Slave Girls of Alpha Beta Delta, Chapter 61

As promised, Lindsay turned up to collect Jenny a few minutes after 8, wearing a long-sleeved Siouxsie and the Banshees T-shirt, a vintage denim jacket, and a short plaid skirt over fishnet stockings. She looked cool beyond cool and Jenny immediately felt like she was out of her depth; but Lindsay had asked her to go, and she had said yes, so what the hell?

They donned coats, hats, and scarves and set off into town. With Lindsay leading the way, they walked all the way through the main square and into the somewhat seedier outskirts on the other side. After traversing a series of increasing narrow and dim side streets, they descended a set of steps to a basement door that had nothing on it but an upside-down question mark.

Jenny had been feeling increasingly worried as the journey progressed. She didn’t really know Lindsay at all; was she being led to some kind of drug den, dungeon, torture chamber? But when they stepped through the door they were in a warm, crowded, music-filled nightclub. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief, though she still felt out of her element and the music was painfully loud.

They found a place along the wall to the right of the stage and Lindsay went to the bar, returning a few minutes later with two beers. For the next couple of hours they leaned against the wall drinking beers (three for Lindsay, two for Jenny) and watching a series of bands. None of them were, to Jenny’s ear, particularly musical, but they all had something interesting about them. And Jenny admired anyone who was willing to go onstage and play; the very idea terrified her.

Finally, though, an all-girl trio came on and immediately there was a different vibe in the air. The singer and guitarist, a small woman in her early 20s with black-and-magenta hair, had presence; before she even struck a chord or sang a word, you could tell there was something special about her.

When the band played their first song Jenny was amazed; she’d never heard anything like it before. It was loud and aggressive but also funky; despite having several abrupt changes of tempo, it was impossible not to dance to. Both Jenny and Lindsay got up from their slouches and started moving, as did everyone in the club.

When the song was over the singer said “Hi!” in a girlish chirp that didn’t seem to match her ferocious singing voice at all. “It’s great to be back,” she said to a wave of applause. “Thanks for coming out tonight. This one’s called ‘Blow You Away.’”

The second song was very different from the first but equally impressive. After that they played one amazing song after another for almost 90 minutes. When it was over Jenny was completely stunned; she’d never experienced anything like it. She was sweaty from dancing and exhilarated, and more than a little enamored of the singer, who waved and blew the crowd a kiss when she said goodnight.

“Wow,” said Jenny as she leaned back against the wall and killed the last swallow of the beer she’d been neglecting.

“I know, right?” said Lindsay. “She’s really talented. Always has been.”

“You know her?” asked Jenny.

Lindsay nodded. “We went to high school together.” As the crowd began to thin out, Lindsay jerked her head and said, “Come on, let’s go backstage.”

There was no security or anything; to get backstage all they had to do was walk down a hallway and through a curtain. Inside the bass player and drummer were curled up together on a small couch in the corner; the singer was sitting on a folding chair with a towel over her head.

“Hey Hana,” said Lindsay.

Pulling the towel up a little, the petite woman looked at them with big, lively brown eyes. “Linds!” she said. “I thought I saw you out there.”

“Great show,” said Lindsay.

“Thanks. Yeah, I thought it went well.”

Almost simultaneously the two girls in the corner piped up, “Hi Lindsay.”

“Hi Haley,” said Lindsay. “Hi Donna.”

Lindsay then introduced Jenny, who was so nervous she could barely speak. Finally she stammered out, “You were... amazing.”

“Thanks Jenny. It’s always fun to share our music with new people.” Putting the towel aside she said, “Let’s go get a drink.” With that Hana strode out of the room followed by Lindsay and Jenny. As they left Jenny noticed out of the corner of her eye that Haley and Donna had started making out.

The three of them sat at the bar and the bartender, who knew Hana from multiple appearances at the club, put a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses in front of them. Hana poured them each a shot and raised her glass: “Salud,” she said.

Jenny took her shot and immediately started coughing, unprepared for how strong it was. But soon after a feeling of warmth and well-being washed over her.

For the next half-hour Lindsay and Hana shared gossip about their high school friends — who was dating who, who had flunked out of college, who had never left home and was now working some awful job. In the process several more shots of tequila disappeared down each of their throats.

Jenny mostly sat there studying Hana. Her ethnicity was a bit mysterious, but from her light brown skin and dark, striking eyes, Jenny guessed she was of Persian descent. She was not the most classically beautiful, and was carrying a few extra pounds, but she had charisma; there was just something irresistible about her. She was wearing a black dress that somehow managed to be both frilly and punk, along with knee-length black socks and a leather collar from which dangled an Egyptian ankh.

For some time Jenny had been spacing out the conversation, but it got her attention when Hana asked Lindsay, “So, you’re still living at that sorority?”

Lindsay nodded. “Yup, two years plus now.”

“You know,” said Hana, downing another shot, “I never figured you for the sorority type.”

“Dude,” said Lindsay, following suit, “me neither. But when I started hearing about some of the things that went on there, I had to check it out. And it was all true. And then some.” With that she looked over at Jenny, who had not been matching the others shot for shot, but took one now.

“It’s amazing how they have things organized,” said Lindsay. “They take these innocent little freshmen and turn them into total lezzie sluts.”

Hana laughed. “Is that what happened to you?”

Lindsay laughed too. “Yeah, right. Let’s just say I was a little bit ahead of the curve. But this one” — and here she pointed at Jenny — “when I first saw her, she was as wide-eyed and pure as could be. But right now I bet she’s sitting there thinking about what your pussy tastes like.”

Jenny blushed, embarrassed at the suggestion, and all the more embarrassed because it was not too far from what had actually been on her mind. She was already a little squishy between the legs, and hearing Lindsay say that caused another surge of liquid to flow.

“And they really have to do whatever you tell them?” asked Hana. Lindsay nodded. “Well shit,” said Hana, taking another shot and slamming her glass down on the bar. “What are we doing here?”

As they got their coats on Hana said, “Believe it or not they actually got us a pretty nice place this time, an AirBnB. Just down the street.” Slipping the tequila bottle into her overcoat, Hana led them out the door and into the cold darkness outside.

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