OCTOBER... Finally comes to an end! (Part 28g)

The week was worse than I could have imagined. The “agenda” the brotherhood had come up with called for keeping all of us pledges awake for somewhere around 54 hours straight. We were allowed to go to classes but the instructors and professors made sure no one slept while there. I thought I had a bit of an advantage by having gotten a few hours before the official starting time, especially knowing that some of the other pledges had partied right up to the last minute. But it became obvious, right away, that it didn’t really matter. Without wasting time and space let me just say I survived and was fully initiated into the brotherhood. But... the next morning I reported to the infirmary. I was admitted for dehydration and they ran a whole battery of tests. The results showed that I had a stomach ulcer. The best part of being there was that I got caught up on my sleep. The worst part was finding out that I had to go on a very restrictive, bland diet. As I’ve previously mentioned, Smitty, the fraternity house cook, specialized in Italian dishes and they were a “no-no” for someone with an ulcer. I lay there wondering where I was going to be able to eat, finding the things I had to limit myself to. When Friday came and I was released I wasn’t really in any shape to go visit Elle. I still felt weak (I hadn’t eaten much during the two days of “hell” and had only eaten soft foods for the previous two days) and had not a chance to find a ride. It was NOT a good week at all.

My Mother came up with the idea that I could go to the College Inn and ask if they could provide some of the things on my diet. Before I did that I stopped in to see my parents friends (Mr. and Mrs. B) who ran the clothing store in town (and who I’d been with a few weeks prior at the harness races) just to touch base. The lady, nice but very blunt, told me I looked terrible and wanted to know why. I related my tale of woe and just barely mentioned my concern about where to eat. Without hesitation she said she’d cook for me. I didn’t know what to say. I tried (feebly) to say “no” but she insisted and almost dragged me upstairs (they lived above the store) to feed me lunch. That afternoon we worked out a schedule starting with dinner that night. I really felt uncomfortable but indulged her anyway. When I finally “escaped” I headed for my room.

Bob, my roommate who had been to visit me the night before, wasn’t there. In fact, no one was home. Mrs. K had seemed like she was always there. She kept a radio going from the time she got up in the morning until she sat down to watch television at night and yet there wasn’t a sound. When I walked in the door all I was thinking about was lying down and resting. However, the idea that I was alone in the house was somewhat intriguing. Even though I had no idea what I’d say if she were home, I called out to Mrs. K. Nothing. Other than a few brief peeks into the living room from the foyer, I had no idea what it or the dining room, which was adjacent to it, looked like. What I saw reminded me of my Grandparents house. In a way it was sort of eerie. I’d been through the kitchen, quickly, with Mrs. K. but wanted to take another look. I certainly didn’t expect to find what I did when I walked in from the dining room. To the left, under the stairwell, was a wringer washer. On top of it was a wicker washbasket and I could see clothes piled into it. Taking a big, deep breath I approached it. I know my heart was beating a mile a minute as I peeked in. I had to move a few of the professor’s shirts but right there, staring me in the face, were two pair of white nylon panties. Based upon my sighting of the panties on the clothes line a few weeks earlier I knew they had to be Julia’s. I know I looked over my shoulder a couple of times before I reached in and picked one out. I held it up and stared at the crotch first. The first thing I noticed was that it was much narrower than any panties that I'd seen on Elle or in her dresser back at home. There was an obvious stain. Looking at it closely and then feeling it I found it somewhat crusty. The inside of the crotch showed a dark yellow stain, right in the middle, that ran from front to back. I wondered just what it was and how it got there. The next step was to look at the label and it read “Mojud”, size 5. I was about to pick up the other pair when I thought I heard something at the back door. In a panic I stuffed the panties back in the basket and ran. I made it upstairs without taking a breath... or it seemed that way. I stayed at the head of the stairs for a few minutes and, not hearing anything, decided to continue my investigation of the house. The rules of the house for John, Bob and I were that we were never to go down the other hall, only the one to our rooms. We were allowed to go as far as the bathroom but never to turn left. I decided to push my luck and I think I tip-toed all the way down to Julia’s room. The door was ajar and when I pushed it open I saw a small room, much like the one John occupied. The dresser was right there. I only needed a few steps to be right in front of it. I hesitated a few seconds, making sure I didn’t hear anything from downstairs before pulling open the top drawer. I have to admit I was disappointed. There were maybe eight pair in all and I think three were cotton with blood stains in the crotch. The others, all nylon were pretty much in disrepair. There was no order to them at all. It took me few seconds to remember that this was Friday and the end of the week and that the rest of them were probably in the washbasket downstairs. With that, I closed the drawer and retreated to my room. I remember lying there trying to figure a way to have another chance at Julia’s room in the future.

As I lay there I tried to come up with some sort of an excuse to get out of going back to my parents friends to eat supper. I decided to call home to see if my mother could help me get out of it. When Bob returned to the room I brought him up to date. He thought, under the circumstances, that the offer to feed me was great. He, like most of the brothers at the fraternity house, were fairly sick of pasta. But I was just plain uncomfortable in that I really didn’t know these people all that well. Even though no one was home at that time I didn’t want to chance using their phone, even though the call would be collect. I headed downtown to not only call home but to call Elle to given her the news that I wouldn’t be coming over.

When I reached my mother I got an earful. Mrs. B, the lady who had made the offer to feed me had already called so my mother knew. When the “lecture” was over I still asked how I could get out of having her feeding me. I don’t remember her exact words but in general she said to live with it... that she’d at least know that I was being well fed and was being looked after. It certainly wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

The call to Elle was better. She didn’t lecture me but I could clearly hear her concern as well as disappointment. I promised that I’d get over as soon as I possibly could. As strange as it may seem, considering the detail of my posts up to now, but I don’t remember much about it. My grades had suffered mightily throughout the whole Fall semester and I know there was an all class exam somewhere between initiation and Thanksgiving. I know I got over to see her and I remember both of us spending a lot of time studying. As far as the “up close and personal” stuff I have no specific memory of what we did. I do remember crashing at the fraternity just down the street from her sorority but that’s about it.

To be continued...