It would be safe to say they’re more prestigious than the Dackermans and the Deverauxs combined,” said Jessi. “But as of late, the Sorrowsworns have been making very questionable financial decisions. Some border on controversial.”

“It’s everywhere on the news,” said Bridgette. “What I find hilarious is how quickly some of the decisions are overridden. It’s as if there’s some kind of power struggle going on in the family.”

“You’d be right,” Jessi confirmed. “The source of all the questionable decisions made by the Sorrowsworns comes from Emilia Sorrowsworn. She wormed her way into the family through an arranged marriage and has been determined to take it over ever since. She’s used the family’s wealth for questionable transactions, but since she was not part of the family initially, she can put the blame on someone else and come out completely free from harm. It could mean the end of a once mighty family.”

“All it takes is one bad word to ruin someone’s reputation,” said Sam. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re looking for that bad word with regards to Emilia.”

“Yes. If we can just find something to condemn her with, we can get the Sorrowsworn family back on track,” said Jessi. “The family has searched long and hard for something to use against her, but she is a master at covering her tracks. A single slip of hers is what led the Sorrowsworns to here. It is believed that she attended Raven Stone Academy. Considering this prestigious school keeps records of every student, there is a chance that there is information here that can be used against her.”

“But as you said, there is no guarantee,” said Bridgette. “For all you know, this could just be a fruitless hunt.”

“It could be…” Jessi agreed. “But there’s also a chance that it won’t be. Anyway, that’s all there is to it. Whether you help me or not, I am going to continue to look for information on this woman.”

“If she’s part of the Sorrowsowrn family, no wonder it needs to be kept a secret,” said Mat. “Someone like her could easily purge any information if she gets wind of your snooping. I’d even hazard to say she can even purge you and anyone else involved.”

“That’s it exactly. I’ve desperately wanted to ask for help, but the last thing I ever wanted to do was get any of you involved,” Jessi sighed. “At this rate however, it seems getting you involved is the only way to go. I don’t have many options left. I sort of ran into a wall…”

“And what wall would that be?” Bridgette asked.

“I’ve broken into the database in both the elementary and high school wings,” answered Jessi. “Though I found nothing, I discovered that the security in both places were quite light. That all changed when I broke into the college wing. There were so many cameras compared to either wing. I managed to get past them and reached the lecture hall, but that’s as far as I got. The moment I stepped into one of the halls, an alarm rang. That immediately ended my attempt as I was left to avoid incoming security all the way until I got out of the college wing.”

“I could have told you that, Jessi,” said Mat. “The college wing is where the most mischief happens. You know how college students are. They have that place locked down tight so that no one can break in or do something illegal. The lecture hall is the most impressive. The whole place is littered with motion detectors. If it’s night time, you can’t step in there without ringing an alarm. I’m surprised you not only managed to escape, but also cover your tracks. The security squads in Raven Stone aren’t your typical pushovers. How’d you do it?”

“Because she’s a fucking badass!” Sam said excitedly. “You’re the real deal, aren’t you, Jessi? You’re a spy!”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Jessi felt a little embarrassed. “I’m just a person trying to do a good deed for a good family.”

“If you can’t sneak in at night, I see where this is going…” Bridgette assumed to the confusion of everyone except Jessi.

“Perceptive as ever, I see,” Jessi smiled.

“Can one of you care to explain?” Mat asked.

“Jessi needs to do it during the day,” said Bridgette. She clutched Sam a little tighter before she continued. “The only way for you to enter the database is during the day since the motion sensors won’t be on. But how are you going to even do that? You need to break into the teachers’ lounge and get past the principal’s office without a single person seeing you. Breaking in would be easy at night, but not in the morning. I know what you want to do, Jessi. The question is: What are you going to do for me?”

“What? Bridgette, you’re not making any sense,” Mat said in confusion.

“She wants me to become student council president,” Bridgette enlightened her brother.

“Of course!” Mat hit his fist against his palm with a smile. “The student council president has access to the teachers’ lounge! All you have to do is wait until after school when it’s empty and get Jessi in before the sensors come on line. Teachers tend to stay on campus for a bit, so they don’t boot them up until all of them are out. That’ll give you a pretty decent window of time. There’s still the problem of teachers being in the lounge, though. There’s also the worst case scenario where the principal might still be in the office. ”

“All in due time,” said Brigette. “Let’s worry about this one step at a time. Besides, we can easily get the teachers and even the principal out with a simple diversion.”

“I hate to be the bearer of more bad news…” Sam joined the conversation. “But you have an undetermined window of time to break into the principal’s office and access the database. Depending on when everyone decides to get out, the school security could activate the sensors anywhere between fifteen minutes to an hour. Tell me, Jessi, how long would it take for you to bypass the password so that you can even access the files? Even then, how long would it take you to download it all?”

“Hah… at least an hour… I’m no good at breaching…” Jessi said with a bit of defeat in her voice.

“I can get you those files in five minutes,” said Sam. “Let me do it. That’s what you meant by me helping you, right?”

“Yes, if you’re willing,” said Jessi. “If you and Bridgette do this for me, I’ll be in your debt for all of eternity.”

“I don’t know, Jessi,” said Bridgette. “That doesn’t seem like a solid payment.”

“Are you kidding me, Bridgette?!” Mat questioned.

“Think about the consequences, Mathias,” said Bridgette. “If we were caught, it’s not just bad for Jessi, it’ll be bad for us as well. Our family name would be soiled beyond belief. It’s too risky. I hate to say it, but I can’t endanger my family, Jessi Traurigkeit. Though we argue and have our fair share of disagreements, I still love them.”

“I love my family too!” Jessi yelled. She covered her mouth immediately after the slip.

“Wait… I thought you were just a spy with a made up identity?” Sam asked. “Are you telling me that everything you’ve told me about your past is… real? Because if that’s the case, you mentioned that you got a servant from your estate to teach you how to fight. If you have servants…”

“You’re a Sorrowsworn…” Mat announced the revelation despite everyone discovering it simultaneously. “I wondered how a spy could be so motivated. I couldn’t believe that you would go through this entire task even if you were getting paid handsomely. That’s not the reason at all. It’s because you’re a Sorrowsworn, aren’t you?”

“No! I’m just…”

“You just said you cared for your family as well,” Bridgette stopped Jessi mid-sentence. “There’s no point in denying it.”

“No! You have it all wrong!” said Jessi. “What I meant was… Claudius Sorrowsworn is a very kind and honorable man. He treats his servants as if they are his own blood. That is why I consider him my family. It’s… it’s the only family I’ve known.”

The room was silent. While both Sam and Mat were speechless, Bridgette looked skeptical. “Hmm…” was all that escaped out of Bridgette’s lips before she began to whisper to Sam.

Jessi tilted her head in curiosity as the two women shared hidden words. She looked to Mat who was busy minding his own business and avoiding eye contact with everyone. When he finally looked her way, she motioned her head towards the two on the bed. It was a motion that asked Mat if he knew what they were secretly talking about. To Jessi’s dismay, Mat simply shrugged his shoulders and looked away once more. Learning that she had to find the answer herself, Jessi prepared to speak. “Um…”

“Jessi,” Bridgette beat her to speech. “I’ve decided to help you because Sam is insistent I should. Not only that, but you seem to understand the value and importance of family. But, there is one condition to me helping you. No more secrets, okay? I will ask you a question and I expect an honest answer. Are you or are you not a Sorrowsworn?”

“No… I’m not…” Jessi said sincerely.

“You promise?” Bridgette pressed.

“Yes… yes I do,” said Jessi as she looked Bridgette in the eyes.

“Then say it,” Bridgette said in a very demanding voice. “Say it and give us your word.”

“I, Jessi Traurigkeit, promise that I am not a Sorrowsworn,” said Jessi. “I am but a servant to the noble house, Sorrowsworn.”

