Enlisting Redemption

by D. Allen Henry

  Chapter 2

  All Hallows Eve

  Charlottesville - October

  Rebecca was still in the process of recovering from her only date with Trevor Sutherland. By now she regretted having asked him to take her home, so much so that she had subsequently waited by the phone for several weeks in the forlorn hope that he might ask her out again. Surely she could do better next time, if only he would call. But he didn’t.

  Rebecca hadn’t had enough experience with young men to understand them yet, but she remained hopeful that things would change this year. The upcoming Halloween party at the Sigma Tau frat house was one such opportunity.

  Halloween was a transitional time of year in Charlottesville. It wasn’t quite winter yet in October, thus summerlike outdoor activities were still pursued actively, weather permitting, but by November Charlottesville would normally be subjected to sufficiently ominous bursts of weather to suggest that the long and dreary cold spell was rapidly approaching. Halloween seemed to signal the dividing line between the sunny upbeat portion of the year and the dark and brooding period of winter.

  Although a month had passed, she remained annoyed with Trevor, aware that her irritation was at least in part due to the fact that he had not called her again. To make matters worse, he was a member of the fraternity where the Halloween party was to be held. She therefore felt a strong desire to prove to him at the party that she was not a prude.

  As the time for the Halloween party approached, the choice of the perfect costume began to consume Rebecca’s thoughts. Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this particular year, it was the perfect opportunity for a mischievous party. To add to the anticipation, there was to be a costume contest with a prize to be awarded to the winner. Thus, she reasoned that her attire should be carefully planned to match the significance and timing of the event. Eventually, she settled on a slightly suggestive outfit. Because she had perhaps overly ambitious hopes of attracting attention to herself at the party, she carefully planned every intricate detail of her costume.

  At length she decided that the part of her outfit that she should commence with was her mask. She went shopping and found an ebony Venetian mask that fit the circumstance perfectly. It was precisely the look that she was aiming for. She had a stroke of brilliance when she realized that the look she was creating demanded devilish ears. Accordingly, she bought a pair of pointed ear extensions to compliment the mask. The result reminded her of Mr. Spock in Star Trek.

  She tried the mask on, together with the pointed ears. Posing in front of her full-length mirror, she exclaimed to herself, “Now I’m getting somewhere. I’ll show that guy.” She was confident that she was on track to make just the right impression at the party.

  Over the course of the following week she created a complete costume that included a black leotard, a pair of hip length leather boots, and a floor length black cape. The result was stunning - she was now ready for the Halloween party. Still, when she tried everything on she realized that she was much too demure to be seen in public in nothing more than these items. Her final purchase was therefore an opaque flesh-colored body suit that she employed as an undergarment.

  By the morning of the Halloween party she was ready, but by mid-afternoon she was trembling with fear, wondering what she had been thinking of. Standing in front of her mirror in her costume, she suddenly realized that despite the addition of the body suit it was far too outrageous to be worn in public for someone staid and proper.

  Rushing into Sarah’s room, she burst into tears and exclaimed, “Sarah, I can’t go tonight! I have nothing to wear! I simply can’t wear this outfit!”

  Eyeing her doubtfully, Sarah replied unequivocally, “Oh, come on, Rebecca, you’ve been working on that bizarre costume for three weeks! What gives?”

  “I can’t wear it,” she responded fearfully, “I’m too scared!”

  “That’s ridiculous. If you ask me, it looks awesome! Take it from me, girl, you are going to be the main attraction at the party tonight. Besides, the party’s in less than an hour, so it’s much too late to come up with something else.”

  “I know, I know,” Rebecca responded forlornly. “But I really don’t think I can go. I just haven’t the nerve to wear this.”

  “Oh, is nerve the only problem? Because if it is, I have the perfect remedy,” Sarah responded emphatically.

  “Really? What is it?” Rebecca replied doubtfully.

  Dragging a bottle of whiskey from her desk, Sarah poured a stiff shot into a glass and, surreptitiously handing it to Rebecca, she instructed, “Drink this. Think of it as strictly for medicinal purposes.”

  Regarding the glass suspiciously, Rebecca responded bluntly, “I don’t drink.”

