Tales from the Tuckerverse : Erika's School Days

by Zero

University of California Los Angeles, Westwood, Los Angeles, California

Registration Office

Mid August, 2002

            Erika Stone had only been in line for ten minutes but was already regretting several of the choices that had led her to UCLA. Having been home-schooled all her life, Erika had spent little time interacting with people outside of her home, mostly just meeting her father and mother's friends and their children. Erika wasn't entirely sheltered, having taken a few trips abroad with her family and been given a car when she got her license, thus giving her some degree of freedom. The only real experience Erika had when it came to romance however was the one time Joshua Kent, the son of one of her mother's friends, had awkwardly asked her out and she'd quickly turned him down. Erika's only real friends were Monica Stein, whom she only knew through her parents, and her now deceased cat, Socks. Standing in a line full of people she didn't know with no one to talk to was something very uncomfortable for Erika.

            The blue-eyed blonde shifted in her sandals, nice casual brown ones she'd bought with her father's assistant Vivian Skye. Vivian's adopted daughter Jillian was also attending UCLA; Erika was familiar enough with her that everyone seemed to think they were friends. Unfortunately Jillian, a Sophomore, seemed to be occupied elsewhere at the moment. Erika couldn't help but fiddle with her purse, which matched her sandals, and felt a bit exposed in her pink tank top and white knee-length skirt despite those being the kind of clothes she loved to wear.

            “Nervous?” came a remark, causing Erika to turn around in surprise. Two blue-eyed blondes, both looking to be around five-foot four and thus around six inches shorter than Erika, were in line behind her. The first was wearing wire-frame glasses and had curly-tipped hair in a ponytail on her right shoulder, wearing a blue short-sleeved blouse with a pair of light tan slacks. The second woman's hair was a bit darker but with brighter highlights, a half up-do being how she carried it. The woman was wearing a brown T-shirt with an image that appeared to be of Isaac Newton on it, black shorts on her legs. Both women were smiling at Erika.

            “Little bit,” offered Erika, though she knew anxiety was a better word for it.

            “It's okay; the line is almost entirely Freshmen,” revealed the glasses-wearing blonde, offering her hand. “Bianca.”

            “Erika,” responded Erika, cautiously taking her acquaintance's hand.

            “Krystal,” offered the second girl, Erika soon shaking hands with her as well. “You from around here?”

            “Yeah...” nodded Erika, not sure what to say next for a moment. “I'm, ah, majoring in electrical engineering. You?”

            “Business, though I'm definitely minoring in art,” revealed Bianca, looking a bit meek.

            “Same thing, except I think my minor's going to be literature,” added Krystal. “Hopefully that doesn't ruin my love of reading... So, engineering? You looking to invent the next big cell phone?”

            “Dad told me to study what I want; he just pushed me to take some business courses as well,” chuckled Erika, realizing she was probably making her father sound stricter than he actually was. While Erika's entire childhood had basically occurred under her family's watch at home, they had asked her more than once if she'd wanted to go to a proper school. Erika had declined, knowing it meant less one-on-one time with her teachers; by the time she was sixteen Erika was spending a lot of her sessions stopping time at least once to see her female teachers naked. Going to school had made Erika fear, for a time, that she'd be like a kid in a candy store and end up exposing herself and her time-stopping gift. Now an adult, Erika thought she might be able to overcome any temptation.

            “Oh, I'm jealous,” voiced Krystal, shaking her head. “We both got jobs at a dang coffee shop with a stupid pun for a name to just afford our shared dorm. Your dad do okay for himself?”

            “He, uh, sort of runs a major corporation...” confessed Erika, having read enough books and seen enough TV shows to know that having money could make socializing awkward. “You heard of Stone Enterprises...?”

            “Whoa now, hang on!” came a sudden voice, Erika realizing it was the woman in line in front of her. Turning around Erika saw a blonde with brown eyes, looking to be about average height but having a nice pair of breasts, staring at her. The woman had nicely tanned skin and was wearing a V-cut maroon top with khaki shorts, her hair practically a bob-cut. The girl was wearing an odd pin on her right lapel and looked to be about a year older than Erika, so most likely a sophomore.

            “What?” asked Erika, annoyed at the blonde's glare and rude interruption.

            “Your dad is Eric Stone?” questioned the blonde, her tone making it clear she didn't believe Erika. “Oh, and I'm the heir to the Stilton Corporation! Ugh, gimme a break totem pole, the Stone family doesn't have any kids.”

            “Vicky Sandrosi?” came the voice of the registrar. Vicky, being now at the head of the line, gave Erika a condescending shake of her head and walked off.

            “Wow,” began Krystal as Vicky departed, “What. A. Bitch.”

            “You see her pin?” pointed out Bianca, touching her own lapel. “Delta Nu Omega. One of the more prestigious and snobby sororities out there.”

            “Aren't they all?” muttered Erika, still stunned to have been called a liar. Erika had watched enough movies to know sororities were respected academically but socially tended to be full of unlikeable people, which was why Erika wasn't interested in joining one. Just having met Vicky only reinforced that inclination.

            “In any case, why lie about who your dad is?” scoffed Krystal, shaking her head. “Cool to meet you, Erika Stone.” Erika turned to look at Krystal, who was smiling at her along with Bianca. Erika hadn't been too sure about the pair, but they seemed friendly enough.