Bridgette looked at Sam before looking towards Mat. “I believe you,” said Bridgette. She tapped on Sam’s arms to get her to let go as she stood up from the bed. Bridgette approached Jessi and stood no more than a few inches away from her. Despite their similar height, Bridgette could feel her presence overpowering Jessi’s. She stuck her hand out towards her friend as a gesture of friendship. Jessi stared at it for a moment before shaking it. “Jessi Traurigkeit, I am putting my friendship and trust in you,” said Bridgette. “Please, don’t do anything that will make me regret it.”

Jessi let go of Bridgette’s hand and kneeled in front of her. She bowed her head, fixing her eyes at Bridgette’s feet. “You have my word,” said Jessi. “I swear.”

“So this plan of yours…” Mat chimed in. “It’s brilliant and all, but it’ll only work if Bridgette becomes student council president at Raven Stone College.”

“I know,” Jessi said as she stood up. “The whole plan won’t matter if Bridgette doesn’t become president.”

“Let me help on that front,” Mat finally stopped leaning on the desk. He approached the large table in Bridgette’s room and called everyone over. As they sat around him, he smiled before speaking. “This is how we’ll start her campaign…”

XXXXXXXXXX

Jessi collapsed on her chair and sighed as she slammed her head against her desk. “Damn…” she worded out despite her cheek being pancaked against the hardwood.

“Mentally exhausted after today?” Sam asked as she closed the door behind them. She ran towards their bunk and dove right into Jessi’s. Sam rolled on her back and rested her head on her arms.

“How come I’m not even allowed to so much as touch your bunk but you’re allowed to have sex with Bridgette on mine?” Jessi looked to Sam with a teasing smile. “I even have to wash the sheets! You two could at least have the courtesy of doing that much for me, you know?”

“Jessi!” Sam’s face reddened instantly. “D-don’t… don’t talk about that!”

“Hey, if there’s anyone who has the right to blush, it’s me!” Jessi spun her chair around to face Sam on her bed. “I sleep on that thing!”

“Yeah… but… Bridgette paid for it! And… and… um…” Sam was at a loss for words.

“I’m just teasing, Sam,” Jessi laughed. “She did pay for it, so she has the right to do whatever with it. Besides, cleaning a few sheets isn’t that big of a deal.”

“If… if… it helps any, I always… try to convince her not to do it on your bunk…” Sam said timidly.

“And that’s worked out so well,” Jessi rolled her eyes with her smile still present.

“At least I’m trying! Fuck you!” Sam barked.

“There’s the salty Sam I was looking for,” Jessi clapped. “Do me a favor and act like that more often around me. You’ve been acting a little too sweet around me recently. People are going to figure out.”

“Have I?” Sam worried.

“Yeah,” Jessi answered. “I don’t care much for how you act, but you treat people you like with a serious amount of kindness. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but your kindness tends to lean more towards the feminine side.”

“Okay,” Sam felt a little more relieved. “I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.”

“By the way, what are you doing here?” Jessi’s chair creaked a bit as she turned it a little towards her desk. “It’s not even 9 p.m. yet. Aren’t you usually in Bridgette’s dorm at this time?”

“Yeah, about that…” Sam said with a groan. “Part of the deal for Bridgette helping you involved me…”

Jessi turned her chair once again to look at Sam. Curiously, she wondered what Sam said could have possibly meant. “What sort of involvement?” Jessi asked.

“I… I can’t… it’s embarrassing…” Sam’s face began to redden once more.

“You can tell me,” Jessi assured her. “We’re friends, Sam. We can keep it between us.”

“She said I can’t have sex with her until she becomes president,” said Sam.

“What?!” Jessi erupted loud enough for people outside her dorm to hear. “But… you guys are… you know… very sexually active. Are you two going to be okay?!”

“We should be fine,” Sam said with a little doubt in her voice. “I mean, we did do it when we made up on Friday. We… we also spent… all day yesterday going at it to make up for missing out on summer. And… a little bit this morning…”

“Goodness gracious, Sam,” Jessi palmed her head. “Are you sure you two are even human? I’m surprised you’re not dehydrated.”

“Sh-shut up!” Sam said in an obviously flustered tone. “Anyway, student council members are selected within a month of classes starting. That’s not too long. I’m sure we’ll manage.”

“Now that I thin k about it, Bridgette won’t be getting any either,” Jessi pondered. “Why would she make such a stipulation?”

“Bridgette’s got some really strong self-control,” Sam answered. “She can go for weeks without touching herself. Hell, she could easily go for months. She’s doing it partially to torture me for always siding with you.”

“Are you serious?” Jessi asked with a bit of disappointment. “She’s putting me at fault and punishing you again? Real mature, Bridgette…”

“Hey!” Sam sat up to eye Jessi. “Don’t even start!”

“I know, I know…” said Jessi. She ended the argument before it could even start. Jessi turned to face the desk once more. She reached out for her laptop and slid it in front of her. After putting in her password, she accessed the school website and began to browse through the available dormitories.

“What are you looking at?” Sam asked out of curiosity as she watched her friend peruse through available rooms.

“A cheap dorm for me to stay in,” answered Jessi. “I should have done this weeks ago instead of the night before school. Hopefully, there are still some left. I hope even more that the money I’ve saved can pay for one.”

“That won’t be necessary, Bridgette already got us a dorm,” Sam laid back down after figuring out what Jessi was doing.

Jessi took a pause from her searching to face Sam. “Excuse me?” she asked.

“Oh, did I forget to tell you? My bad…” Sam smiled and scratched her head. “Yeah, Bridgette got us a dorm. I’m super excited about it because we have separate rooms! We have to share the bathroom, though. It’s a Jack and Jill.”

“She… paid for a room?” Jessi felt a little regret. “My debt to her just keeps piling up…”

“When she bought it yesterday, she said that we don’t owe her a single cent,” Sam assured Jessi. “Since she bought it pretty late, we’re pretty far away from her though.”
“Where is her dorm?” Jessi asked.

“It’s at the opposite end of the building. She showed me pictures and it’s huge!” said Sam. “Not as big as the one here, though.”

“Bridgette downgraded?” Jessi was baffled. “That doesn’t sound like her at all…”

“Well, the biggest dorm is reserved for the dorm leader,” said Sam. “How can she be dorm leader if it’s her first year? Students can’t vote for a dorm leader if she hasn’t even attended a single class. She’ll have to wait and see until her second year. Knowing her though, she should be dorm leader by then.”

“Yet you can vote for her to be student council president?” Jessi asked another question.

“Presidency is different,” answered Sam. “Every year, the council is disassembled and students vote for a new student council at the beginning month of every school year. Usually, the council will be comprised of students from all grade levels, but the president is almost always a senior student.”

“But I need Bridgette to be president!” Jessi panicked. “If she’s not president, I won’t be able to access the database!”

“Relax!” said Sam. “Why do you think that idiot Mat made such an elaborate plan for her campaign? He’s going to make sure that every single vote goes to Bridgette despite her being a freshman. You’ll be fine, Jessi. Come the end of next month, we can have this whole thing sorted out.”

“God, I sure hope so… Then I can finally go back home,” said Jessi.

“Wait, you’re… you’re not staying?” Sam asked in surprise.

“I had no plans of staying, no,” Jessi answered.

“But… Jessi… what about finishing school?”

“Sam, I came to this school looking for information. Once I get it, there’s no point in me staying.”

“So you’re just going to leave us?” Sam’s voice picked up a little.

“Sam… I’m sorry, but yes,” said Jessi regretfully. “I have an important task to do for the Sorrowsworns. If this information proves valuable, then I need to make sure it gets brought to the family as quickly as possible. Please don’t be mad…”

“No, no… I… I understand…” Sam said with a downtrodden tone. “Just… just promise me that we can stay in touch, Jessi.”

Jessi stood up from the chair and made her way towards her bed. She sat next to Sam and pulled her in for an embrace. She felt Sam hug her tightly despite not being the strongest individual. Jessi ruffled her roommate’s hair as she heard her begin to snivel. “Crying?” she asked. “What are you crying about?”

