Woodcrest #2: Dramatic Aspirations Chapter 4

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Audrey arrive late, at about 6:15 PM, accompanied by Ashely, our pledge who would have probably rather been doing something else. Normally I would have lectured her for being late, not because I cared about her punctuality, but because I’m honestly busy.

“Get upstairs and change,” I said to her as she walked through the door.

“Uh, how long am I going to be here?” She asked.

“Don’t care,” I snapped. “Go get dressed.”

“What’s going on?” Aleah asked as she walked in from the sitting room on the other side of the house. She let the swinging door loose behind her.

“The little shit is going to ruin her own life, is what’s happening,” I said, more than a little annoyed. “You know, I have a lot of things to do. Homework, track, I really don’t have time for any of this.”

“Time for what? I don’t understand,” Aleah said.

Audrey came down in a very simple dress and a half-assed makeup job that was still ten times better than I’d seen her do in the past. I guess the pledges had been doing their job. I took note of that. I waited for her to finish descending the stairs, and then I pointed to the couch. She sat down like an obedient puppy, that was probably something I should work with her on too. Learning when to say no was a valuable skill. Aleah looked at me questioningly as I walked around the front of the couch and stood in front of Audrey.

“You pledged to DEM and never showed up,” I said, putting my hands on my hips.

“Sorry, what?” Aleah’s eyes widened as she walked over to the front of the couch to join me.

“I don’t think they’d want me after—” Audrey started, but I interrupted.

“Voice, Audrey,” I snapped. “Pitch your voice up. You can’t walk around sounding like that, you’ll get hurt.”

“What are you talking about?” Aleah demanded. “What do you mean she pledged to DEM? When did this happen?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Before school started, obviously. She just never showed up after rush week.”

“Did you call them?” Aleah stared at her.

“I…no…,” Audrey stammered. “I didn’t know I was…”

“Audrey,” I said. “Do you have ANY idea who runs DEM? Shawn Derringer. You know his father, Michael Derringer? Do you know how much influence he has in this town? Now you have this reputation for not following through on your commitments. How exactly do you plan to get a job after college?”

“She could always flip burgers,” Aleah said flatly.

“Okay why do you care so much,” Audrey said defensively. “I’m not a part of your house, you barely know me.”

“I’m still human,” I said, practically shouting at this point. “I don’t want you to fall flat on your face for no reason!”

“Do you want to be in DEM or not?” Aleah demanded. “You need to make a choice now. If you still want to be in, we can probably help.”

I gave Aleah a sidelong glance. Helping Audrey to join a fraternity at this point would probably do a lot more harm than good.

“I don’t…I..um..” Audrey was stammering again. I snapped my fingers.

“Focus, Audrey!” I snapped. “Yes, or no, it’s not that hard!”

“No,” She said, looking down at her bare feet.

I unlocked my phone and threw it onto her lap. She flinched as it hit her leg.

“Under my contacts,” I said. “Shawn Derringer. Call him, tell him you changed your mind.”

“Now might actually be a REALLY good time to tell the truth,” Aleah suggested. I looked at her, out of the corner of my eye I could see Audrey developing a look of sheer terror.

“Maybe not go that far,” I suggested quietly. The relief on Audrey’s face was measurable. “Make the call.”

We stood there and waited while she made the call. It was probably more awkward than the first time I met her, if I’m going to be perfectly honest, but somehow she stumbled through it. While we were waiting for her to finish making a fool of herself, Aleah and I went to join Ashley on the other side of the sectional couch.

“So are you going to see him again?” Aleah asked me.

“I mean…” I said. “He was cute.”

“So you like him?”

“He has money,” I shrugged.

Ashley snorted. I’d forgotten she was sitting there.

“Don’t you have a task to be doing?” I demanded of her. “The front of the house is looking really dirty.”

She simply rose from the couch without showing the slightest bit of irritation or anger. Apparently she was more obedient than Audrey, or she was just trying to make a good impression.

“Yeah he has money,” Aleah agreed. “But you sure you want to be getting into all that?”

“Honestly,” I said, rolling my eyes. “How bad can it possibly be?”

“You know how bad it can be,” She said, looking at me seriously.

“Moral objections from the woman whose literally cheating to win student body president?”

“Brittney is cheating too,” She objected, not even getting defensive.

“Two wrongs make a right,” I concluded. “So stay out of my business.”

We heard Audrey finish up her conversation. I turned to her.

“Audrey,” I said. “There’s an envelope on the table, take it please.”

“What is this?” She asked. Her feminine voice was getting a little better but I swore I was going to find her a speech therapist just so I wouldn’t have to hear that horrible scratchiness everytime she talked.

“You and Tiffany are going to be in a play,” Aleah said excitedly.

“Yep,” I said. “You’re going to be extra #11. Isn’t that just exciting?”

“What is this for? I don’t know if—”

“It’s called Les Miserables,” Aleah started to say. “By this guy named-“

“Victor Hugo,” Audrey finished her sentence. Aleah looked started. “Javert, and Jean Val Jean.”

“Wow,” Aleah said. “You are a bit of a nerd aren’t you.”