            “Erika!” came a voice, and Erika turned to see Jillian Skye approaching. Jillian was brunette with tan skin of around average height, possessing a few curves and very striking thanks to how well she pulled off eyeliner. Jillian approached in a black spaghetti-strap top with jeans.

            “Hi Jillian,” greeted Erika, nodding at her acquaintance. “Busy?”

            “Parking nightmare, ugh,” groaned Jillian, rubbing her right eye. “Looks like you're up in just a couple of moments. I'll wait over by the door and when you're done I can show you around. Cool?”

            “Cool,” agreed Erika, smiling and getting one in return as Jillian headed off, moving to sit not far away on one of a row of chairs.

            “That your friend?” asked Bianca innocently.

            “Not exactly,” muttered Erika, then turning her head as she heard her name called.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

            Erika took a deep breath as she stood outside her dorm room. She wasn't sure who'd convinced who that staying in a shared dorm room was a good idea, but Erika knew if she'd convinced her folks to let her do it, that it was probably going to be a mistake. While the dormitory she'd been assigned to did have a bit more space thanks to an in-room bathroom and installed privacy curtains, Erika knew she was about to get very up close and personal with someone. While her parents had arranged for her clothes, computer and basics to already be in the room, Erika was dreading the moment where she'd start pulling out her personal effects in the suitcase that was resting by her foot. “Come on, you're a big girl, it's just a person, like the two you met in line, and not that sorority bitch,” Erika muttered to herself, taking one more breath. Feeling as prepared as she'd ever be, Erika opened the room's door.

            “Hello,” came a quick greeting as Erika looked around in shock. On the right side of the entrance was the main coat closet, and on the left was the bathroom. Past that, Erika could see two beds with small dressers and alarm clocks on each. There was a central heating and A/C control between the two dressers and Erika saw that both beds had drawers in them for other clothing space. Erika could see the outline of two desks sticking out from the walls where the closet and bathroom ended, and the one to her left was where the voice had come from. What shocked Erika was what covered the walls.

            “Come in,” continued the voice as Erika looked around, quietly dragging her suitcase in with her. All over the walls were several sketches, attached with tape, pins, poster putty and even what looked like gum. The sketches varied greatly, some showing complex maps of the human brain, while others looked like designs for all kinds of mechanical devices. One sketch Erika fixated on looked like an arrowhead but with circuitry attached, and another looked like a design for some sort of tanning bed.

            “Sorry, I packed more sketches than I thought, though I managed to keep them away from your area,” offered Erika's roommate, whom Erika found sitting at her computer clicking her mouse, though she proceeded to stop when Erika got close. The young woman looked to be Erika's age, eighteen, and had very dark brown hair. Erika couldn't peg her roommate's ethnicity but she didn't appear to be Caucasian. The young woman was wearing a blue polo shirt with a green dolphin around where on other shirts there might be a breast pocket, her hair up in a Croydon facelift ponytail and jeans on her legs with white tennis shoes on her feet. Erika liked the girl's eyes, they looked a bit smoky thanks to her makeup. “My name's Titania, Titania Versace,” offered Erika's roommate, offering her hand though not bothering to stand.

            “Erika Stone, nice to meet you,” replied Erika, shaking her roommate's hand and smiling, getting a soft one back.

            “If you're wondering about the name, dad loved Shakespeare,” explained Titania with a shrug. “You can call me Tania if you want but I really don't care. You know how it is... English professor meets a pretty young Puerto Rican girl, and she's so into his mastery of the Bard they have to marry and name a kid after one of the characters in his plays...”

            “That's a thing?” questioned Erika, setting down her briefcase and sitting on her bed.

            “Probably not, but I've had like eight people just today ask my if one of my parents was Mexican so I thought it would be an easy way to clear up what my heritage is,” admitted Titania, offering a smirk. “Wasn't so bad; one kid at my high school was named Chewbacca.”

            “Poor kid,” chuckled Erika. “Well if we're sharing, my mom's Swedish, though she was born and raised in San Diego. Dad's American through and through... His grandfather fought in World War II, as he loved to remind me...”

            “No one liked the Nazis, so I'm sure your great grandfather loved telling stories about fighting them...” mused Tania, then glancing at her computer. “So I'm majoring in bio-engineering, you?”

            “Electrical engineering,” answered Erika, then realizing what Titania was looking at was a neural map of the human brain.

            “Huh, no offense, but I'd have pegged you for one of those 'daddy's little girls' who is studying business only to meet a boy so you can get married and never actually have a job despite being at least somewhat intelligent,” commented Tania, turning to look at Erika. “Sorry, stupid prejudices... First days can be hell.”

            “Relax; I met one of those earlier,” Erika assured Titania, instead grabbing her computer chair and moving to sit next to her roommate's computer. “You working on something special? This looks pretty advanced for a first year student...”

            “I'm actually a Junior,” revealed Titania, smiling proudly. “Finished high school at sixteen. I'm not like that freaking fourteen year old who just entered MIT, but kind of a big deal...”

            “Nice; I’m gonna enjoy rooming with someone smarter than me,” commented Erika, risking a pat on Titania's shoulder. The brunette didn't seem to mind, instead showing Erika more data she had on her computer monitor.