“Y-you’re… you’re only the third person to ever care for me,” Sam wept. “When I lost my family, I thought I’d be alone for the rest of my life. I was always in the dark. Then, a light saved me in the form of Bridgette. She taught me how to be happy again. She taught me how to live. She introduced me to her brother, who despite the fact that I always argue with, care for deeply. Finally, she introduced me to you. If it wasn’t for her kindness to allow you to room with me, I would have never met you. Jessi, you’re the best friend that any person could ask for. A life without you would feel empty even if I was with Bridgette.”

“Don’t get all sappy on me now, Sam,” Jessi struggled to hold her own tears at bay. “I didn’t know I meant so much to you. I promise that no matter how far apart we are, I will keep in contact. I’ll always be here for you, Samantha. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“Th-thank you…” Sam continued to tear up as she nuzzled into Jessi’s chest. “I love you, Jessi. I love you, Bridgette, and Mat. Please… please keep me company. I… I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Of course,” Jessi hugged tighter. Her tears poured out despite her attempts to resist. Jessi rested her head atop Sam’s for a bit before she broke their hug. “Tell you what, you can sleep on my bunk tonight. Consider it a courtesy as your last night in this dorm room.”

“You’ll… let me sleep on your bunk? Really?” Sam asked.

“Girls do it all the time during sleep overs, why the Hell not?!” Jessi giggled a little. “Let’s get changed and we can watch a few videos or something on my laptop before we go to sleep. Both our first classes don’t start until noon, anyway.”

“Yeah, but we’re going to get kicked out of here come early in the morning,” said Sam. “It doesn’t matter when our classes start, this dorm won’t be ours the moment the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Well then, let’s just head to bed once we change,” said Jessi. “We’ve got a lot of things to move out of here before the new students come in despite everything being packed.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Sam. “Bridgette paid for the Raven Stone Moving Crew to do the heavy lifting for us. All they need is point A and point B. After that, they’ll move all our stuff. It’s an expensive service, but Bridgette paid for it anyway.”

“Stop bringing up all the kind things Bridgette’s done!” Jessi poked Sam’s forehead. “It’s making me feel ungrateful!”

“Ow!” Sam rubbed her forehead. “Screw sleeping in your bunk if you’re going to hurt me!”

“What?! How could that have possibly hurt! And you hurt me every night with your persistent snoring!” Jessi retorted.

“What?!” Sam’s face turned red. “I… I don’t snore… I don’t! Bridgette would have said something otherwise!”

“She doesn’t say anything because she loves you! Duh!” said Jessi. “I’m your friend. It’s my job to point out your shortcomings!”

“Bitch!” Sam yelled.

“Screw changing clothes!” said Jessi as she started to laugh. She hugged Sam and pulled her down with her. They lied together on the bed, laughing at their stupid argument before falling asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day came without warning. Jessi and Sam got themselves cleaned and packed their backpacks with the necessary first day school supplies before they met up with Mat and Bridgette to leave the dorms. Upon exiting the high school wing, they were greeted by an armada of students both old and new. They could see the middle school students marching in droves towards their location as they marched their way towards the college wing. The process was a bit boring, but not very time consuming. Jessi saw the movers pass them by with her and Sam’s belongings as they waited in line. It only took about twenty minutes before she stood in front of the college wing gates. Jessi felt uneasy as the security looked at her. She snapped to attention in a very suspicious manner when she was called to stand in front of the gate scanner to verify her new status as a college freshman. One of the security women patted her down and searched her pack before she was placed in front of the device to be scanned. A familiar light exited the machine and trailed her body from the top of her head all the way down to her feet. When it was finished, it produced a new student ID for her. She didn’t really see the point of the ID since she never used any school services that required it, but she took it anyway. When she had the piece of dense high quality plastic in her hands, she was finally allowed past the gates.

After a bit of waiting, Jessi made her way to the dorms when Sam and the others were finally scanned and integrated. At the entrance, she and Sam were given their new keycards. They separated from Mat and Bridgette who lived at the opposite end of the building, but not before Bridgette pulled Sam in for a kiss that was well beyond the comfortable limits with regards to public displays. Jessi only imagined how much more awkward it would have been if everybody knew that Sam was a woman. After the theatrics, the two made their way to their new dorm. Though they could have easily entered from one end, both thought it would be amusing to enter both ends of their new Jack and Jill living space. They both laughed in unison when they realized that they entered each other’s rooms. Jessi realized that they never did specify to the movers on who would stay where. “I think we need to switch,” they said in unison once more as they opened the door to their respective ends of the bathroom. The two laughed before walking past each other.

“Hah…” Jessi let out a sigh of relief. Bridgette even went as far as getting her a queen sized bed and a few new wardrobes for her clothes despite the movers bringing in her old ones as well. There was even a dresser that was much more lavish than her old desk complete with a vanity mirror resting atop it. She wanted to unpack and get everything organized, but decided against it. Instead, Jessi pulled out a clean set of sheets from one of her bags and placed it on her new bed. She rested herself on top of it with her arms spread and her eyes closed.

“Check your closet!” Sam yelled from across the bathroom. “Our new uniforms are in there!”

“Got it!” Jessi yelled back. She sat up and made her way towards her closet. When she opened it, she picked up the pack that contained both her winter and summer uniform. She pulled out a set and smelled them, loving the fresh smell of whatever detergent the school used. Then she looked to face the clock mounted on the wall. She had a little over half an hour before her first class as a college student started. Jessi fixed her attention to her uniform once more and began to unbutton it with a smile. “Let’s see what’s in store for today!”

The autumn leaves blew with the wind as they departed from their branches to signify the initial stages of fall. Now nearing the end of September and closing in on the beginning of October, the temperature was finally cooling down. This year was particularly cooler than last year. The air left a chill in all the students it swept through. Sam however, did not care. She was busy locked in her room in the comfort of warmth. Her black hoodie kept her warm along with a pair of black and blue thigh-high socks. Sam abused the controller in her hand as she concentrated on the large screen in front of her. “Game Over,” the television said as Sam scored one final kill. She eagerly waited to see her status as the results were tallied. Sam was playing a free-for-all match on a recently released shooter. For the past month, she had been dominating. This match was no different. Upon seeing her results Sam dropped her controller on her bed and started flashing the bird in every direction as if she was trying to offend an audience. “That’s right, bitches! I’m the fucking best!” she said happily upon seeing that she scored twenty-five kills and only suffered three deaths. It was truly an impressive record.

Taking a few extra minutes to gloat, Sam finally picked up the controller again and hit the home button. She popped the disc out and walked up to the game console to place it back in its case. Sam put another game in place of the previous in the disc tray before closing it and hopping back on her bed. “That’s enough shooting for now. Time for some adventuring!” said Sam. Her facial expression went from happy to upset as a screen popped up that said the game needed an update. “Shit…” Sam said as she accepted the terms for the update. She rolled her eyes upon reading that the estimated time would be at least an hour. “Fuck you!” Sam cursed at the screen despite it being inanimate. She crawled to the tall posts of her king sized bed and undid the straps on the curtains. As the curtains on either end met, Sam was now in a cozy dome of privacy. She crawled over towards the head of her bed and to the right. Once she reached the edge, she reached out through the curtain at her desk and took hold of a laptop and some headphones. Sam pulled them back into her shelter. She quickly situated herself in the middle of her large pile of pillows and placed the laptop on her stomach. Sam took her hood off to put on the pair of headphones before putting her hood back on. She plugged the headphones into the laptop, booted up the device, accessed her playlist of rock songs, and began to surf the web for anything interesting.

