“Now quitting fooling,” Stephanie said. “I need you to have my back when we go talk to Cronkite. I don't want to have to worry about you clowning around on me because you think she's cute, too.”
“I'm not going to do that at all,” Lexie said. “Believe me. I'll talk to you more about it after the fact. But, because were getting to the top of this staircase and then after that I'll probably not speak for a minute, I will say I'll fill you in after—but I've heard students have had great success convincing Cronkite to change grades with a little bit of flirting and maybe a date or two.”
Stephanie raised her eyebrows and looked like she was about to squawk some kind of protest, but Lexie took her by the shoulder and firmly pushed her through the door. They both walked through the Gender Studies' floor. Cronkite's room was somewhere up head on the left, and both Stephanie and Lexie would have hurried to get there rather than tarry in the halls, but there was some sort of scuffle going on by the drinking fountain.
“You mother fucker!” one of the undergraduates said. “I can't believe you have the balls to come in here and try to tell me how it works. I can have dreadlocks if I want, that doesn't mean that I'm racist!”
It was one of the Gender Studies main undergraduate organizers. He was an amazing person both of the women knew well, but he also had a fiery temper. There hadn't been any blows, and someone came out of a room and broke up the two young men. As quickly as the flashpoint had appeared, it dissipated.
“Holy shit,” Lexie said. “I've never seen anything like that happen hear before.”
They walked down the hall, keeping their voices low—it seemed someone inappropriate to laugh or speak loudly after the tense moments before.
“I hear that it has to do with the way the right wing is coming back, like they did with Trump,” Stephanie said. “You know how it goes, everyone gets scared and it's super hard to tell if it's nothing, or if we should be concerned. I mean, I'm always concerned. It's not like I'm one of those people who just don't give a shit, but at some point I have my own stuff to focus on.”
“And soon, even more,” Lexie said. “You'll see.”
Stephanie wasn't sure what to make of Lexie's last comment, and before she could really think about it, they were in Cronkite's room.
“Well hello,” Cronkite said. “I'm so happy to see that you two decided to come see me during my office hours,” Cronkite said. “I saw Stephanie looking like she sort of wanted to stay after class, but then everyone was running toward the door. I totally get it, it's a nice day out. And you know what, if I were you I'd try to enjoy as much of the sun as you can. You never know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow.”
Cronkite's office was a really cool space, with a plush Persian rug and few pets. The pets were little critters, creatures like scorpions and tarantulas. Stephanie and Lexie took a moment to look around, their eyes bouncing from one spine of a book to another like a typewriter working its way down the line.
“I have to say,” Cronkite said. “Especially because I think it's why you're here, that Stephanie's grade is a little low.”
Stephanie nodded and gulped. Lexie smiled a lopsided grin and had a seat in a chair tucked in the far corner of the room.
“Well,” Stephanie said. “You see, you're right. And I know that there really isn't much extra credit I haven't already done, and also, that I've kind of been missing classes because I drink to much and stuff like that. But I really think I deserve another chance, because, well, I come to class with a good attitude.”
Stephanie was still standing, with Lexie at her back. Cronkite slowly made her way around her rather large oak desk and had a seat in her nice green, well upholstered chair.
“That's very true,” Cronkite said. “You do come to class with a good attitude. And you know what, that counts for something in my class. I know that it can be hard to go to college. And I'm not just saying that. There is so much to do, and you get to figure out who you want to be.”
Stephanie wasn't used to the female she was talking to taking control of the conversation like Cronkite had, but it wasn't so bad. It was nice to be able to just be a regular bystander when it came to things like decision making. If Cronkite wanted to run the conversation, that was fine with Stephanie—she sat down in the seat in the middle of the wall, kitty corner to Lexie's seat.
“Here's the deal,” Cronkite said. “I have to see what you're attitude is like outside of class. You know what I mean? It can't be something where you get outside of the classroom and you're an extra idiot.”
Stephanie didn't know what to say, but she couldn't help but catch Lexie's smile out of the corner of her eye. This wasn't the way that Cronkite usually talked in the classroom; although forceful, she never seemed this aggressive. As Cronkite sat behind her big desk she seemed extra delicate, with her high cheekbones accenting her small Afro in a way that makeup never would. Stephanie was so struck by her beauty that she forgot what she was doing there. Lexie jumped in for her.
“Cronkite,” Lexie said. “I know that this may sound a little strange, but is there anyway that Stephanie could make it up to you outside of class, somehow? She really can't afford to have this on her record, and you know how the school can be. They don't ever see it from the students' point of view. All of their decisions come out of manuals.”
“I totally understand what you're saying,” Cronkite said.
She leaned back in her chair and surveyed Stephanie with a smile. “But this has to be her idea. This can't be something you came up with and just thrust into the conversation with no prior planning or input from Stephanie. So, Stephanie, let's hear about this from you. What do you think about this idea?”
Stephanie didn't know what to say. She sat there, her hourglass figure so different from Cronkite's petite, but busty, figure.
