23 - College: A New Chapter, Normal is Good
Story index at the bottom
By Jennifer
Hi, I finally got around to writing the third part of this story. Have a read over it and let me know what you think.
Dinner at the college cafeteria went pretty well and normal as you would likely suspect. Ashley and I ate together as we often did. I had made several other friends in my first few weeks of college. I had a couple of girls that I hung out with from two of my classes and two others who lived down the hallway. I was still getting to know them. There was something different about making friends with someone and living with someone. While I was making friends with several of the other students on campus, Ashley and I were becoming close friends after the first few weeks of the semester. She and I got along quite well and shared a lot of interest. We has some differences in our personalities. She was a little more shy than I was and I was into the whole tie up thing and she wasn't. Still, she was the closest thing I had to true friend around here right now.
While I was closest with my family and I had quite a few friends from high school and grade school back home. None of them were here right now and I had been feeling quite lonely and cut off until I had formed a friendship with my roommate. We often shared an evening meal together. 4 in the afternoon was a good time to eat. The cafeteria wasn't crowded with the dinner rush and the food was just coming out fresh for the first time of the meal. The two of us sat across from each other and ate. The conversation bobbed back and fourth between a number of different things as we consumed the food. However, the item that had just transpired up in the room was absent from the conversation.
Ashley was very taboo about the whole tie up thing and she wouldn't even discuss her feelings about it with Stephanie and me. My assumption from our first encounter was that she didn't care for it at all. However, I wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing. There were still some light marks on my wrists from the ropes earlier in the day. I was careful to keep my sleeves down and I focused the conversation away from what had just happened. I wasn't sure that Ashley was unfriendly with the situation. But, I wasn't going to test it by bringing it up in public. The meal finished the way it always did, I got desert and Ashley sat there and watched me eat it. She was on a bit of a diet phase at the moment. I don't remember why, but she wasn't eating too many sweets.
So, are you ready to head back up to the dorm room Jen?” Ashley remarked as I picked up the plastic dish of ice cream and began to consume it with a spoon. “Yeah, I guess I am done let's head back to the dorm room and do something.” I replied. The two of us headed out the front door of the cafe and said good night to the woman sitting behind the cash register. She was an older lady with light grey hair and a polite smile. She was always pleasant to talk to on a busy day when you needed advice about college. The trip back to the dorm room was pretty simple and pleasant. The conversation that we had over dinner continued and everything seemed to be returning to normal. Not that most things I got involved in were considered normal by anyone's standards.
Ashley and I got off the elevator, I had finished most of the ice cream on the way up and threw the small plastic bowl out in the trash can next to the elevator. The two of us headed down the hallway towards the dorm room. I lead the way as Ashley clinged a few feet behind me. It wasn't in her nature to follow, but it was in mine to lead. I already had my key out to unlock the door and she gave me the right of way so that I could complete my task. I turned the key in the knob and glided the door gently open into the room. Ashley followed me in. She flipped on the light as she passed the switch illuminating our humble abode.
Let's face it, the room I shared with my little sister at home when I was growing up was bigger than the dorm room. Throw in the sofa and the bunk beds and got smaller by the minute. It was getting into fall and the amount of available light outside in evening hours was fading. Still, there was plenty of light coming through the windows to illuminate the small space. "So, Jen what do you want to do this evening?" The question was being repeated for about the tenth time since we left for dinner. I looked over at her not knowing how to respond. She had already asked the question several times and I told her I was fine with anything. I had gotten being tied up out of my system for the time being and any normal form of entrainment was equally worthy of my consideration. I just didn't want to have to give the first idea to the conversation.
Ashley looked at me inquisitively waiting for a response. She might as well have been talking to a bucket. I needed time to let things run through my head and she wanted an immediate epiphany. The combination wasn't coming together at all. "Movie?" The question was a one word phrase. It seemed she had already made up her mind what she wanted to do and was filling in the buckets lines for it. "Sure, what did you have in mind?" I asked looking up at her. Ashley took a moment to think herself. "Did you bring anything new when you went home last weekend?" I just shook my head and began realizing that it wasn't going my way. Ashley looked up at the line of tapes rowed across the bottom shelf above her desk. She walked over and began to look through it. I didn't have to look to know the answer. I already knew what we had.