Despite the hour easily passing by and the update on her game being long finished, Sam was now plastered to her laptop. She was busy lurking and occasionally commenting on every popular blog site she frequented. Some more time passed by before Sam got bored of reading up on blogs. Not really sure of what else to do, Sam moved one of her hands to her inner thigh. She felt the part of her leg that wasn’t protected by her sock and started to caress it. Sam blushed a bit before she decided on her next course of action. She opened up a new browser on her window and started to look for some naughty girl on girl videos. When she found one that was satisfactory, she placed the laptop beside her on a set of pillows. She watched the ensuing action and began to feel the heat in her body rise. Just as she started to rub herself over her panties, she heard a familiar sound. Even with headphones on, Sam was much attuned to the sound of a door opening. She closed the browser window faster than a predator could take down its prey and removed her headphones. “Jessi?” Sam called.

“Sam, I need your help with this problem,” Jessi said.

“Come over here, then,” Sam called through the curtains. After a few seconds, Jessi pushed them aside and sat at the edge of the bed. She pointed out the problem before quickly contorting her face to Sam’s worry. Sam knew what was coming next, so she readied a suitable defense for the inevitable argument.

“When was the last time you bathed?” Jessi asked as she looked at her.

“Um… Thursday night…” Sam was reluctant to answer.

“Thursday night… Sam, that’s close to three days ago!” Jessi said in disgust. “Take a bath! Now! Then you can help me.”

“Fuck you, my room, my rules!” Sam barked. “Now show me the damn problem!”

“No! Not until you get yourself cleaned!” Jessi took her papers back. “You’ve been in those same clothes since Thursday! Sam, do you understand how disgusting that is?”

“My policy states that I don’t need to shower if I’m not going anywhere,” Sam defended herself. “Unlike you, I have a three day weekend since I don’t have to take as many classes because I planned ahead. Let me enjoy my damn weekends!”

“Enjoying your weekends is completely different from keeping yourself clean!” said Jessi. She took time to put her papers on Sam’s desk before assaulting her. “Get out of the bed! Now!”

“No! Fuck you!” Sam yelled as she kicked and screamed in an attempt to get Jessi off of her. Her headphones fell off as she jammed her palm into Jessi’s face and her foot into her stomach. “Get the fuck off!”

“No!” Jessi knocked Sam’s leg out of the way. She effortlessly removed Sam’s palm from her face only to have it jammed against it once more as Sam continued to struggle. Jessi waited for the opportune moment where Sam would rear back a bit to get some force in her escape attempts. When the moment came, Jessi precisely reached around and had Sam’s small body locked around her arms in a fetal position. She lifted her featherweight of a roommate and looked around for something to get her to stop struggling.

“Let me go! Let me fucking go, right now!” Sam yelled.

Jessi ignored her roommate and locked her eyes to the ties on the bed curtains. She walked up to the post and in her best effort, undid it while Sam continued her attempts at escape. Miraculously, she was able to undo the tie. Jessi took a deep breath before letting Sam go. The moment she did, she dove for her roommates legs as she tried to run. She wrapped the bonds around Sam’s leg, preventing her from running. Sam rolled onto her back and started to undo the knot. While she did so, Jessi ran for another one of the ties and undid it. Luckily for her, she was able to undo it before Sam could free herself. She took hold of her rebellious friend’s arms and tied them behind her. When she was sure it was secure, Jessi retied the knot on Sam’s legs. She sighed and covered her ears as Sam started to roll on the ground and scream. “Sam! Quiet down!” Jessi pleaded.

“Never! Someone, help me! My roommate’s a fucking sadist!” Sam bellowed at the top of her lungs as she rolled around on the floor.

Jessi couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Her friend looked so comedic as she attempted to escape and call for help. “Oh, Sam…” she managed to say between her laughter.

Sam stopped yelling and noticed how happy Jessi looked. She herself started to smile and laugh as well. “This… this was actually kind of fun!” Sam admitted. “Okay, Jessi, I’ll take a bath.”

“Alright, I’ll get it set up for you,” said Jessi. “You just sit tight.”

“Like I have much of a choice?” Sam asked jokingly.

“Hey, you might just be acting nice so I’ll let you go,” Jessi joked back. “I’m not taking any chances.”

“Fine… Just hurry up, will you?” Sam whined. She wormed her way towards her desk and propped herself against it.

“I will,” Jessi left Sam to brood as she entered their bathroom. She plugged the tub when the water became sufficiently hot. When it was about half full, Jessi started to poor soap into the water to get it nice and bubbly. She giggled as she prepared the bath, thinking how amusing it was that she was prepping it like she would for a child. “Everything okay, Sam?” Jessi checked on her friend. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

There was no answer. Jessi was greeted by silence. The only noise was the sound of the running water filling the tub. A little worry came to Jessi until she finally heard a noise. Rather than feeling relief, she immediately felt shock. “Ah!” the noise of a helpless moan came from outside the bathroom. Jessi stopped the water and swiftly ran out.

“Sam! Are you…” Jessi paused as her face turned beet red. There was Sam with her hoodie unzipped and her chest exposed for Jessi to see. Another girl was sucking away at one of her nipples. This very same girl was inching her hand down towards Sam’s crotch. Jessi saw the look of pure unease in Sam’s face upon being caught. “Bridgette! Get off of Sam this instant!”

“Jessi?” Bridgette took a pause. “Weren’t you getting ready to take a bath? Mind your own business.”

“The bath was for Sam! And what happened to not doing anything until you became student council president?! The final announcements aren’t until tomorrow!”

“I just wanted to do some early celebrating,” Bridgette reasoned. “I don’t doubt one bit that I’ve won. Can’t I do a little Sunday celebration with my girlfriend? Besides, how could I resist when all she’s wearing is a hoodie and a cute pair of underwear? The stockings were a nice touch too, by the way.”

“I wasn’t wearing this to turn you on!” Sam struggled.

“Bridgette, just get off Sam and stick to your word,” Jessi sighed.

“Fine…” Bridgette said with a pout of disappointment. “Next time, don’t dress like that and be tied up, love. Otherwise, all I’ll want to do is punish you.”

“I… I’m sorry…” Sam blushed and looked away from Bridgette.

“Sam! Don’t get so timid! Act like you do around me around Bridgette for once!” Jessi complained. “I always find it so weird when you’re like that.”

“Don’t mind your roommate, Samantha,” Bridgette comforted her lover. She planted a kiss on Sam’s forehead before recalling something. “That reminds me, have you shown Jessi you’re new haircut?”

“You got a haircut?” Jessi asked. She hadn’t a clue that her roommate was sporting a new hairstyle. Then again, she shouldn’t have been surprised considering that Sam always had her hood up when she wore her hoodie. Even if she didn’t have the hoodie on, there was always some form of headwear that concealed Sam’s hair.

“See for yourself,” Bridgette pulled Sam’s hood down with a smile.

“Wow…” Jessi’s jaw almost hit the floor. At one point, Sam’s hair was long enough to be tied into a high ponytail that reached her middle back. Now, there was nothing left. She had her hair in an out of control pixie cut. It poked out in natural spiky shapes of blonde in every direction despite not being gelled.

“D-don’t stare! It’s… it’s embarrassing!” Sam blurted out. She felt like she was going to die as her heart beat over a million times per minute. If there was a time she wanted it to give out, it was now. “The… the hairstylist… made a mistake when she tried to make it shoulder length and… and it looked atrocious. As an apology, she cut my hair extra short to make it look even and didn’t ask for payment.”

“I’m shocked, but it looks really good!” Jessi said with a big smile. “You look like a celebrity! Lucky me, I’m living with a celebrity!”

“Shut the Hell up, Jessi!” Sam said angrily. “This is nothing to joke about!”

“It does look good, though,” Bridgette offered further assurance. “Besides, didn’t you say you needed to be more convincing as a boy? I bet that hairstylist wasn’t even fooled because of how long your hair was.”

“Well, you can’t fool everyone! It’s fucking impossible to do that,” Sam replied. “It doesn’t change the fact that even if you guys like it, I don’t. I want to look like a boy, I don’t actually want to be a fucking boy!”

“Boys are cute too,” Bridgette teased Sam with a devious smile.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Jessi wanted to hear no more. “Bridgette, you’re free to stay, but I think you and I can agree that Sam’s in serious need of a bath.