            “I've always loved how Da Vinci brainstormed a lot in his free time, so even though he invented some trippy stuff he had ideas for a lot more,” explained Tania. “That's why the sketches cover a lot of strange stuff. Some are just pipe dreams... But then there's stuff like this that I think could really be something. You familiar with the concept of stasis?”

            “A bit,” was Erika's dry reply, wondering for half a second if she should tell Titania that she could stop time.

            “Right, well, stasis or suspended animation is the theory that you can preserve someone, basically freezing them in time,” continued Titania, as Erika followed all too well. “Breathing and such do occur but they're basically so shallow they’re undetectable and someone so suspended without causing death that someone could theoretically stay like this for years if done right. Mainstream science loves the idea of using cryogenics to do this. That's, uh—”

            “Freezing people to basically induce hypothermia,” confirmed Erika, nodding. “Don't worry, I really do know a bit about this, though I will stop only at 'a bit.'”

            “Hey, anyone who isn't a nerd would have probably been lost already,” shrugged Titania, continuing to show Erika her data. “Now in theory, if these neural pathways I've indicated could be stimulated in some way, that might just cause stasis without the need for a lack of heat.”

            “So you're proposing some kind of freeze ray?” asked Erika, a bit dumbfounded at what Titania was showing her.

            “Well, I wouldn't call it a ray,” corrected Titania, shaking her head. “Think of it more like as sort of... sonic cannon. Sound is probably the easiest way to reach the right pathways without using some kind of hypothetical super-sedative. If the perfect sound pulses could be emitted in just the right sequence with precise equipment, this concept just might have validity.”

            “See if you wanted this to be hilarious you should layer the sound pulses with the song Stop the World,” suggested Erika, none the less smiling at Titania and very impressed. “You know I bet we could build this.”

            “Build this hypothetical super sound box?” scoffed Titania, turning away from her computer to look at Erika. “I'd need some disposable cash to buy and trash some nice sound equipment to even have a shot at it, and I kind of need that money for school. Even then wiring it would be—”

            “Neither one of those things are a problem,” declared Erika, putting both hands on Titania's shoulders now and staring into her eyes. “Let me repeat what I said earlier... I'm Erika Stone. I'm going to get you that equipment, and I'm going to help you build this thing.”

* * *

UCLA Library

Early September, 2002

            Erika's first big assignment was to read the first chapter of her physics textbook, but since she had a free day Erika's plan was to flip through the whole thing. While Erika didn't mind studying in her room, she was worried that with Titania around they might spend more time focusing on their join project, which they'd nicknamed Siren since the device used sound-waves to manipulate people's minds. The library was a vast location, so Erika figured she'd have no problems finding a quiet place to sit and read, having even dressed down a bit for the occasion. While wearing a light leather jacket, Erika was sporting a red sweater underneath that wasn't tight at all; her gray pants fairly baggy as well and her hair was in a bun. After having men who were barking up the wrong tree hit on her several times over only a two-week period, Erika had tried to frump herself up a bit when she really didn't want any attention.

            The library boasted several large tables for group work and open reading spaces, but Erika needed a quieter booth sort of spot, which was buried deeper in the library. As Erika headed for a nearby bookshelf she quickly ended up ducking behind it after seeing three women approach. Bianca Whitman and Krystal George, the two women she'd met in line while registering, were coming in her general direction, so Erika decided to hide rather than awkwardly tell them why she wasn't free to hang out. Though the young Stone girl did like her two new friends, she was determined to get the best GPA possible, figuring she'd have more time to have fun after she was done with school. Accompanying Bianca and Krystal was a third woman Erika didn't know, but she was a cute-looking brunette with breasts that seemed to bulge a bit under her T-shirt and brown eyes that were very light. “I swear I just saw Erika,” Krystal muttered as the trio headed past the shelf Erika was hiding behind.

            “Guess not,” shrugged Bianca as they kept moving, but still within earshot.

            “Who's Erika?” asked the brunette, having a noticeably English accent.

            “Friend of ours, Ashlee, you'll probably like her,” explained Krystal, the trio heading off towards the library exit. Erika let out a sigh of relief.

            “I'm glad we're done with that one pledge,” came a new familiar voice from the other side of the bookshelf, causing Erika to clam up. “The chick wanted to be a DJ! Total opposite of tight...” Glancing through the books, Erika saw that the speaker was Vicky Sandrosi, that bitch from Delta Nu Omega she'd encountered in line. Standing with the blonde were three other women, all brunettes: one was a girl a bit above average height with hair just past her shoulders, another had long darker hair and looked Latina, the third was short and pale with long almost auburn hair but a cute body. All four women were wearing sorority pins.

            “What did you think, Connie?” the Latina asked the pale girl.

            “Honestly Carla, while annoying she did have some interesting ideas,” confessed Connie, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Still I'm not sad she'd gone. Right Wanda?”

            “Oh definitely, but come on, video diaries on the internet?” scoffed the brunette Erika hadn't known, shaking her head. “Glad she's gone. What kind of last name is Ryder...?” the four sorority sisters laughed as they moved on, and Erika held back the urge to stop time and mess with them. While Erika was learning that college life wasn't entirely like the movies, some parts of it seemed all too accurate.