Ashley and I had each brought about 2 or 3 movies that we had gone through in the first two weeks here. Other than that, Ashley had pretty much the whole first season of the Pokémon cartoon on tape. I had a lot of fun with the whole game and everything, but she was obsessed with it. She had two tapes that were official, the rest she had just recorded on Saturday morning on some blank tapes. We had already watched all the movies we possessed and her cartoon collection in its entirety twice. Not that I minded, Ashley was open about what she liked in life and I was happy to indulge it to make her happy. In reality, that was the facade I put up. I was just as hooked on it as she was, but I wasn't as open about the whole thing. I didn't have a stuffed Pikachu the size of a small child sitting on my bed by the pillow. But, if it made her happy, so be it. I had a couple of things that made me happy that most girls at that age would find weird to say the least.
"I guess I am going to have to go rent a movie." Ashley stated as she looked backward towards me rather than over the shelf of videos. "Are you sure, it’s almost a mile?" Ashley was already getting her coat on the video store I was thinking of was almost a mile from the dorm. "I am sure, is there anything in particular you want me to get?" I watched as Ashley was opening the door to the dorm room. I was surprised she was willing to make the trip over a simple tape rental. "Something funny would be nice, and nothing scary." The offer was more for her than me. I could stand horror films, but Ashley didn't care for them much. "I trust you, besides your paying for it so it's up to you." Ashley nodded and headed for the door.
I leaned back against my own desk and my hand landed on Ashley's keys. "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" I said picking the keys up and jangling them to get her attention. "Nope, I could use the exercise, besides you need time to make the popcorn. I will be back in a little while." With that she closed the door behind her and took off. I knew there had to be a catch to the whole thing. No wonder she wanted to head off so suddenly. Ash wanted to stick me with all the hard work. I gave it a quick sigh and went off to get the stuff out of her closet.
So, you might be thinking, popcorn right, no big deal. Just throw two bags in the microwave and pour them into a bowl for later. Well, if that was it you would be wrong. I pushed my chair over so that I could extend my height. Each of the closets had two long deep shelves that ran the length of them. The top one was within reach of Ashley, long arms from the floor. At least the front edge of it was. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with her natural height. I pulled the air popper down from the top shelf where she stored it along with the pot and of course the pop corn. I set the pot and popper up on her desk. I filled the popper with a load of kernels and plugged it in. With most college students, a movie with popcorn was a simple way to unwind. With Ashley it was a ritual.
I took the lid off the 5 quart metal pot and put it under the lip to catch the popping kernels. While that was running, I headed over to the fridge and dug out a stick of butter which I cut in half. I put one half of it into a small ceramic cereal bowl and put it in the microwave. I set a timer and let it sit without starting the whole thing. I waited about 5 minutes while the popper emptied its contents over the side and into the pot. I retrieved the salt shaker and got it ready too. Once the first popping completed, I went over and refilled the air popper for the second go round. It took two popping to fill the pot. Once the second popping began, I hit the go button on the microwave to start melting the butter. I still had a few minutes to wait on the matter. Then I noticed something laying on the floor.
The pieces of rope that I had been bound with earlier was still sitting out. They was coiled up, but I had forgotten to put them away from earlier in the drawer where they were supposed to go. I let my mind wander back to where it had been before the movie had been suggested. I wasn't sure where the whole thing sat. I wondered whether Ash was gaining some interest in my activities, or if she was simply trying to be a good friend. It was a puzzle that I hadn't managed to quite work out how to address. At least not at this point. A beeping from the microwave brought my mind back into the present.
I pulled the melted butter out with a pot holder and crossed the room to spread it over the pot which, was now bursting with popcorn. I poured about half of it over top of the popcorn and then I began pulling the sides of the pile up. That way I could get some butter down further into the batch. Once I was done with that, I put the lid over the pot and shook it. I shook it like a melon trying to see if it was ripe. I was trying to spread the butter around evenly. After 2 minutes of shaking, I opened the top again and poured a little salt on top of it. It was a whole lot of work, but that just made it taste better. I grabbed a small handful and chowed down on it. Ashley was right, this was way better than 2 bags from a microwave.
The funny thing was there was enough popcorn for my whole family there in that pot. Ashley and I were going to end up eating all of it despite just having dinner over a half hour ago. Ash was weird that way. She wouldn't eat a scoop of ice cream. But, put a pile of popcorn in front of her and suddenly she would become a bottomless pit. I looked up at the clock. Ashley had only been gone for about 15 minutes or so. I had made the last trip to the video store with her. I had at least a good half hour before she was coming back. That would be if the store only had one tape to rent and a bear chased her back. I put a lid on the popcorn and headed over towards my dresser. I decided that to take a shower and get it out of the way for the evening.