“She is quite the dirty girl right now…” Bridgette said the words with the full meaning of them being misinterpreted. “I’ll make sure to get her nice and clean.”

“Back up, missy!” Jessi stepped between the two. “I don’t trust Sam to clean herself well, but I trust you even less if you were to clean her. You wait right here!”

“You’re lucky I trust you now…” Bridgette glared at Jessi. “Get my girlfriend clean and do it quick.”

“I plan to,” said Jessi. She picked up Sam and carried her into the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXX

“This should be the last problem,” Jessi pointed at the book for Sam to see.

“You couldn’t figure that problem out?!” Bridgette started to snicker. “It’s only been a month, Jessi. If you’re already struggling this early on, you’re not going to make it.”

“This is how you do it,” Sam wrote out the equation for Jessi. “Bridgette does have a point though, Jessi. This is just simple math.”

“Calculus is not simple math!” said Jessi. “Unlike you two, I’m not a genius! I might not be in either of your classes, but I’m sure you’ve seen others struggling just like me!”

“Fair point…” said Sam as Bridgette continued to be amused in the background. She watched Jessi as she finished up the problem. “But at least you get it now, right?”

“Hah… mostly…” Jessi sighed. She let herself fall onto Sam’s bed and exhaled deeply.

Sam left the comfort of her desk chair and moved back to the comfort of her bed. She grabbed the console controller and booted up the system once more. “Alright, you two are free to stay, but I’m going to go back to playing games,” said Sam.

“Again?” Jessi asked. “Sam, you need to go out more.”

“Did you just ask a sickly girl with a weak heart to go out more often?” Sam questioned Jessi’s remark. “Are you fucking stupid?”

“Jessi’s right, Sam,” Bridgette backed up her friend despite it going against her girlfriend. “Being indoors all the time isn’t good for you either. Plus, all you eat is delivery food. You’re going to make your condition worse at this rate. At least come with us to the gym today. You don’t even need to work out. The walk there is more than enough exercise. Please?”

“I’m not walking to the other side of campus for no good reason,” said Sam. She loaded up her game and did her best to ignore the two women who were pestering her. “That’s that and there’s nothing more to it. Nothing you say will convince me.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Bridgette. “Jessi, what time is it?”

“It’s close to 2 p.m.,” Jessi answered. “Prime time for cute girls to come in and work out.”

“Most of them should be out of the locker rooms by now if they are working out,” said Bridgette. “How easy do you think it’d be to sneak Sam in so that she can watch us change?”

“Fairly easy,” Jessi figured out where Bridgette was going with the conversation. “Afterwards, she can watch us work out in our tight clothes along with a few other girls.”

“If… if that’s… the case… then maybe… maybe coming with you would be a nice change of pace…” Sam said as she paused her game.

“Good to hear,” Bridgette said with a smile. She let Sam change out of her indoor clothes before the three of them headed out. Their first stop was Bridgette’s dormitory since she needed to pick up her workout clothes. Afterwards, it was off to the gym. The weather was currently not hot or cold with the particular time of day. It was in a lovely in between as summer gave way to fall. Even though she could finally be outside, Sam had no desire to be outside during this time of year. She only ever wanted to enjoy the outdoors during summer and winter. Sadly for her, they were both the times of the year where it would not be good for her weak heart. She detested that she could only ever enjoy the outdoors at its most boring point. Even so, she ignored the feelings of hate as she made idle conversation with her two friends. Within twenty minutes, the trio had reached the gym. Bridgette opened the door for them and eagerly waited to see Sam’s expression. The sight of her girlfriend slowly growing restless at the sight of the cute girls triggered two very distinct feelings in Bridgette. The first was happiness. She was happy to see that Sam was enjoying herself. The second was jealousy. She thought of nothing more than to punish Sam for leering at other women. “Well, just like we had planned,” Bridgette said.

“Okay!” said Jessi. They both took hold of Sam and waited for the right moment. When no one was looking in their particular direction, they dragged Sam faster than her own legs could make her run into the women’s locker room. When inside, Jessi kept Sam hidden in a corner as Bridgette inspected the area to make sure that no one was around. “This would be so much easier if you weren’t pretending to be a boy,” Jessi teased her roommate.

“I can’t…” Sam said.

“I know,” Jessi replied

“But you don’t know why…”

“Tell me when you feel comfortable. Don’t worry about it now,” Jessi smiled at her friend to assure her.

“When Bridgette becomes president,” said Sam. “You’ve shared so much about yourself and I’ve yet to share anything other than the death of my family with you. When Bridgette becomes president, I’ll tell you.”

“It’s a deal,” said Jessi.

“The coast is clear,” Bridgette finally said.

“We’re good to go,” Jessi took Sam by the hand and led her to her and Bridgette’s usual changing spot. She sat Sam down before removing her clothing. To no surprise to Jessi, Sam was leering at the both of them like they were delectable pieces of meat. Jessi didn’t know why, but something about Sam staring got her a bit excited. She assumed it was because she was happy to see her friend happy. Maybe it was the fact that Sam looked so much like a boy that it excited her. Either way, she smiled as Sam stared on. “Still alive, Sam?”

“Huh… what…? Oh, yeah! Yeah, sorry…” Sam managed to get out of her euphoric state.

“You were staring as if the world would end if you didn’t” Bridgette teased. “Glad to see that you think we’re so attractive. Although, it’s obvious that I’m more attractive than Jessi.”

“Real subtle, Bridgette,” Jessi rolled her eyes. “Let’s get this party started. We still need to sneak Sam back out.”

“I know,” said Bridgette. “Once we’re done working out, would you care to accompany us for the rest of the day, Samantha?”

“I guess…” said Sam. “It depends on what else you have planned.”

“Well, after we work out, we’re going to take a quick shower…” Jessi paused for a moment as she saw the look on Sam’s face. “Not together, Sam. Stop fantasizing for one moment.”

“Oh, sorry…” Sam snapped back to attention once more. “Can I… watch you shower?”

“No,” Jessi said coldly. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“You can watch me,” Bridgett took hold of Sam’s head by her chin so that she was facing her. “You’re only allowed to watch though. No touching.”

“O-okay…” said Sam. She said no more and stopped caring about the rest of the plans her two friends had for the day. She simply let them sneak her back out of the locker room.

XXXXXXXXXX

“…Miles… Mr. Miles…” a voice echoed through Sam’s head. “Mr. Miles!”

“Yes!” Sam jerked up and out of her seat.

“Glad for you to finally join us,” said the Professor. “Your sleeping suggests that you’ve obviously already mastered this lesson. Care to tell us the solution to this equation.”

“That’s it?” Sam scoffed. She answered the problem after taking a quick glance at the board and doing it in her head.

“Impressive…” the Professor said grudgingly. He smirked once more as he wrote out a new problem. “The previous one was in your textbook, so you could have easily just looked up the answer on the back. What about this one? I dare you to use only your head.”

“That last one was in my textbook? I had no idea. All these easy equations look the same to me…” Sam meant the words genuinely. The class however, began to laugh at her. They took it as an excuse. Sam felt her usual hatred of people surface for a moment as she ignored the laughter.

“If it’s as simple as you claim, then what is the answer, Mr. Miles?” the professor asked with a smirk that could rival some of the students.

To everyone’s surprise, Sam answered the question with little effort. “I wouldn’t say it was easy if I didn’t mean it,” Sam added after giving her answer.

“Well played, Mr. Miles. Don’t expect to be so lucky next time,” the Professor grumbled.

Sam gave the class the once over to see that their looks had turned from mocking to menacing. It seemed that no matter what she did, Sam always managed to be on everyone’s bad side. She buried her head back in her arms, eagerly waiting for the class to end. Sam couldn’t stand much more of the suffocating hatred in the room that was directed towards her. It made her miss her time back in Raven Stone High School. Even though the students treated her no better, the teachers were at least concerned for her.
“Alright, class, you’re free to go,” the professor said. “I don’t want to keep you waiting to see the election results.”