            Shaking her head and fighting off the urge to cause trouble, Erika weaved through the rows of bookshelves to find a study nook. There were a row of them resting against an otherwise empty wall, with only one other space occupied. The occupier was an African-American woman with big curly hair. While her skin was a bit lighter and her hair was wrong, Erika thought the woman had the same svelte physique as superstar model Tonya Cash, and for a moment she blushed red at the thought. Erika's fellow student was dressed in a tight white T-shirt with the word 'Hot' written on it in flaming red, tight jeans with worn knees on her legs, and a big brown book bag resting near her feet as she read a biology textbook. Erika quietly took the study hole three chairs down from the woman.

            Trying not to be too noisy, Erika opened up her book bag and pulled out her physics textbook. The first chapter was on Newton's laws of motion. The chapter felt like a refresher of things Erika had learned when she was fourteen but she went along with reviewing it, reminding herself about velocity equaling mass multiplied by acceleration as per the second law. “Apple hit your head?” came a voice, and Erika suddenly realized the girl from the other study hole was now leaning over her shoulder, glancing at her text.

            “Oh!” exclaimed Erika, taken aback. The other woman smiled at her.

            “Sorry, studying has been so dull I just had to peek,” offered the curly-haired girl, offering her hand. “Gwen Welch, biology major with a chemistry minor.”

            “Uh, Erika Stone, engineering major with a business minor,” replied Erika, shaking Gwen's hand. “You don't find studying here that fulfilling?”

            “I find distractions help me focus,” shrugged Gwen, still leaning close to Erika, which made her both uncomfortable and excited. “So tell me Erika, what's up with the frumpy sweater and pants? You look like a model trying to pass off as a nerd in some lousy comedy film.”

            “I was trying to avoid having people talk to me,” admitted Erika, letting out a sigh and undoing her bun. “Last time I was here three guys hit on me in the first hour.”

            “That can be annoying...” nodded Gwen. “I was thinking about getting out of here. My roommate's out for the day back in my dorm room. I'm assuming you aren't in yours because it distracts you too much, but mine might not...” Gwen flashed Erika a smile and the blonde got a vibe from her.

            “Well...” began Erika.

* * *

            The door to the dorm room open and Erika stumbled in, Gwen on top of her as the pair continued to make out. It had just started in the hallway and now as the room to the dorm closed it was getting more and more intense, Erika stroking Gwen's shoulders as Gwen in turn ran her hands through the blonde's hair. In between kisses Erika opened one eye and glanced around, noting that the room looked fairly typical. One half of the room had a lot of movie and TV posters while the other seemed to hold famous photos of news events, including Oswald's Witness and V-J Day in Times Square. Given Gwen didn't seem like the journalistic type, she figured it belonged to her roommate.

            “Well, now that was one hell of a first kiss,” gasped Gwen as she parted lips with Erika at last, both women breathing heavily. “I'm curious... How long have you known you were gay?”

            “Around the time I got crushes on my teachers, who were almost all women,” confessed Erika, staying to play with Gwen's lower curls. “Mom and dad thought an all-women environment, or at least one dominated with them, would be good for me.”

            “Mom and dad... Stone?” muttered Gwen, clearly a bit confused. The African-American slowly sat up and her eyes widened. “Wait, Erika Stone, as in Stone Enterprises?!”

            “Guilty,” confirmed Erika with a meek smile.

            “Damn; I went and made out with a rich girl and I wasn't even trying,” laughed Gwen, standing up and offering Erika a hand. Getting a better view for the room, Erika could see that Gwen's side also had a few quirkier pieces of art such as posters of works of MC Escher. Gwen however, lacked photos for any loved ones while the other’s side featured photos not only of a striking Latina wearing glasses but a blonde with short hair and a bit average-looking yet attractive brunette. Two people who were clearly Gwen's roommate's parents were also visible in one photo.

            “So I'm probably just speculating, but I think your roommate is taking journalism,” observed Erika with a grin.

            “Yeah, her name's Chita Morales, she's actually a senior from Mexico,” revealed Gwen, moving to sit on her roommate's bed. “Scholarship student, that's why she's still living in the dorms. Not super social but she's got her friends. Her little sister looks a hell of a lot like her too. She came up here last year and they looked almost like twins! Chita doesn't need glasses though. Dunno if you should meet her though; she might see you as some way to get into sensational journalism.”

            “Valid point, not sure I want too many people chasing me around like more well-known celebrities,” groaned Erika, plopping down on Gwen's bed since she wanted a break before getting back to the fun, physical, aspect of her new found relationship.

            “Celebrities don’t need to be known; I'd never heard of you until today,” pointed out Gwen, grinning and promptly ducking as Erika threw a pillow at her. “Seriously, what's up that? Stone Enterprises gets a bunch of press and so do a lot of daughters of big time company heads, why not you?”

            “Home-schooled, barely left the house much until I learned to drive,” explained Erika, blowing a loose hair out of her face. “Bit lonely, honestly, but I get it. I'm their only kid and dad really does want me to take over since it's a family business. I don't mind; I'm actually interested in shuffling a few things around if I get the chance. Stone Drug Labs seems like a bit of a waste, though it was dad's pet project...”