“I think that I need to have a B in this class,” Stephanie said. “And I know that—
Cronkite's laughter tinkled like broken glass from behind her hand. Lexie was also laughing a small laugh, one that she was doing her best to conceal.
“Maybe ,I'll just tell you,” Cronkite said. “We're going to go to on a date later tonight because there is no way that you're going to get a motherfucking B by raking my leaves or some shit like that. Do you understand?”
Stephanie didn't know what to say for a moment. It had all happened so fast. At first it seemed like they'd been tiptoeing up to the line that was flirting, and now they'd just jumped over it to the other side where Cronkite got what she wanted. Stephanie got what she wanted, too, and she needed to keep that in mind.
“Sounds like a plan,” Stephanie said. “And I appreciate you being flexible.”
“I appreciate you being flexible,” Cronkite said. “I see you out there on the weekends doing yoga. Now, both of you, out of my office. There are people waiting outside!”
With that Stephanie and Lexie made their way back out into the hall and another group of friends shuffled into Cronkite's office.
Gender Studies could be a hard class if the students forgot about a few assignments. The way that Cronkite ran the entire department, so all the Gender Studies classes were as such. But there was little forgiveness in Cronkite's class; she just didn't seem to believe in giving people second chances. In class, sometimes, Cronkite would go on and on about how people needed to be held accountable, and students needed to have their feet held to the fire.
“You're lucky I came with you,” Lexie said. “She seems like she's in a bad mood.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were kind of awkward,” Stephanie said. “You think it went well because you were there?”
They walked back toward their place, along one of the main cement walkways through campus.
“Me and her had a fling last semester,” Lexie said. “But not because my grades were bad.”
They both laughed at this, and Stephanie, for whatever reason, wasn't stunned that her friend had said such a thing. Lexie was a sexy, voluptuous woman.
“So you've done the same before? That's interesting,” Stephanie said. “I didn't know about that.”
Lexie shrugged.
“Well, I guess it's probably because it wasn't like this at all,” Lexie said. “We had a crush on each other from trivia night, and started to hang out. Then I found out she worked here and we were like, holy shit! And stopped. Because it didn't seem like we were really that compatible anyway.”
“So, obviously, it was time to introduce me to her with the idea that time spent together would somehow garner me better grades because why exactly? I guess I don't understand fully,” Stephanie said. “There has to be more than you're telling me.”
The sunny sky was now overcast, and both women were walking with their eyes on the pavement. The wind picked up and the sky started to spit rain at them in little droplets that hit the ground and seemed to smudge out into nothing but a light spot. They both knew that real rain was coming, one that would quench the thirst of the surrounding cornfields. In Ames, Iowa, there was hundreds of miles of fields in any direction, maybe with a town or two, but mostly corn. And there were also pigs, but hog lots tended to be something that people kept hidden away from the public due to how terrible the conditions were for the animals, and how poorly the waste was managed.
“All right,” Lexie said. “There is a little more, but it's just me being a little bit of a shit about it.”
“Oh my God,” Stephanie said. “I knew that it was going to be lesbian drama when you got all weird in there! I knew it!”
The girls made it to the house where they rented the first floor, and flopped down on the couch, switching on the weather channel.
“It's not drama,” Lexie said. “I just wanted to be sure that Cronkite was cool with you about it. Because you're a nice person, and fundamentally, you're right. You did come to class ready, for the most part. There were a few times you fucked up, though, and she called you out for them.”
“That's what I'm saying,” Stephanie said. “It seems like too much to hold those events against me because how how hard she called me out at the time and it's good to hear you agree with me.”
The weatherman on television told them that there was a good chance for scattered thunderstorm, and also issued one of those weather warnings that makes the TV and radio peep two or three times way louder than the actual volume setting.
“So,” Stephanie said. “What do you think is going to happen tonight? I don't even have her number or anything, so how am I supposed to call her, or text, her, or whatever. Surely she doesn't want me emailing her considering what the email would say.”
“Oh course not,” Lexie said. “Listen, would you calm down and stop being difficult. I get that you're a little miffed, but it's all good. Cronkite is super awesome, and me and her never actually did anything together. We wanted to, but we didn't. So I figure it wold be fitting that I introduce you two. But you have to know that this is on you, not me. I'm not the one going to hang out with Cronkite, and I'm not trying to say this is the best course of action.”
Stephanie stayed quiet, more than happy to listen to Lexie take the wheel for a change.
“While you to are out,” Lexie said. “You'll most likely discuss what's going to go one with the grade, and what you have to do or whatever. The best way would be to be the one who suggest the thing that is do be done. Don't make her be the one that tells you—she can lose her job for that. But if it's your idea, then you can have a Gender Studies' grade that isn't so bad.”
Stephanie laughed and snuggled back into their super comfortable couch.
“Hopefully I don't have to do some bitch work like rake her lawn, or mow the yard, or dig a hole and fill it like we're doing some kind of Army boot camp type of thing.”
“I'm sure you'll be fine,” Lexie said. “And I doubt that Cronkite is going to have you do anything like dig a hole. She'll probably just want to hang out with you in a setting that is nonthreatening. If you want, I could come! That would be fun. But you two should probably talk about it first.”