  “If you want your dreams to be fulfilled in the next few hours, you have to make a decision to take a risk right now. Remember, you’ve been pouting around here since the first week of school about not meeting anybody. Tonight is the night to change all that, and with that costume, you’re going to be a real hit. So drink up, girl!”

  Rebecca continued peering at the glass doubtfully for a moment, but then, shrugging in resignation, she grasped it and downed it in one sweeping motion. Predictably, she immediately bent over coughing and gagging and, gasping in pain, she whimpered, “Oh, my God, that burns like hell, Sarah!”

  Between twitters, Sarah replied, “Right, but wait a couple of minutes and you’ll see.”

  As anticipated, within minutes Rebecca was bubbling with mirth, exclaiming brazenly, “Oh, boy, I can’t wait for the party to begin. I’m going to knock them dead with this outfit! You’ll see, Sarah. Thanks for the drink. It’s just what I needed,” and with that pronouncement she waltzed precariously from the room.

  Shortly thereafter, Rebecca and Sarah promenaded nervously through the front door of the Sigma Tau fraternity house. Several of the guys were immediately taken with Rebecca despite the fact that she was far too terrified to untie her cape strings. In fact, she received so much attention that she opted for another drink as a means of forestalling her by now mounting terror. She quickly found the bar and, hoisting yet another whiskey, she downed quite enough to regain her courage.

  At midnight everyone gathered in the frat house dining room, whereupon one of the frat boys announced sonorously, “I say, ladies and gentlemen, it is now quite time for the costume contest.” To Rebecca’s surprise and humiliation it was in fact the very guy that she had so dreaded – Trevor Sutherland.

  He continued, proclaiming, “The members of Sigma Tau have picked three finalists. Their names are Brandy Williams from Omega Phi, Vanessa Markham from Phi Delta, and Rebecca Carey, also from Phi Delta. Will the three finalists please be so kind as to come forward?” thereby inducing the crowd to erupt in applause as the three contestants came forward.

  Still visibly inebriated, Rebecca bounced up and down excitedly and exclaimed to Sarah, “Wow! I made the finals!” but, quickly recovering her composure, she went forward to join the other two finalists.

  As she stepped towards Trevor he said nothing, but nonetheless smirked at her disdainfully. He then continued, announcing, “Right, now for the finals. According to the judges, each of the finalists is required to perform a dance to a song of their choice so that the judges may decide on the winner. The first to dance will be Brandy. Brandy, what tune shall you dance to?”

  Staring at him in surprise, Brandy responded, “Gee, I didn’t know that we’d have to dance. I can’t dance, so I’m going to have to pass. Sorry.” At this the crowd booed good-naturedly. Brandy could only smile diffidently and rejoin her friends.

  Trevor then expounded surreptitiously, “Right. That is certainly disappointing.” He paused momentarily and, suddenly brightening, he continued with, “That brings us next to Vanessa. What tune would you like to dance to, Vanessa?”

  Vanessa replied nonchalantly, “Uhm, okay. I guess I could dance, but just one tune, okay? I’ll dance to
‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’.”

  “Bobby, put on that number, if you will,” Trevor called across the room. The music having begun, he heralded, “Excellent. Vanessa, take it away!”

  A chair had been placed next to the dining room table, and Vanessa stepped onto it and from there up to the table, whereupon she performed an energetic and quite entrancing dance. She wore a small yellow mask that covered her eyes, and she was appropriately decked out in a pair of cowboy boots and a yellow polka dot bikini swimsuit that accentuated her charms. But the key attraction for the guys was her abundance of wavy blonde hair, which was pulled up in a quite lengthy pony tail that she occasionally twirled about her head as she danced.

  Rebecca observed intently, her heart sinking as she did so. At the completion of Vanessa’s dance the crowd applauded wildly, at which Rebecca turned to Sarah and wailed, “What am I going to do, Sarah? I can’t beat that!”

  Sarah whispered in her ear, “Don’t give me that, Rebecca. You took dance! You told me so yourself,” and, thrusting a glass of whiskey forward, she commanded, “Here, drink this.”

  Rebecca downed it immediately, at which Sarah whispered, “This is your chance, girl. Don’t let our sorority down. Now get up there and show these frat boys your stuff!”

  Rebecca stepped up to Trevor as, sneering contemptuously at her, he inquired savagely, “What tune shall you dance along with, Wicked Witch?”