I opened the bottom drawer of my dresser. We had a pretty open and sharing relationship about everything in the dorm room. Clothes seemed to be the exception to this rule. Mostly because our sized didn't match. Ashley had lent me a sweatshirt once. We had gone to an outdoor activity earlier in the month. Ashley had brought a pull over sweatshirt and I wore shorts. It ended up that she tied it around her waist because she didn't need it and I got cold. So, she let me borrow it to warm up. It ended up keeping me warm, but it looked a little ridiculous as I could have passed it off for a short dress.
I was still trying to decide whether or not to go through with my plan for the evening. My bottom drawer was designated by me week one for clothes. Actually, it turned out to be the only private place I had in the whole room. It housed a couple of things that I hadn't shared with either Ashley or Stacy yet. The first one being the harness I sometimes wore in the car. The vest from it was situated underneath everything else in the drawer. I had also brought out a seat mount for it. Actually, Scott had hidden them in the top of my laundry bag the day I moved in. It was in case I wanted them for anything. So far, they had just sat at the bottom of my drawer. There was also a pair of hinged hand cuffs with their keys. However, these two things weren't what I was looking for.
I went over to the left side of the drawer and retrieved the item I wanted. I lifted the outfit out and slid the door shut below. I tucked it under one arm and grabbed a change of underwear and a towel along with some soap as I headed out and down the hallway to the bathroom. I stepped into one of showers and pulled the curtain around me. I changed out of my clothes and turned the water on and let it come down streaming to hit me in the face. It was warm and a welcome soothing to end what had been a long day. My shower lasted about 10 minutes. I washed and stepped out with a towel wrapped around my body. The area around the floor was getting rather quiet for this time of evening most of the students who were going home had already left for the weekend. Of the few who remained, most of them were off at dinner right now. I had the bathroom all to myself. I headed over to second stall to dry off and get dressed.
Once I was dry, I slipped on my undergarments and then I unfolded the outfit I had retrieved from the dresser earlier. It was a fleece set of footed pajamas that I had brought from home on my last trip out. They were the normal one piece set that zipped in the front from the wait up to the neck. It had long sleeves and legs that ended in the built in feet. The whole thing was light blue with a snow flake print. My mother had ordered two sets of them for me the year before from the JC Penny's catalogue. I slid them on over my body and did up the zipper in the front. Then, I gathered my clothes up from the floor and headed back to the dorm room. I had avoided being seen by anyone so far. I headed back into my dorm room and went inside.
I had brought the outfit from home the last time I had gone. I had meant to wear them to bed earlier in the week. However, I wasn't sure how my two roommates would react to seeing me in pajamas with feet. I was worried that Ashley and Stacy would have a good laugh at my account and tell me how ridiculous I looked. Still colder weather was coming and I didn't want to go the whole winter without them. I figured I was better friends with Ashley than Stacy so this would be a good time to see what she thought. If she had a problem with them, the rest of my stuff would have to make its way home in secret. I seated myself on the sofa again much like I had been tied up earlier. Basically I just put my feet up and stretched out. Then I waited for Ashley to get back.
I still had to wait another 15 minutes or so for her to return. A two mile walk to rent a video took her almost an hour. The door opened and Ashley came into the room. She plopped the video down on my bed and took off her coat. "Hey Jen, sorry for taking so long with the tape. Did you get the popcorn done?" I looked over at her and nodded quietly. Ashley got two cereal bowls from a box in her closet and brought the pot over. She put it on the floor and pulled the chair from my desk up and set it facing the television. Afterward she put in the movie and sat down in the chair. My roommate didn't even attempt to fight me for the couch or part of it. Finally, Ashley hit play on her remote and passed me a bowl of popcorn. Everything went pretty smoothly. The two of us just sat there watching the movie start munching away on popcorn.
It turned out that my worries were not going to be realized. She had seen me and I hadn't heard one word about what I was wearing. The movie went forward and I worked slowly through my first bowl of popcorn before moving onto a second. The pot had a good 7 or 8 bowls in it. I was still full from dinner and the movie was about an hour and a half in length. It took me about 40 minutes to finish the second bowl. I went to get a third from the pot. However, all I got was a handful that I managed to scrape together. Ashley had devoured the rest of it in my absence. Not that I minded, I wasn't all that hungry.