“I just can’t believe someone went to prison for twenty years over loaf of bread,” I said. “The whole thing is so unrealistic.”

“Five years,” Audrey corrected.

“Um…the play said 19?”

“Five years, for stealing, the rest for running. How are you going to be in this if—”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “I just have to look like I know what I’m doing.”

“Why…exactly am I doing this?” Audrey frowned at the packet in her hand.

“Nevermind that,” Aleah said, suddenly settling in and leaning back against the couch. “We have something important to talk about.”
Yeah, I knew this talk was coming. Audrey looked up at us, she had that terrified look in her eyes, as she tended to do when we told her we needed to talk. As she started to speak, one of our sisters, Megan walked through the front door, passing us as she made her way to the stairs.

“Hey guys, hey Audrey,” She said as she passed us. Audrey immediately looked to the floor. She still wasn’t comfortable being seen like this, even if it was just one of us.

“Hey,” I responded, turning my attention back to Audrey.

“Your girlfriend,” Aleah said, finally. Audrey’s eyes went wide. Yep, this wasn’t something she wanted to talk about.

“What…what about her?” Audrey asked. Was she turning pale under all of that makeup? Probably.

“You have to tell her,” Aleah said, a bit forcefully.

“Why?”

“Um because while you can’t do anything about being trans, you CAN do something about being a liar.”

“Wait, I’m not a liar,” Audrey protested.

“You kind of are,” I informed her. “Chastity thinks she’s dating a guy. Don’t you think it’s going to be a little bit messed up if she walks in on you wearing her clothes one day and you have to explain it on the spot?”

“That would never happen!”

“Really?” Aleah said, feigning confusion. “I seem to remember about a week ago, you snuck into our house and –”

“Okay, okay!” Audrey said, putting her hands up. I’d learned that she didn’t really like talking about the ‘incident’ that brought her to us.

“Okay what?” I asked.

“I mean…I guess…”

“You guess what?” Aleah was pushing her into a corner. I would gladly help.

“If she breaks up with you then it was probably for the best. Do you feel good lying around her? Be honest.”

“I…I guess…no?” Now she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Great.

“So, how do you feel then, be honest.” Aleah asked.

Audrey paused. I could see the gears turning in her head.

“I guess…jealous?”

“Why jealous?” I frowned.

“Because…I guess…I want to be like her, she gets to dress…like that and she gets to do all the…girl…things with her friends,” Audrey wasn’t doing well. She was stammering and trying to shrink back into the couch.

“So you’re jealous of her and you’re with her because…”

“Well I mean I like her but—”

“But you’re lying to her.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Audrey finally admitted. “I feel guilty about it.”

“I know this is hard for you,” Aleah said. “But I know Chastity, and I know how bad she’d be hurt if she had to find out the hard way. If you like her, you’ll tell her, we’ll help you.”

“You’ll help me? How?”

“We’ll do it right here,” I said. I hoped that was what Aleah was thinking anyway. “We’ll help you tell her.”

“What, you want me to be dressed like this when she shows up?” She indicated the dress she was wearing.

“Please don’t be stupid,” Aleah said. “This is serious, and no, we’re not going to shock her like that.”

She hung her head. I couldn’t tell if she had been joking or if she was trying to force a situation. Of course she was. She wanted to be herself around Chastity. Why wouldn’t she?

“I’m going to invite you and her over here for dinner, on Friday,” I said. “I used to hang out with her all the time, it’ll be easy, I promise.”
There was a long silence. Audrey simply sat there, staring off into space. I could feel her fear, but I’m not sure if I cared.

“Tell us what you’re thinking, Audrey,” Aleah said. “What’s going on in your head?”

“I’m…” She started, and then closed her mouth, not daring to make eye contact with any of us.

“Yes?” I said. I wanted to hurry this up, I had things to do.

“I’m scared,” She said finally. Well, no kidding. I didn’t need her to tell me that.

“Think of it like….ripping off a bandaid,” Aleah said helpfully. “It hurts at first, but once it’s off, it’ll be okay.”

“Will it be okay?” Audrey asked quietly.

“Knowing her? Probably,” I shrugged. “I probably know her better than you do.”

“Just think!” Aleah spoke, being unusually upbeat. “Once she knows you can go shopping together and do eachother’s makeup, wouldn’t that be cool?”

Audrey kind of giggled. That was hopeful at least.

“Yeah. I mean…that’s what I want.”

“Then maybe she can help you instead of us,” I laughed. “Gotta admit, it’s really cramping my schedule.”

We all laughed at that. Things were getting back to normal for the moment.

“Okay, time for you to go home, Audrey,” Aleah said. “Go upstairs and get changed.”

“You mean I came over here and got dressed just for that?”

I shrugged.

“Come on,” Aleah said. “Stand over here by the stairs, I want to get some pictures of you.”

“Why?” Audrey asked as she stood from the couch and walked to the stairs, once again being way more obedient than she should.