  “Wicked Witch?” she responded in horror.

  “Right-o,” he responded, “Seems to fit both the outfit and the personality!”

  Feigning oblivion at his insult, she replied obliquely, “Uhm, I think I’ll dance to ‘Rawhide’.”

  At this the guys all began clapping their hands excitedly, Trevor exclaiming, “Interesting choice, Witch. Do we indeed have that tune, Bobby?” at which point he turned to glance across the room. Seeing Bobby’s nod of affirmation, he arched one eyebrow in surprise and, turning back toward Rebecca, he announced, “I see that we do indeed have ‘Rawhide’. Therefore judges, without further ado, I give you The University of Virginia’s own version of Rowdy Yates - The Wicked Witch!”

  Rebecca stepped hesitantly onto the table and glanced around the room in obvious embarrassment. She began a bit timidly but, her recent-most shot of whiskey commencing to take rapid effect, her frayed nerves were shortly dulled blissfully. A reassuring warmth quickly spreading through her body, she managed a dance routine that coincided perfectly with the primordial beat of ‘Rawhide’. Crowding up close to the table, the crowd commenced clapping enthusiastically to the music.

  Sarah suddenly began calling out, “Go, Rebecca. Go, Rebecca,” and within seconds everyone else had joined in. Buoyed by the exuberant response, Rebecca slowly opened the cape, all the while gyrating seductively to the music.

  At this point Trevor began calling out, “We want a striptease! We want a striptease! Go, Witch! Go, Witch!” To make matters worse, he raised his hands palms up and wiggled his fingers towards the audience, thereby motioning for the crowd to join in chanting with him.

  Rebecca frowned at him and, realizing that he could not see her face beneath the mask, she shook her head in furious antipathy. There was no way she’d do that! Despite this, within seconds everyone had joined in, chanting, “Striptease! Striptease! We want a striptease!”

  Sarah commenced chanting along with the guys, and within moments Rebecca’s sorority sisters had all joined in as well, chanting in unison, “Phi Delta strip, Witch! Phi Delta strip, Witch!”

  Sensing that she couldn’t let her sorority sisters down, she reluctantly continued her act, first removing her cape, and finally her leotard as well, at which point the crowd went wild. For her part, Sarah raced forward and, grabbing the leotard, she twirled it triumphantly over her head, the crowd applauding furiously.

  The music now came to an abrupt end with the single but entirely appropriate drawn-out word – ‘Rawhide!!!’ accompanied by the crowd’s collective roar of approval at her performance. Now completely defrocked of everything save her mask, body suit and boots, Rebecca reached down and, grabbing her cape, she self-consciously covered herself with it. Still embarrassed by such unexpected attention, Rebecca bowed once as the audience continued their enthusiastic applause.

  Trevor stepped onto the table with her and, willing the audience to silence, he exclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that we may have a winner! However, the judges have informed me that the first prize of one hundred dollars can only be awarded subject to confirmation of the winner’s identity. Wicked Witch, I am therefore required to command you to also remove your mask!”

  The crowd, recognizing her reticence to accommodate this last request, began chanting in unison, “Off with the mask, Witch! Off with the mask, Witch! Off with the mask, Witch!”

  Noticing dejectedly that her sorority sisters had joined in with the chant, she bent her head forward and, reaching behind her head, she untied and removed the mask.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Trevor announced above the roar, “The Wicked Witch is indeed Rebecca Carey! And I must say - the judges have unanimously chosen her the winner of this year’s Halloween costume contest!”

  Shortly Thereafter

  For his part, Trevor felt a serious sense of loss at the evening’s developments. Rebecca had surprised him, and the outcome was somehow a hollow feeling. Sensing the need to deal with that feeling, he approached Rebecca tentatively. Seeing his advance, she promptly moved away, thereby forestalling any opportunity at reconciliation on his part.

  Sorely embarrassed by her rebuke, he wandered aimlessly through the crowd, eventually spying Vanessa still ensconced within the melee. Their eyes meeting, he gleaned her receptiveness and, approaching her, he offered, “I say, that was quite a dance, Vanessa! Quite sporting of you, if I do say so myself.”

  “Thanks, but I lost, didn’t I,” she responded diffidently.

