LIFE AT COLLEGE... On into the Fall (Part 18d)

After Elle washed up and changed we walked back down to the SU. She said her roommate had arrived and had left a note. Her name was Susan and she was wearing a blue and white striped sweater and hoped that Elle would try to find her at the "mixer". Looking for her and finding her turned out to be the most exciting thing we did. I didn't know her date, Bob, but, with almost 400 freshman on campus, that wasn't a surprise. There was a local band providing dance music but, for me, it was undancable. Bob and Susan pretty much agreed so we sat around and got to know each other. As we got talking it became very evident that Bob and I shared quite a few things in common. As kids we'd both spent time living in the city and both of us had gone to private schools and then on to boarding school. He'd dated Susan, on and off, for about three years and started going "steady" at the beginning of the Summer.
Susan, on the other hand, was as different as day and night from Elle. Her family had money and she was attending an exclusive girls college. She'd been exposed to the "Arts" from the time she was child and had done quite a bit of travelling. To me she seemed to have an "air" of superiority about her but was very pleasant while we were all together. We all decided to "bag" the rest of the "mixer" and to get a good night of sleep. Bob and I put our heads together trying to think of some place we could have some privacy with the girls but nothing came to mind. The night ended with nothing more than another platonic kiss and hug.

The four of us met for breakfast the next morning. I was really curious as to how Elle had handled telling Susan about her problem or, if she did at all. With Bob and Susan so close she wouldn't even give me a hint. There was an official campus tour that was being offered and Elle really wanted to do it. Bob and Susan chose not to participate. I now know that if Elle had realized what was entailed she wouldn't have done it either.

It was a walking tour and took us to some places that I didn't know even existed. We started at the Athletic facilities and then moved to the perimeter of the campus. That became a problem... for Elle. I'd suggested that Elle use the bathroom when we were at the gymnasium but she declined. She was still very shy about bodily functions, especially with strangers around. I couldn't understand why walking into a bathroom in front of people was such a big deal, but that was her mindset. It turned out to be a mistake for her. It was over an hour before we arrived at another building with facilities. When she returned to me after her toilet visit she asked how far it was from there to the dorms. That told me enough to know she had a real problem. It was about 20 minutes away and we left immediately. With no one around I again asked how it had gone with Susan the night before. As you can imagine she wasn't in the best of moods but, after a minute or two, opened up.

When Elle and I had left the bonfire the night before she had put on her night time "package" after washing up. She figured that it would be less embarassing to do it then, without her roommate present. She ended up having no problems the rest of the evening. When it came time to turn out the lights she, reluctantly, decided that she better tell Susan about the alarms and why she needed them. To Elle's surprise, she was very sympathetic. One of her brothers had the same problem. She'd made it through the night dry and had left the "package" on when she got up, not wanting to take a chance on what the day would bring. As it turned out it had been a good choice what with her current situation. What I found very interesting was that she continued talking. She said that she'd noticed that Susan was wearing a different kind of panty. This was the first time Elle had ever mentioned someone else's panties. Of course I was interested! As it was, Susan had her period and these panties were made with a plastic crotch so that if the sanitary pad leaked it wouldn't get into her clothes. She went on that she'd been thinking about them ever since and thought they might be a good thing for her especially in a situation like the present. I asked if she'd spoken to Susan about them and said she hadn't. Knowing Elle, it figured. Her shyness kept her from asking questions that had anything to do with personal things. I immediately encouraged her to pursue it... finding out who made them and where Susan had purchased them.

The big event for the weekend was the football game. Neither of us was really into football but with all the excitement and pagentry we got sucked up into it. We found Bob and Susan during lunch and joined them for the game. Even though I'd been at school for six plus weeks I'd not attended a football game. After seeing the stadium at Elle's school, this one was was a disappointment. There were only wooden bleachers and not much else. In truth it was nothing more than a high school field with more seating. Even before halftime Elle had had it. We excused ourselves from Bob and Susan and headed back up the hill to her room. I debated with myself weather to ask how bad it was. It was at least a 15 minute walk, plus the hill. We made it to what we, at school, called the "break". That was about 1/3 the way up and where the main path split. There was also a small level space where you could stop and catch your breath. When we stopped I finally asked. She shook her head and had a look of despair on her face. As we made our way up the rest of the hill she told me that she'd tried to plan for any and all contingencies but her plan wasn't working. She'd worn one "package" on her way over, not knowing what to expect and she'd brought one other hoping that it would be enough. She'd also brought four extra panties and six extra sanitary pads. But, she'd already gone through both "packages" and, after the impending change, she realized that she'd be down to just the panties she'd be wearing and two pads. I didn't know what to say.

To be continued...