“Because when we talk to Chastity we’re going to need to show her some pictures, obviously,” Aleah laughed as she straightened out Audrey’s dress and snapped a few pictures. “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”

Audrey shrugged. The only shoes we’d given her to wear around the house were a pair of three inch pumps. I could see her hesitation, I distinctly remembered her falling down in front of the refrigerator during our initiation party. I slumped back onto the couch and began scrolling through my phone, finally noticing a text that I’d missed. I opened up the messenger, it was Shawn. ‘Hey, want to see you again. This Friday? He didn’t use text shorthand. I liked that about him. Complete sentences. Friday was no good.

Thursday? I wrote back.
I returned my attention to the scene in front of me. Aleah was finished and had sent Audrey upstairs. I smiled a little, I guess I was glad that she was coming along, maybe she would be easier to relate to now. Maybe. Probably not. Aleah waited until Audrey disappeared up the stairs and then turned to me with a cold look on her face.

“What do you know about Chastity?” She asked.

“Um…” I said. I tried to think. I’d hung out with her a lot last year. We’d kind of drifted apart but I couldn’t say I had any bad memories. “Well, I mean she’s like anyone else. Blonde hair, like mine, but longer. Um…really likes oversized sweaters.”

“You know what I mean,” Aleah said. “How do you think she’d deal with…all of this?”

“Ugh…she’ll be fine,” I said. “My god, she’s dated women, I’m sure she’s run into a lot of trans girls.”

Aleah nodded.

“I’m just worried,” She said.

“Why are you so worried?” I demanded. “You know she’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.”

“I just…I would feel bad if…”

“You’re still thinking about Jayne, right? You know that’s not here. Audrey is her own person.”

Aleah stared at me.

“I know,” She said. “But I just…I think…”

“You think you did something wrong and you’re trying to fix it. You can’t fix it by fixing Audrey.”

“I am…very…aware of that,” She gritted her teeth and pursed her lips at me.

“As long as you know,” I shrugged and went back to my phone.

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Comments

Yesss!!

Audrey knows Les Miz!! Maybe she can be Eponine, if Tiffany doesn’t know her character? And I hope telling Chastity goes well! And I wonder what happened with Aleah? Thank you for the update!!

something tells me Tiffany is

something tells me Tiffany is going to have an awkward question to answer if she goes out with Shawn again.
Why was Tod using her phone to tell him he was no longer interested in pledging and why didn't she tell him she knew Tod when he mentioned him.

Yep

Audrissa's picture

You are 100% right, I'm glad you picked up on that! :D

OK - time to honest and up front........

D. Eden's picture

This is really starting to bother me - much more so than Allison’s Pledge.

At least in Allison’s Pledge, I got the feeling that although the girls were angry, they truly wanted to help Allison - especially her sister.

In this story, all I feel is anger. It’s almost like they are only in this to humiliate Audrey, taking pleasure out of forcing her to do what they want without any real thought as to what the long term consequences for her might be. Little to no thought has been given to what the ramifications, both physical and psychological, of their manipulations might be. This is way too far into the whole forced feminization side of things for my taste.

The veneer that they care about her, and the whole story of trying to make up for not helping a friend in the past is wearing very thin. To the point of becoming nothing more than an excuse to assuage someone’s conscience for the way they are treating her.

It’s no wonder that the girls were hazing their pledges even though it is no longer allowed. They are obviously nothing more than self-centered, sadistic bitches.

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

You may have missed some of the subtle clues

Audrissa's picture

In this chapter there were a few things that happened that were very important which showed it wasn't actually forced:

1. Tiffany and Aleah express concern for her not following up on her commitment to DEM, and if they were out to ruin her life, they would have said nothing. Tiffany wouldn't have even brought it up.

2. If they had been using her, they would have simply sent her into DEM to spy.

3. At some point in the chapter Audrey asks if she can confront her girlfriend in girl mode, they tell her no. This indicates that Audrey isn't actually being forced, she wants to do it.

Force isn't really on the table here but there are other moral issues that are being brought to light, such as pushing her to come out to her girlfriend. In the previous book, during the second to last chapter, Audrey tells them she wants to do this. She could have walked out the door and pretty much screwed them all but she didn't.

Done things for him

Jamie Lee's picture

Todd is way too obedient as Audrey when she around the girls. This has to mean he reacted the same when with his mom, or another woman. He's learned to be obedient around women and comply when told to do something.

It ties in with his wanting to be a woman and it's going to take something tragic before she stands up and says no.

Tiffany is getting involved with Shawn simply because he comes from money? That involvement can't do anything but end badly.

Aleah is trying to ease a guilty conscience by helping Todd, but she's doing something she isn't qualified to do. They sprang the musical on Audrey, then brought up the breaking into the sorority to get her to get involved with it. They have no idea if she can sing or tolerate being on stage in front of an audience. They don't know if she so ready that she won't freak out during the performance.

Now they are forcing her to tell Chastity the truth about herself. There are two ways that dinner can go. First, Chastity blows a gasket, slaps Todd/Audrey and storms off, making sure others know. Or, she accepts Audrey and does help her and they stay together.

If the first happens, the house could be in big trouble.

Others have feelings too.