It had never occurred to Stephanie that Lexie might be able to come along, especially because she already knew Cronkite. There was a lot of things that could happen and Stephanie was just now realizing that she was a little behind the curve of the game Lexie was playing.
“But what if we hit it off and want to be more than a fling? I guess that's a little presumptuous of me,” Stephanie said. “But you know what I mean. If, by some crazy stroke of luck, this is the person who I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life, won't it be weird if you're part of the story? What if the part of the story is when you and me and her all play together?”
Lexie laughed at this, pressing her head back into the sofa and arching her back.
“Holy fucking shit,” Lexie said. “You really do have a dirty mind. All right, check it out. If you two decide that I could come, or if me coming it just part of it, I'll hang back, or become animated, depending on what's going on.”
Stephanie didn't really like the answer; it didn't address her question.
“But what if—“
Lexie cut her off.
“It's sweet that you want to marry Cronkite already,” Lexie said. “But maybe we should at least make sure that you two get together tonight and see what's up with y'all. Because as cute as it is to sit here and fret about what could happen, or what should happen.”
With that Lexie whipped out her cellphone and typed in a few numbers. Before Stephanie knew what was going on Lexie had worked out all the details.
“You'll be meeting up with her around six at the bowling alley,” Lexie said. “Now, don't get all nervous and do anything dumb like get super wasted. Cronkite isn't going to dig you if you do that. You need to just go with the flow, be around her, feel her vibe, and flirt with her. That's the biggest thing. If you get all weird like some kind of straight white who isn't hip, it's going to be hard to convince Cronkite that you're cool enough for her to have a thing with. So, try not to be a dumbass, all right?”
Stephanie laughed.
“I think I sense a little bit of jealousy,” Stephanie said. “And that's fine. But do keep in mind that I know nothing of your past relationship with Cronkite, and I'm not trying to step on your toes.”
“Holy shit,” Lexie said. “Shut up. Just do your best. Am I little jealous? Yes. But does that mean I care about what you two are doing? No. So please don't think that it keeps me up at night that you and Cronkite are going to spend some time together.”
“So you won't be there? I just want to know. Not trying to pressure you to come,” Stephanie said. “I guess I'm suddenly like, eek, I need backup!”
Lexie's phone buzzed in her hands, receiving a text.
“It looks as if I'll be there as well,” Lexie said. “I thought this might happen. But like I said, I'm going to be taking a back seat to all of this because it's just not my time to do anything but that. I could be a little bit more talkative than I plan to be, or I could just not. I plan on not. I guess I'll chime in. When I feel like it.”
Stephanie just chuckled. She loved how cagey Lexie was being about the entire thing. It wasn't like her, and it excited Stephanie to know that Cronkite had this affect on her.
“Well, I want you to know I'm glad,” Stephanie said. “Whether or not me being glad has a whole lot to do with the outcome might not matter, but I want you to know that I'm glad you're coming and that you'll get to experience it with me. I suppose you've already hung out with her and stuff. Maybe not like this, but close to like this.”
Lexie didn't answer, and instead checked the time on her phone. Stephanie liked the way that Lexie was always punctual. She never let time get away from her the way some people did, and when someone showed up late to class Lexie always made this face like she was smelling something rotten, like she just couldn't believe what was going on—how anyone could be late for anything, especially class, and even more so a date, was beyond her.
“We need to go,”
Lexie said. “I knew I just made plans, but if we're both going to put on any makeup at all, we need to start now. And I know I want to take a shower.”
“You don't need to take a shower,” Stephanie said. “You took one before class!”
“I guess you're right,” Lexie said. “So let's hurry up and get our faces painted!”
When they arrived at the bowling alley they were both relieved to find that the students that they went to class with hadn't decided to show up and throw some balls around. Everyone who was there seemed to be from the general public, but it was hard to tell. The bowling alley itself wasn't technically part of the school. A small business rented out the bottom floor of the student union building and had super cheap glow in the dark bowling. Not only this, but if the bowler was of age, they could even buy drinks.
Stephanie looked around for Cronkite while Lexie grabbed them their shows and a locker. Stephanie knew that Cronkite was going to dress one of two ways: either she'd wear something that glowed intensely in the dark, or she'd wear all black. It turned out to be the latter, and Cronkite waved at Stephanie from across the alley. It was amazing how the entire place lit up with a weird, luminescent glow. Cronkite looked stunning in what seemed to be some kind of outfit from the eighties. It was hard to place the exact area because of all the black lights.
“Good to see you out and about,” Cronkite said. “I usually only ever get to see you in class, and that's too bad really, because there is only so much we can talk about in class. It's kind of constricting.”
“I agree,” Stephanie said. “In class is fine, but I like real life better. You look super stunning right now. I'm sure you already knew that, but I wanted to let you know because, holy smokes, you are gorgeous!”
The dress that Cronkite was wearing showed off of her figure. There wasn't an inch of her left to the imagination Of course one could imagine if they wanted to, because it's not like the dress was see through, but it wouldn't take much imagination to see Cronkite naked in the mind's eye.
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