            “Speaking of drugs...” commented Gwen, reaching down under Chita's bed and producing a pair of plastic bags from one of the drawers built into the frame. “You much of a party girl? I've got some pot and some morphine... Chita never uses that drawer so it's a good place for me to keep my stash.”

            “Tried weed, wasn't really feeling it,” insisted Erika, frowning and shaking her head. “Dunno about the morphine. Paranoid someone will see a needle mark... I saw someone get busted just last week for that, though I think that was heroin.”

            “Oh God, I'd never touch that stuff, way too dangerous,” gasped Gwen, looking to shudder a bit. “Okay, fair enough on the marijuana and valid point on the morph. I've got something else though... It's a bit more out there.” Reaching down into the drawer again, Gwen produced a flask filled with blue liquid, a black stopper on top.

            “Don't know that one,” observed Erika, having no idea what Gwen had just produced.

            “It's called Transmoxide, it's from Germany I think,” revealed Gwen, getting up and moving to sit in front of her computer, pressing a few keys to turn on the monitor. “Probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a real mind control drug, and even then that's overselling it by a large margin. Really what it does is make whoever drinks it more open to suggestion. You know how hypnosis works?”

            “Yeah, it only is effective if you're subconsciously okay with it,” acknowledged Erika, noting that Gwen had called up a video program on her computer. “You can't hypnotize someone to death, for example, despite what some lousy TV shows might suggest.”

            “Exactly,” nodded Gwen, then holding up the flask. “In this case though, Transmoxide relaxes a person's natural standards. Anyone who drinks it who is then hypnotized will be hypnotized longer and more effectively than normal. Last I checked you still can't use it to kill someone since the survival instinct is too damn strong, but even people usually a bit more skeptical can fall hard and fast. When you wake up after, you tend to feel pretty great too.”

            “Sweet,” grinned Erika, taking the flask from Gwen. “So you thinking we'll both drink it and you use that video you've got there to get us both hypnotized?”

            “Well I'd kind of like to test you out first, see how well you respond to it,” answered Gwen, spinning in the chair to look at Erika. “You up for it? Something a little different?”

            Erika bit her lip. While Transmoxide sounded interesting, Erika wasn't sure if she should trust Gwen since they had just met. Still, Erika was eager to have some crazy college experiences and trying out a drug sounded like a good one. “What the hell,” breathed the blonde, opening the flask and taking a cautious sip.

            “Get ready to get faded,” grinned Gwen, playing the video. There were swirling lights; a soothing voice Erika could barely hear began to speak. At first Erika didn't feel anything, but as time went on the lights began to draw her in. Minutes passed and Erika stared at the monitor, but as it went on she was aware she wasn't really sleepy, just sort of entranced by the video, and even then she knew it wouldn't be hard to look away if she wanted, but she was trying to be hypnotized.

            “Okay, stop,” insisted Gwen after what Erika saw on a wall clock to be five minutes having passed, though it had felt like less to the billionaire. “Wow. Just... Wow.”

            “What, did it work?” asked Erika, checking herself to see if Gwen had secretly moved her bra or something. “I did feel a bit odd....”

            “You were supposed to fall asleep, enter a trance, at best you were just sort of mesmerized for a few minutes,” commented Gwen, clearly incredulous. “Erika, I've never seen someone be able to flat out resist hypnosis after taking Transmoxide. You have any idea how rare that is? Your brain is practically one of a kind!” As Gwen finished speaking she suddenly sat down in Erika's lap, putting her hands on her shoulders.

            “You're telling me,” grinned Erika, then leaning in to kiss her new friend.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Early November, 2002

            “Finished!” exclaimed Erika, having just sealed the plastic case on the electronic device that she and Titania had spent the last few months working on. A square box with a small speaker in one side, a cord on the other connected to a wall power source while on top was a simple turn knob. The prototype for the Siren device was at last completed; Erika spun around in her chair  to show it to the other two women in the room. The blonde was wearing a navy blue tube top that was tied together between her breasts, her hair down and a white knee-length skirt on her legs.

            “Finally,” grinned Titania. Erika's roommate was wearing a light gray tank top with an extra wide gap between the straps, mustard yellow tight pants on her legs and her hair in a ponytail. The junior had been wearing glasses earlier but had since but them down on her desk and was nursing a can of cola.

            “Oh, I knew that spectacular mind of yours could do it!” exclaimed Gwen, whose curly hair was out in full force, the oldest of the trio wearing a pink T-shirt and jeans with the former saying 'Sweetness' on the chest in white. “You know Erika's virtually immune to being manipulated subconsciously? Her mind's like an iron fortress!” Gwen had directed the last statement at Titania, who nodded and smiled at her roommate.

            “I sure can pick them,” chuckled Titania, standing up. “Okay, we've got our Siren... Now we need to test it.”

            “Oh, Erika, use it on me!” volunteered Gwen, standing up from sitting on the edge of Erika's bed. Titania in turn quickly finished her cola and stood up, rubbing her eyes.

            “I'll wait outside, come in a few seconds after you use it, just in case,” offered Titania, heading for the door. “The frequency should, if this works, make your stasis last around eight hours. Not that you'll probably notice...”