Sam packed her belongings and looked at the clock. It was only a few minutes from turning 3 p.m. Luckily for Sam, the class she was in currently was her last. She knew that Jessi was in class until at least 5 p.m. With the final announcements being made in the main foyer, Sam hastily made her way towards the location. There, she saw a large group of people standing around next to a stage. As other students regretfully left to go to their next classes, the one’s that could see the election results stayed back to watch. Sam looked to the stage to see Bridgette and Mat speaking with each other. Like usual, Bridgette ran for president and Mat ran for vice president. The other students that they were up against looked like stiff competition, but nothing Bridgette and Mat couldn’t handle. Sam was certain that the two of them had this election in the bag. She jumped when she felt a hand rest itself on her shoulder.

“Relax, Sam” the voice came from Jessi. “It’s just me.”

“Jessi?” Sam turned to face her. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Yes, but I made an excuse that I had to go to the restroom,” said Jessi.

“And your professor bought it? He does know that it’s election day, right? What a fucking idiot…” said Sam.

“My professor’s a she, Sam” Jessi laughed a little. “And I’m sure she knows the reason. She’s probably just being nice. Besides, it’s not like she has the ability to keep me in class. We can leave whenever we want. It’s the beauty of college.”

“You make a good point. Anyway, they’ll be starting in about ten minutes, so why don’t we get something to eat while we wait?” Sam suggested.

“Sure,” Jessi agreed. The two made small talk as they checked the snacks that the election had to offer. They even got a chance to speak with the principal and office staff as they finalized the event. When everything was nice and settled, the commotion stopped. Jessi and Sam joined the rest of the students who were able to participate in restless anticipation.

“Students of Raven Stone Academy College,” the principal began. “It is now time to announce your new student council.”

Sam and Jessi didn’t care much for the minor positions that were elected. They only cared for the results of the presidency. Even if Mat were to somehow not be elected as vice president, it was a victory as long as Bridgette was elected president. The names went on until the moment they had waited for arrived. “This is it,” said Jessi. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst from her chest. “Cross your fingers.”

“They’ve been crossed this whole time,” said Sam.

“Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for,” said the principal. “It is now time to announce your new student council vice president and president. By a staggering landslide of votes with the help of their beautifully idealistic campaign, I present to you…”

The whole audience became confused at the sudden pause. One of the staff members approached the principal and whispered words into his ears. He was then handed a new envelope. The principal opened it and began to read its contents in silence for the next few minutes. “What the Hell…?” Sam felt a little distraught. “I don’t like this…”

“Me neither…” Jessi added. Jessi noticed the principal put the envelope in his vest pocket before speaking. In that moment, she saw a distinct piece of paper accompany the new letter. Jessi had no doubt in her mind that it was a check.

“It seems that the votes were miscounted,” the principal smiled. “We do so apologize for the mistake and delay. With the votes now being tallied properly, let me introduce you to your real student council vice president and president.”

As the words exited the principal’s mouth, Jessi noticed that Mat, Bridgette, and the other candidates were looking at the back of the stage. Someone was climbing up that they as the audience had yet to see. Judging from the grim expressions on Mat and Bridgette’s faces, Jessi herself was unsure she wanted to know who was coming. When the figure appeared, her heart sank alongside Sam’s. “Shit… shit!” Jessi cursed under her breath to Sam’s surprise. It wasn’t often that she did so.

“Here is your new student council vice president, Debra Grant!” the principal said with enthusiasm to the applause of a confused crowd and staff.

“We’re so fucked…” Sam placed her hands on her forehead and shook her head. “We’re so fucked…”

“And here is your new student council president,” the principal readied the next announcement as another figure appeared.

“Oh… God…” Jessi said in a controlled panic.

“Whitney Deveraux!” the words that left the principal’s mouth were like a toxin that corrupted the air. The students clapped reluctantly as Whitney waved at them with her malicious smile. The only one with an equally sinister smile was her friend, Debra.

“I stand corrected,” Sam got Jessi’s attention. “Now we’re fucked…”

Jessi took quick jabs at the air as she stood on the track in front of the bleachers. She regulated her breathing with each jab that struck her imaginary target. After about five minutes of shadowboxing, Jessi took a break and walked up to the bleachers. She grabbed her towel and wiped the sweat on her forehead. Despite it being a cold winter day, as evident by the soft snowfall that left tingles on her skin not under her heavy clothes, she still worked up quite a sweat.

“Jessi!” a soft and soothing voice called out.

“Oh no…” Jessi said under her breath as she turned to face where the voice came from. It came from a half Asian woman with the most genuine smile. Despite being bundled up in heavy clothes, Jessi still saw enough of her skin to be jealous. She always wanted to have a tan that looked as natural as the woman running towards her. Her hair was a lovely golden brown and was complimented by a pair of cinnamon brown eyes. They had an almond shape, but not as prominent as you would see on a regular Asian. With regards to the rest of her, the girl was as beautiful as they came. She was sporting everything from a killer body to a killer smile. Finally, Jessi realized that she was accompanied by a man.

“Jessi!” said the woman again.

“Asuna,” said Jessi before she was hugged. She froze for a moment before hugging back and looking towards the man catching up. “And Mat. What are you two doing here?”

“We came to see you, silly,” said Asuna. Jessi could have sworn that she never saw the girl without a smile. “I rarely ever see you! It makes me think you’re avoiding me! Any friend of Mat and Bridgette is a friend of mine. I don’t want us to be so distant.”

“I understand,” said Jessi. In truth, she also wanted to be closer with Asuna, but certain events held her back. Even after a whole semester, there were rare situations where she still felt a bit uneasy around Mat. From how she noticed him act, she knew that he felt the same. In addition, she sometimes felt a bit of jealousy when she saw how happy the two of them looked. It made her feel really awful that Asuna had no idea about them and constantly tried to befriend her, but she didn’t want to cause problems by bringing it up. By the looks of it, neither did Mat.

“Asuna really wanted to speak to you and I remember you saying that you, my sister, and Sam were here to do some early morning exercises,” Mat finally spoke. “By the way, where are those two?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t paying much attention to them. I think they’re still changing,” said Jessi. She stretched her arms and legs, getting herself ready. “If they don’t get out here soon, I’ll probably start a couple of laps without them.”

“I envy you, Jessi!” said Asuna. “I don’t want to sound vain and I know I have a good body, but yours makes me feel so unhealthy!”

“Don’t be silly!” said Jessi. She smiled at the girl as she continued to stretch. “You look plenty fine to me. Plus, unlike me, you’re actually smart. All I’ve got are my looks, Asuna.”

“Nonsense, I’ve seen how hard you work,” said Asuna. “The fact that you manage classes and a job are things I really admire about you.”

“I’m flattered. Thanks,” said Jessi. “So other than coming here to give me pleasant conversation, there has to be another reason you guys are out and about this early in the day.”

“Asuna and I are planning to head back home for winter break,” said Mat. “I thought it best if we left on the first day of break and as soon as possible. Since we have some spare time, I agreed with Asuna’s wish to come see you.”

“It didn’t take much convincing, he’s such a sweetheart,” said Asuna.

“I bet he is,” said Jessi. She realized that Asuna had been with Mat for a full semester now and it made her heart ache a bit. It made her think about the thought of maybe not turning down every man who confessed to her. “So, how is he in bed?”

“E-excuse me?!” Asuna immediately got flustered.

“And that’s our cue to go,” said Mat now starting to laugh. “One thing you should know about Jessi, Asuna, is that she loves her risqué humor. Anyway, we’re off for now, Jessi. It was nice talking to you.”

“Y-yes, we’ll see you at the start of the new semester,” added Asuna.

“Aright, you two have fun,” said Jessi as she waved them goodbye. She was relieved that the whole conversation went much smoother than she expected. With it done, she took her position on the track. With a strong push, she ran at a much slower pace than usual as a warm up. After running two laps, Jessi finally saw Sam and Bridgette making their way towards the bleachers as she reached her initial point for the second time.