  “Not at all,” Trevor replied fallaciously, “That vixen Rebecca is quite the tease. You, on the other hand, are possessed of a certain style!”

  Eyeing him doubtfully, she responded succinctly, “Tell you what, Trevor Sutherland, take me for a drive, and we’ll see who has style.”

  “I say, spot on, Vanessa!” he chortled with newfound anticipation.

  “Okay,” she replied, “Let me change clothes first. I’ll be right back.” Returning momentarily, she announced breathlessly, “All set, Trevor.”

  “Please to follow me,” he replied self-confidently, and as they departed, he made certain that Rebecca observed the two of them.

  They drove a few miles south from campus, he having no idea where this was leading to. Suddenly instructing him to pull over on a country road just outside of town, Vanessa bounded from the car and scampered into the nearby woods so hastily that he assumed she must indeed be desperate to relieve herself.

  When she failed to return, he became alarmed, calling out to her, “I say, Vanessa, are you quite alright?”

  “Yes,” she responded from within the woods, “I’m fine, but I’m a little bit lost. Can you come and get me? And if you have one with you, please bring a flashlight.”

  “Certainly,” he called back and, grabbing his flashlight, he proceeded in the direction from whence her voice had emanated. When within a scant few feet of the car he found her skirt draped over a bush, he thought to himself, “Boy, she must have been in a really big hurry to go.” But then he found her sweater, and shortly thereafter, her blouse as well. Somewhat perplexed by these discoveries, he called out, “Vanessa, where are you?”

  “Over here,” she replied pleasantly. Adjusting his direction accordingly, he suddenly discovered her pantyhose draped over yet another bush. Still uncertain as to her actions, he shined his flashlight through the trees in the general direction from whence she had called out, at which point he spotted her. She was in a small clearing and, clad in nothing but her underwear, she was engaged in some s
ort of salacious jungle dance. Thusly adorned, she pranced to and fro, her long blonde hair whirling with each toss and turn of her bobbing head.

  He frowned to himself as he viewed her through the trees, his doubts having now entirely disappeared. Flabbergasted, he plunged into the clearing, exclaiming inanely, “What the hell…aren’t you cold, Vanessa?”

  “Nope,” she replied brazenly, singing a tune to herself as she strutted shamelessly to and fro, “Just have to keep moving, that’s all.”

  “What exactly are you doing?” he queried with growing anticipation.

  “I’m unveiling my style. Just watch. You’ll see,” she responded breathlessly, purposefully maintaining her prurient step. Within moments, her machinations having induced her intended reaction, she commanded, “Come over here and dance with me, Trevor, you big boy, you. I’ll just bet you’re enormous!”

  Obeying helplessly, he removed his coat as he moved in closer.

  Observing his compliance, she now commanded him surreptitiously, “Take off your shirt and trousers,” and sensing his hesitation, she added, “It’s liberating – if I can do it, so can you!”

  Submitting hesitantly, he clumsily removed his pants and shirt. The pair then danced evocatively for several idyllic minutes, Vanessa singing to him in a soft and cooing voice. Then, at the perfect moment she gazed enticingly at him and, smiling slyly as if she already knew what his response must be, she whispered, “Trade you!”

  “Trade what?” he blurted naively.

  “Your underwear for mine…” she offered with an unabashedly seductive grin.

  “Done!” he responded eagerly, and within seconds the two were frolicking absolutely naked in the nocturnal wilds on All Hallows Eve.

  That Same Evening

  When Rebecca and Sarah finally arrived back at the dorm, Sarah launched into uncontrolled euphoria, chortling, “I had no idea, girl. You are built like a bombshell! Where did you get that body from? And what made you pick ‘Rawhide’? That was pure genius! And, oh my, can you dance! You could have been an exotic dancer if you hadn’t chosen to go to college. I’d give anything to have your body, girl. I’d be starring in one of those shows in Las Vegas. I’d have men falling all over me.”

  Feigning gratitude, Rebecca sensed that something was nonetheless distracting her. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was but, intent on resolving it within her own mind, she replied simply, “Thank you, Sarah. Good night,” and subsequently headed to her room to get some sleep. Unfortunately, she didn’t sleep at all that night. In point of fact, she slept little at all over the succeeding weeks.