            “We'll be fine, but suit yourself,” agreed Erika, standing up and giving Gwen a quick peck as Titania left. The child genius let out a breath as she closed the dorm room door behind her. At first having Erika around had been great, but Titania was getting a bit annoyed at how much her girlfriend Gwen had managed to learn about their project. Titania prided in her secrets, and Gwen didn't seem like she'd be very good at keeping them.

            “Two... three... four...” counted of Titania as she waited. The Siren had been given a special fail-safe so that it would automatically shut down after ten seconds of continuous use, no more than four seconds expected to be needed to put someone in full stasis. Titania finished counting and took a breath before reentering her dorm.

            “Erika?” called out Titania, glancing at the scene before her. Erika held the Siren in her right hand, her left on the knob. Gwen was standing across from Erika, her left leg up on Titania's bed with her hands pressed together on top of her left knee. Gwen was winking at Erika though her expression was otherwise fairly neutral. Erika meanwhile was grinning ear to ear. Neither woman was moving.

            “Huh... It worked!” exclaimed Titania, quickly shutting the door before hopping around on her feet, barely managing to contain a squeal. After a few bounces, Titania came down in front of Erika and waved a hand in front of the immobilized blonde's face. With not so much as a wink of a hint of wobbling to suggest Erika was in any way conscious, Titania carefully removed the Siren from her roommate's stiff grasp.

            “Okay, so we need a way to protect the person using it,” muttered Titania, turning the knob to the off position and placing the object down on Erika's desk. “Regular earplugs won't do the job, I need to cook up something specific to block it off...” Even as Titania's mind went over possible solutions to protect the Siren's user, she found her gaze drifting back towards Erika, first her skirt but soon her breasts.

            “Eight hours...” breathed Titania, feeling herself getting warm all over. Standing in front of Erika, Titania looked into her friend's glassy eyes. Titania placed a hand on Erika's cheek, and despite the blonde being in a state of stasis she still felt fairly warm. There was no pulse, but that was expected; Titania had every confidence her friend would be fine. Following Erika's gaze Titania saw Gwen and she felt her blood turn cold.

            “You, you damn third wheel,” hissed Titania, stepping away from Erika and moving towards the mannequin-like Gwen. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me? Teen genius in high school nothing, try being one who is also into girls who think you're a freak! I lucked out big time with the best of the bunch as my roommate and a few short weeks into the semester you show up like some magical dream girl in a romantic comedy to sweep her off her feet. You. Disgust. Me.” Titania reached out and flicked her right index finger into Gwen's forehead. The impact was enough to make Gwen slowly tip backwards, eventually clattering onto the floor like a fallen window dummy.

            “Come on, lets have some genius fun,” insisted Titania, grabbing Erika by the hips and, with a small amount of effort, managing to move her to her bed. A person in stasis was rigid enough to not simply collapse as if sedated but wasn't as solid as a rock either, so Titania was able to bend Erika's knees so she could sit on the side of her bed. Titania then sat on top of her friend's lap, moving her arms so they were at her sides.

            “Your mind isn't a fortress, it's a magical kingdom,” Titania whispered to Erika, once again stroking her friend's cheek. “You're built like a princess and have the mind of a genius... How can't I have a crush on you?” Leaning in, Titania planted a kiss on Erika's smiling lips. It was awkward, but Titania didn't mind as it was her first ever kiss.

            “Erika Stone is going to be my first,” sighed Titania blissfully, then proceeding to reshape Erika's mouth to a more neutral position, making her easier to kiss in the French style. Titania pressed hard and soon had Erika tipped back, the junior on top. Titania continued to kiss and press, soon getting to second base before pausing to get Erika fully up on her bed. Titania continued to kiss, hoping she was getting better at it, and started to pull off Erika's top. Stripping frozen people, it turned out, could be trickier than one might think, but with a bit of effort Titania got Erika's top off, her wraparound black bra going next.

            “They're gorgeous,” whispered Titania, touching Erika's revealed breasts, focusing on her pink nipples. Titania had known from snooping that Erika was a 34C while she was a 32B, not that she minded. Titania straddled Erika between her legs and removed her own top, having secretly gone without a bra. Soon Titania was naked on top of her roommate, whom she reposed so her hands were behind her head. The skirt was then removed from around Erika's waist, her black thong going along as well. A quick feel of Erika's crotch revealed to Titania that the woman wasn't a virgin, but she didn't mind, it still being special to her.

            “So this is it...” giggled Titania, incredibly happy at was about to transpire. After taking a moment to kiss Erika's beautiful womanhood, Titania slid off the bed, retrieving a special double-sided dildo Titania had bought earlier in the year, after feeling a bit down. The blue object was placed in Erika's vagina and Titania promptly climbed onto it, letting it enter her as she rested on top of Erika.

            “I'll always treasure this, even if you won't know it happened,” confessed Titania in a hushed tone as she began to rise and fall, all the while kissing and touching Erika all over. Titania had never really self-pleasured so it was all very new to her, soon finding herself unable to close her mouth and wanting to curl her arms up around her head. Moaning in pleasure Titania soon closed her eyes and before she even realized it was happening she had climaxed, letting out a stifled gasp in response.