“I see you got started without us,” said Bridgette. “How much did you run and how fast?”

“Half a mile in a little over three minutes,” said Jessi as she sat on the bleachers. She grabbed her water and took a few gulps before noticing the look on Bridgette’s face. She wanted to role her eyes, but chose not to. “I know what you’re thinking. First of all, it was a warm up, so that’s why it seems slower. Second, I’m not about to let you turn our exercise session into a damn competition.”

“You’ve really grown to know me, huh?” asked Bridgette. “Relax, Jessi. I had no plans of making it into a competition.”

“Well, your look said otherwise,” Jessi chuckled a bit. She turned to Sam to see that she seemed quite flushed in the face. Throughout the semester, Sam grew her hair back and dyed it once more. Her shoulder length hair was a bright green color that she usually combed straight under her beanie. This morning however, some strands were clearly out of place. Her breathing seemed a bit heavy as well and Jessi noticed a bit of perspiration on her friend. As she observed, she noticed Sam turn away and blush. She looked to Bridgette with a disapproving look. “Do I even have to ask why you guys took so long?”

“Technically, you just did,” said Bridgette with a smirk.

“S-stop talking about it!” Sam blurted.

“Jesus, Bridgette,” said Jessi. She sighed as she shook her head. “Don’t you think it’s too early in the morning for you to be doing that?”

“It’s never too early!” said Bridgette. “But enough of that, let’s get to running.”

“Alright,” said Jessi as she stood up from the bleachers. “Let’s try to stay in sync this time, okay? It helps with that whole inner peace thing.”

“You got it,” said Bridgette. She looked to Sam and pulled her into a hug followed by an endearing kiss. “You just sit tight and be impressed by my running, love. I think you’ve worked out plenty already.”

“B-Bridgette…” Sam was at a loss for words.

“Goodness gracious… Enough!” said Jessi. “Can we get to running? Please?”

“Fine, let’s go,” Bridgette said with a sigh. She looked to Sam and smiled at her before running off.

“That girl can be a bit too much…” Sam sighed as she sat on the bleachers. She watched the two girls run a full lap before they finally synced up and were moving in tandem. Considering their fairly similar physiques and appearance, Sam always felt guilty every time she eyed Jessi longer than Bridgette. Even so, she couldn’t help it due to the fact that she found Jessi equally attractive. In fact, Sam knew that if she were not with Bridgette, she would have asked Jessi out without hesitation. She shook her head and refocused on the fact that despite finding Jessi extremely attractive, her love belonged to Bridgette. No other girl in the world could ever replace her in Sam’s heart.

“Not a bad start,” said Bridgette as her and Jessi rounded their fourth lap. She looked to Jessi who was panting. “I had to slow down so that you could keep up, but we were pretty in sync.”

“I’ve already ran a whole half mile before you got here, remember?” said Jessi with a hint of irritation. “What was our time, Sam?”

Sam looked at the stop watch that she had in her hand. “It says six minutes and twenty seconds. It’s your typical average when you’re just running for fun and not for time.”

“Let’s do some stretches and a few more miles and call it quits for the day,” said Jessi as she looked to Bridgette for her approval.

“I agree,” said Bridgette. “That sounds like a good plan, so let’s get to it. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can shower with Sam.”

“B-Bridgette! Shut up!” said Sam flustered.

“Really, Bridgette?” Jessi asked. “Don’t break the poor girl, you’re supposed to be taking care of her.”

“I am,” said Bridgette.

“Alright, if you say so. Let’s get to it,” said Jessi. She began to stretch with Bridgette before positioning herself at the starting line when she was finished. She and Bridgette readied themselves before looking to Sam. “Alright, Sam, Bridgette and I are ready to go at your command.”

“You got it. Three, two, one, go!” said Sam. The two girls were off in an instant, starting a brand new mile. Sam appreciated how quickly they synced up this time around. She smiled as she watched the two going at their impressive paste despite not really trying. Her smile quickly disappeared as she noticed a group approaching her.

“Hello, Sam!” the leader of the group said with a wicked smile. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“Whitney…” said Sam. She did her best to hide her displeasure. Ever since she became president, the academy had taken a turn for the worse. It had turned into a place that divided students based on their wealth. The more money a student had, the more privileges they got. This naturally put Sam at the bottom. If it wasn’t for Bridgette, her life would have been even worse. Despite having a hatred for Bridgette, her money made it so that Whitney couldn’t bully her around so easily. Sadly, it wasn’t the same for the other students. Even though she wasn’t fond of how they treated her, Sam still felt an ounce of guilt when she saw once close friends pull apart thanks to Whitney’s caste system. She was happy to have Bridgette to protect her from the worse of Whitney’s schemes.

“I see you’re watching your girlfriends run,” said Whitney.

“I am. Look, if you’re going to try anything, just get it over with,” Sam sighed. She knew Whitney was here to do nothing more than make her feel absolutely terrible and she just wanted it over with before Bridgette noticed and got involved.

“Would you mind if I have a private talk with Sam?” Whitney asked her friends. “You can always join in, Debra.”

“I’d love to!” said Debra. She looked to the two boys with them. “You two sit still and don’t bite, okay?”

“You got it,” they said almost simultaneously.

“I see you got some new dogs you’re leading around,” said Sam. “Well, spit it out. What do you have to say to me today?”

“Oh, nothing crazy, I just want to know you better is all,” said Whitney. She sat uncomfortably close to Sam as Debra stood in front of them. “In fact, I’ve been digging around so we can get along better! How come you never told me you got into this school via a scholarship?”

“I… What?” Sam questioned. Something was definitely up and she didn’t like it. “Yeah, I got in here via a scholarship. What of it?”

“And judging from how you dress and how you’re still in the school, it must have been one of those fancy full ride ones?” Whitney asked another question.

“Yeah, it was…” said Sam.

“You know, I had no idea that there were only two full ride scholarships given out by the school every year,” said Whitney. “I was even more surprised that they’re designed so that one is for a male and the other is for a female.”

“Y-yeah… I got one of them,” said Sam. “Turns out I’m a genius.”

“Sam, did you know that certain people alter their names a bit so that they can win certain scholarships?” asked Whitney. “They mean no harm, but some people are desperate to receive that higher education.”

“Usually, the group who offers the scholarship weeds out the forgers,” added Debra. “But sometimes, some go through and people who don’t deserve the scholarship win it.”

“I… I see…” said Sam. She looked to both women and noticed the smiles on their faces. She could feel her heart’s pace picking up. The two women’s words were heading in a direction that she did not want it to be heading.

“I’m glad you see,” said Whitney. “Do you know what happens to forgers when they’re caught? Do you know Debra?”

“I do, actually. They usually have the scholarship taken from them and sometimes are even accused of having committed a serious crime,” said Debra. “Pretty scary stuff, isn’t it?”

“I… I don’t want to talk about this anymore…” said Sam. She edged away from Whitney as she noticed her smile getting more wicked by the second.

“Why?” Whitney said before sliding herself on the bleachers to be against Sam once more. She wrapped her arm around Sam. “Let’s talk for a while longer about your male exclusive full ride scholarship, Samantha Miles.”

Sam froze and her eyes shot wide open. With Whitney’s arm around her, she was certain that her cold sweat was probably felt. Heck, she was sure that Whitney probably felt her heart beating out of her chest.

“That’s right, Samantha, I know your little secret, now,” said Whitney. “One word from me, and I could ruin your entire life. But that’s not all…”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Sam asked. Her panicked tone must have been like a signal for the two girls to pick on her more.

“The full ride scholarship you received is one handed out by the Dackerman family,” said Debra. “It seems a strange coincidence that Bridgette Dackerman’s lover won it, don’t you think?”

“No…” said Sam. She gripped at the edge of the bleachers, her hands trembling uncontrollably despite how hard she tried to stay calm. Sam felt her heart rapidly pumping blood through her in a panic as she became lightheaded. She knew that an attack was coming soon. “That’s got nothing to do with anything! I got that scholarship well before I dated Bridgette… She’s got no part in any of this!”