The movie Ashley rented was Men in Black with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones if I am not mistaken about the actors. It would not have been my first choice, but I am easy going. It was okay, and it had its’ moments. The light flashed and the movie ended. (See it if you don't know what I am talking about.) Ashley got up and hit the rewind button on the VCR. "Well, that was different." Ashley said looking for a word to describe the movie. I could tell she wasn't as pleased with it as he had expected it to be. "Nice Jammies by the way, they look pretty comfortable." She continued to comment showing me a quick smile. I looked up at her trying to hide the embarrassment of the whole situation. "Yeah, they are warm and comfy." I repeated her comment back to her.
I sounded like a 4 year old, but I wasn't sure how to respond. Luckily Ashley moved the matter forward for me. "Where did you get them? I didn't know they made blanket sleepers in adult sizes." I paused for a moment and responded. "Actually, they are on the upper bound of child sizes. My mom ordered them for me from the JC Penny's catalogue last Christmas. I like pajamas with built in feet to keep warm. I have had them ever since I can remember." Ashley just nodded, "Well, they look comfortable, maybe I should get some." Her tone was a mix of laughing and a warm smile. I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. However, the matter dropped off.
Ashley took the tape out of the VCR and put it back in the video stores box. Then she came over and seated herself with her back resting again the side of the couch. Her position was chosen specifically because of what I had left on the floor. The coils of rope from earlier were still sitting there on the floor where I had left them. Ashley picked one of them up and passed it back and fourth between her hands. She looked down at it methodically and avoided making eye contact with me for a time. This was a second reason she had chosen to sit where she had. For a few minutes, she just sat there in silence. Ashley was letting her thoughts circulate in her head trying to choose the right way to phrase what she wanted to ask. They were moving around like clothes in a dryer.
Finally, she kept her gaze forward, but put a question out in the air. "Jen, I want to ask you something. It's hard for me, but I wanted to know something. It's about you being tied up earlier today. I had a question that I wanted to ask you with relation to that." I looked down at the back of her head. "OK, go ahead." I replied. "It was about the way you were tied up earlier. Have you ever fallen asleep tied up like that?" The question seemed strange at first, but the more I thought about it, it made more sense. I understood what Ashley was trying to ask. The problem was how to phrase it and my current outfit might had sent her to ask that question. I took a deep breath and resounded. "Well. . . . "
I am going to break here. I apologize that I didn't get to the good part of the story yet. However, this is already another 5 pages and I need to get some sleep tonight. This is turning out to be longer than I anticipated it would. I will finish the story up in over the next week or three. I promise. I hoped you enjoyed it despite nobody getting tied up just yet. Who gets tied up? Well I am not going to spoil the surprise. If you want to know you need to continue reading next time.
Jennifer
Note from Canuck : I did not find the last part of this story in the archives, sadly. If you have it, do not hesitate to post it here as a reply!
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Jennifer's stories
- 01 - My First Time (f/mf)
- 02 - Trying New Things: Breakfast with Mom (Fm/f)
- 03 - A Walk in the Park (mm/f)
- 04 - The Pole and the Dungeon (m/f)
- 05 - A long camping trip (mmf/f)
- 06 - One Rainy Day at Home (m/f)
- 07 - Winter Vacation at Grams (both genders)
- 08 - A Long Weekend tied up (F/f)
- 09 - Shopping with Mom (F/f)
- 10 - My New Friend (m/f)
- 11 - The Bike Trip (m/f)
- 12 - Sharing With Friends (Ffff/fff)
- 13 - New Horizon (Both Genders)
- 14 - A Trip to My Aunts (mFF/f)
- 15 - A Second Christmas Story (mmff/mmf)
- 16 - Mary's Weekend (F/F)
- 17 - The Next Chapter (*/self, f/f)
- 18 - Ropes and Skates (Good Combination?) (MFmf/fff)
- 19 - Hanging With Mary (F/f)
- 20 - College (FFF/FF)
- 21 - College Days : Stephanie's Captive (F/F)
- 22 - College Days : A New Chapter, Ashley Gets Involved (*/self, F/F)
- 23 - College Days : A New Chapter, Ashley Comes Back (F/F)
- 24 - College Days : A New Chapter, Normal is Good (F/F)
- 25 - College Days: Theodore Roosevelt (FF/F)
- 26 - College Days: Summer Job at the Farm (F/F, M/F)
- 27 - Holiday Trip to Grandma's (f/f, f/m, m/fmm)
- 28 - A Long Trip to Alaska (self/f, F/fmm)
- 29 - The Pioneering Experience (mmmm/f)
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section