            “Best... Invention... Ever...” groaned Titania as she fell off of the bed, ending up next to Gwen. Titania really didn't like Gwen, hating that Erika was dating her, but as she lay next to the darker-skinned woman she couldn't help but see at the very least the physical attraction Erika had for her.

            “Alright... I can go again, I think...” decided Titania, getting up and standing up Gwen at the same time. With quickly and rough gestures the biology major was stripped left standing at attention in the nude, her light brown nipples and full bush on display. Titania's own womanhood was fairly full as well, the girl having never seen the point in grooming until now.

            “Does seem like it would itch less, and look nicer,” mused Titania, then grinning as she turned Gwen around and bent her over, her hands ending up resting on the side of the junior's bed. The dildo was pulled from Erika's womanhood and placed in Gwen's rear end.

            “Let me show you just what I think of you...” laughed Titania, feeling herself go warm again.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Mid-November, 2002

            It had been almost two weeks since the Siren's first test, and in the past three days Erika or Titania had thought they'd figured out the right sound file to block the Siren only to each end up frozen during a test. The most recent failure had been that morning, which was why Titania was now frozen and naked with Erika in their shared shower. The blonde had posed Titania to be flashing her cute smile, her dark hair spilling down all around her head and her cute tan nipples on full display. What surprised Erika the most about having her roommate naked was that she groomed; her womanhood was almost bare, save for a very well trimmed strip. Titania's arms were posed to wrap around Erika, the blonde in turn having her legs around her.

                                               “So sweet that you're frozen and I'm not stopping time,” whispered Erika, enjoying the hot water as is ran down the two of them together in the shower. Taking a bar of soap, Erika ran it between Titania's breasts before doing the same with her own. After the chest, Erika leaned in and locked lips with her frozen roommate, also taking the opportunity to scrub her back. By this point Erika had figured out Titania wasn't acting entirely innocently whenever Erika ended up frozen testing the Siren, so she figured fair was fair, though she had no idea just what specifically Titania was doing. In a way Erika didn't want to know since she was dating Gwen, and if Titania was into women too it could turn very awkward. Erika was still very new to the dating thing, and the only reason she wasn't a virgin was thanks to the two times she'd managed to have sex while stopping time: once with her personal trainer Greg, and once with one of her teachers.

            “At least for the moment we have this,” muttered Erika, finishing with the soap and running her hands through Titania's hair. As Erika gave the brunette another kiss however she heard, through the spray of the shower, there was a knock at her dorm room door.

            “Dammit,” groaned Erika, shutting off the water. Titania was leaned back against the wall of the shower, her arms still out as if wrapped around the blonde despite now holding nothing. “To be continued,” insisted Erika as she stepped out of the shower, blowing Titania a kiss. The brunette had been frozen for roughly an hour and even with the Siren’s effect now set to only last six hours, that still meant five more before Erika needed to ensure her roommate was posed correctly.

            Pulling on a robe and deciding not to bother toweling her hair, Erika exited the bathroom clad in royal purple. Glancing through the peephole Erika was surprised to see an odd pair outside her room. One Erika recognized as Monica Stein, her parents' personal travel agent and quasi-assistant, since her dad's proper assistant and secretary was Vivian Skye. Erika had known Monica for years and harbored a crush on the short black-haired woman. Monica was wearing a gray blazer with a pale rose blouse and a black skirt, pantyhose and heels were also visible while her hair was resting uniformly on her shoulders. With Monica was a tall blonde Erika didn't know, but she looked to be the same height as the heiress. The mystery blonde's hair was a bit curly and was flowing well past her shoulders, the woman was wearing a navy blouse with a tan skirt but no jacket, and her heels were stiletto boots.

            After making sure the bathroom door was closed, Erika cautiously opened the door to the dorm room. “Monica, surprised to see you here, but a welcome surprise,” offered Erika, smiling at her friend.

            “Sorry to show up unannounced but we weren't able to get a hold of you, though your father provided me with your class schedule,” offered Monica, powering apologetically. “This is Marissa Hawkins, she's an assistant shipping manager for Stone Textiles.”

            “I also graduated from UCLA back in 2000,” added Marissa, offering a hand, which Erika took. “Got hired right after graduating, and I’m already an assistant manager.”

            “Your father thought it might be good for you to meet with her, ask any questions you might have at this point in the semester?” explained Monica, appearing to look for an invite inside.

            “Yeah, sure, come on in,” agreed Erika, indicating for the pair to enter. They did so and saw the room as a bit of a mess, since in addition to neither bed being made Titania's clothes were lying on her bed, Erika's on her own. The Siren was also sitting out in plain view, Erika having left if on her desk next to a pair of rags she'd used to clean the insides the previous night. Monica and Marissa both quietly elected to take a seat on each of the desk chairs, Erika going for her bed and sitting on the side.

            “So right off the bat, here's my email,” offered Marissa, handing Erika a business card, which she set down on her bed. “Just in case.”

            “Great, thanks,” nodded Erika. “So tell me Marissa... Were you ever in a sorority?”

            “No,” was Marissa's answer as she pressed her hands on her right knee, which was crossed over the left. “Tried to pledge once, but no. You thinking about one?”