“With how my family bought this school and how I paid off the faculty so that I could become president, do you honestly think I can’t pay off some people to add that little extra false fact?” Whitney asked as she started to laugh. “Have you forgotten that wiping out Bridgette’s family as the dominant family of Nevermore was part of my agenda? Something like this would ruin her and her family!”

“Not only would it ruin her family, think of what the world would say when they figure out that Bridgette Dackerman, the pride of the Dackerman family, was dating a woman,” added Debra. “Between falsifying a scholarship for her lover and her lover being a woman, I can see the scandal already!”

“No… No! Please!” Sam grabbed Whitney by the shirt. She saw the look of displeasure on the girl at her actions. Whitney stood up and pushed her off. Sam fell to the ground on her butt before getting on her knees. “Whitney, please! Please… please don’t do this! I’m begging you!”

“Relax, you stupid girl,” said Whitney. “I might like to play the heartless bitch, but I’m not that heartless. I won’t reveal your secret or falsify any facts about Bridgette. That is, on one condition…”

“Anything! Just say it!” Sam grabbed Whitney’s legs before Debra pried her off. She could hear the boys in the background laughing. She realized how pathetic she must have looked. She hoped that they only saw and did not hear.

“Stop dating Bridgette,” said Whitney.

“Wh-what?” Sam was taken back.

“You heard her, Sam,” said Debra. “Stop dating Bridgette. Cut off all ties with her. If we see you so much as talk to each other, kiss your lives goodbye.”

“I said I’m not that heartless, but I’m still heartless,” Whitney giggled. “Think of this as a mercy. I’m only ruining your life partially…”

“But…” Sam started to tear up. “But… I can’t… I… can’t…”

Whitney looked towards the track to see Bridgette cutting across it. “Looks like she finally noticed,” she said with a smile. She then focused her attention back to Sam. “Break up with her, Sam. I don’t care how you do it, just do it. If you don’t, just think how much worse the alternative is.”

“Sam!” said Bridgette as she reached the bleachers,” she looked at Whitney grudgingly before helping Sam up. “No crying now, I’m here.”

“Bridgette, I… I can’t be with you anymore!” Sam yelled loud enough for all to hear. Everyone was speechless as she looked around. Her lightheadedness was replaced by a searing headache that felt as if a drill was boring a hole into her skull.

“Wh-what?” Bridgette asked. “What did Whitney tell you? Whitney! What the Hell did you say to him?!”

“Enough with the †˜him’, Bridgette, I know the truth,” said Whitney.

“What?!” Bridgette was caught off guard.

“Our love… it’ll never work!” Sam started to sob. Her breathing was rapid and heavy as she trembled in Bridgette’s arms. “Someone or something always gets in our way! We were never meant to be happy!”

“Look at her losing it,” Debra started to laugh with the boys. “This is fucking hilarious!”

“Sam, don’t say that…” said Bridgette. “I… I love you so much… we can make this work…”

“Y-you’re just saying that to try and comfort me…” said Sam. “It… I can never work… Bridgette, I’m sorry, but all I am is trouble! I’m fucking useless! I just make your life so much harder than it needs to be… I don’t see how you could ever love me!”

“Sam… please…” said Bridgette.

“No! We can’t… we… ugh!” Sam grunted before she fell to her knees and puked out a tremendous amount of blood, staining Bridgette’s sweatpants. She fell to her side and was out like a light in an instant.

“Sam?!” Bridgette kneeled down and tried to wake her up. She too began to have tears start pouring out of her eyes. “Sam?!”

“Looks like your †˜boyfriend’s’ breathed †˜his’ last,” Whitney said before laughing with her group. “I guess…”

“You fucking cunt!” Bridgette ended Whitney’s sentence by punching her in the face. As she staggered and fell on her side, Bridgette kicked her right in the stomach, causing her to cough out some blood before the two boys finally ran in to intervene.

“Holy shit! She’s lost it!” Debra said in a panic as she got on her phone. “I’m calling campus security.”

Bridgette ducked underneath the swings of both men, placing her right behind them. She grabbed one by the back via the hood on his jacket, pulling him towards her. As soon as he was in front of her, Bridgette buried her palm into the man’s face with enough force to knock him down on his back. The moment his head made contact with the pavement, he was out. Bridgette turned around and was met with a fist to the face by the other man still up. She rubbed her cheek before staring him down.

“Calm down, you crazy bitch!” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

Bridgette didn’t care and looked to Whitney who was now being dragged by Debra as she called campus security from behind the man. Bridgette rushed in, causing the man to swing. Another punch connected with her stomach before she ducked out of the way of a left hook. She grabbed his arm and jabbed her palm into his elbow, bending his arm the opposite way and breaking it. “Ragh!!!” Bridgette screamed louder than the sounds of anguish he was making as she swept at his legs and knocked him down. She punted his head, knocking him out instantly.

“Please, she’s lost it! Get here soon!” Debra yelled into her phone before it was taken.

With the phone now in her hand, Bridgette jammed it into Debra’s jaw with a right hook. Debra was out as the phone shattered on the side of her chin, sending her straight into the pavement. With everyone out, Bridgette approached Whitney who was desperately trying to crawl away in fear. She kicked the girl onto her back and proceeded to kick her until she was writhing and screaming in agony. “Die… Die…” Bridgette said as she repeated kicked her victim. Blood slowly painted the ground with every kick Bridgette delivered. “Die… Die! Get the fuck out of our lives!”

“Bridgette, stop!” Jessi grabbed her friend from behind and subdued her. “Calm down!”

“Let me go!” Bridgette struggled to break free. She saw campus security finally arrive and help Whitney up.

“Damn…” the woman said as she looked at the carnage. She directed her partner to pick up Whitney. “Get her an ambulance! We need more people for everyone else!”

“M-mark my words…” Whitney spoke to everyone’s surprised. She coughed out a little blood in the process.

“Miss Deveraux, please take it easy,” the man helping her up suggested.

“Bridgette Dackerman, you’ve doomed your entire family,” said Whitney. “I’m going to have you expelled!”

“Get the fuck off!” Bridgette exploded.

“Ugh!” Jessi grunted as she felt Bridgette’s strength overpower her grip and an elbow jab into her stomach, causing her to fall to a knee.

“Miss Dackerman, stay back! I’m warning you!” said the security woman to an enraged Bridgette.

As the woman stepped in between her and Whitney, Bridgette shoulder charged right into her. As she was rearing back, Bridgette took one of the devices on her belt. She planted it into the woman’s stomach before pressing the button, sending a jolt of electricity to her body and knocking her out.

“Miss Dackerman, drop that stun gun!” the remaining security man said in a panic as he lay Whitney down to protect her. He was met by the device and electrocuted to submission alongside her partner.

“Bridgette, stop! You just assaulted security personnel!” Jessi called to deaf ears. She watched as her friend threw the stun gun to the side and picked up some handcuffs from her recently subdued victim. “Bridgette! Stop, dammit!”

“You can’t expel me if you’re dead!” said Bridgette as she made Whitney kneel. She got behind her helpless opponent and wrapped the handcuffs around her neck before pulling. “Now die slowly…”

“Bridgette, what the fuck?!” Jessi yelled. Her once kind friend had entered a state of madness and she just couldn’t reach out to her. Jessi scanned the ground and ran for the stun gun upon finding it. “Shit, why me?” she asked as she picked up the device. She ran towards Bridgette and noticed the look on Whitney’s face, realizing she had mere moments left to make something happen. Jessi punched her friend in the gut, causing her to bend forward and giving Jessi enough time to remove the cuffss from around Whitney’s neck. As the helpless woman fell face first into the rubber of the track, Jessi looked to Bridgette. “I am so sorry…” she said full of guilt before jamming the stun gun intro Bridgette’s stomach. Jessi cringed at the sight of her friend in agony as she fell on her side and finally passed out.