            “Don't think it's necessary, and they really feel elitist,” revealed Erika, thinking back to her encounters with Vicky Sandrosi and her flock. “What about good places to eat around here? I've found myself going to the cafeteria way too much.”

            “There's a place not too far away, it's called Fifi's in downtown LA,” answered Marissa. “Opened in 1999, really, really good food for reasonable prices. I mean I don't want to judge your budget of course, but any friends you have would be able to easily afford it too...”

            “Nice; sounds French,” smiled Erika, all the while an idea forming her mind. Marissa had a very nice-looking set of breasts, Erika figuring her for a 34B, possibly C. The blonde heiress was catching herself undressing Marissa with her eyes and had previously done it while time was stopped with Monica more than once. Now Erika had the Siren and could freeze them both without worrying about losing concentration, but the trick was how to use it without freezing herself. “Any other suggestions?”

            “I just went to this place called The Ruby last month, it just opened,” replied Marissa, nodding. “Very good diner-style place if that's your thing. Now, closer to home...” Marissa trailed off, but it wasn't because of her, but because of Erika. Erika had closed her eyes and concentrated, bringing the world to halt around her. Upon opening her eyes Marissa sat frozen, her right arm raised to gesture at the other blonde with her left on her knee. Marissa's lips were parted but no word had yet been formed on them, her eyes slightly squinted as if about to blink. Monica meanwhile was glancing down at her cell phone, which she had open in her right hand while her left touched her chin with a curled index finger. Monica was glancing down, lost on her own little world. Silence surrounded the group.

            “Need to... focus...” grunted Erika, her excitement hurting her concentration. Reaching into a desk drawer, Erika found a stick of spearmint gum and quickly began to chew it. Erika had always found that chewing gum helped her focus her ability. Once Erika had read that mint helped keep people awake, focusing their senses, and wondered if that was why she preferred her particular gum, though she knew it wasn't necessarily the only reason it worked.

            “Okay, now to set this up right...” mumbled Erika, standing up. Carefully removing Monica's phone from her hand, Erika took the Siren and placed it there instead. Next Erika lowered Monica's hand so it was holding the knob, which was turned to the on position. Since the Siren was frozen too, it wasn't active, which was lucky for Erika. Deciding to save kissing Monica until after time wasn't frozen, Erika instead simply left the room, stepping out into the hallway. Letting her mind wander, Erika allowed time to resume.

            “One... two... three...” began Erika, counting to ten since that was when the fail-safe on the Siren triggered. Erika was a bit on edge, since she was standing in the hall in her bathrobe, but luckily the only person around was heading the other way and didn't even glance backwards. Once Erika hit twelve, wanting to be sure, she quickly opened the door and stepped back inside. To the blonde's delight there was silence; Erika approached her two frozen guests while shedding her robe.

            Seeing Monica and Marissa sitting as they had been when time was stopped, Erika knew the Siren had worked, and she proceeded to very carefully pry it from the brunette's hands. With the Siren free and the knob turned back to the off position, Erika could barely contain herself as she set the technological marvel down. No sooner than was the Siren out of the way than Erika got to work, standing Monica up and kissing her wherever she could while frantically tearing off her clothes. Soon Monica was naked and Erika pushed the dark brunette back down into her chair, then proceeding to climb on top of her.

            “You have no idea how many times I've made you naked, but never done this,” Erika whispered to Monica. “The problem with frozen sex is I have to concentrate... I used sleeping pills once and that was okay, but this is something special... And I want that with you.” Running a hand over Monica's breasts, Erika smile and planted a kiss on the unaware-looking woman before sliding down, her mouth firmly in Monica's well-kept bush. Erika took her time, enjoying every stroke of her tongue while having to do little with her own crotch.

            “Ohhh yeah...” gasped Erika what turned out to be an entire half hour later, falling backwards onto the floor and biting her right index finger as she reached her climax. Letting out a breath, Erika glanced up at the ceiling. For some reason Titania had a poster of the Ark of the Covenant being used on her ceiling, Erika having joked more than once it was her inspiration for trying to design a death ray. As Erika glanced at the poster something began to churn in her head, thinking about how the Ark was portrayed in Hollywood films as a weapon and the way to protect oneself. Something clicked in Erika's mind.

            “Eureka!” exclaimed the blonde, then feeling silly. None the less Erika thought she had an idea for how to properly use the Siren, though she'd need to confer with Titania first. Remembering Titania wasn't going to unfreeze for a while, Erika turned her attention to Marissa.

            “Okay, I gotta admit, a blonde my own height?” remarked Erika, standing up and moving over to Marissa, “That's hot.” Pulling the sheets and thus the clothes off of Titania's bed, Erika then managed to shift and dump Marissa onto the bed without needing to lift her, though she ended up biting her hand.

            “Sorry,” offered Erika, setting to work straightening out the frozen, older blonde. Erika realized there was a six year age gap, as there was with Monica, but Erika didn't mind and placed Marissa down on her stomach, laying her out flat. The skirt came off as did the blouse, revealing Marissa had white underwear that was a bit conservative, though it hugged her figure well. The panties came off first and as Marissa was flipped Erika discovered Marissa took the time to wax entirely.

            “Wonder how many women actually do that,” mused Erika, though she then remembered a popular ad campaign from a few years back featuring a new sort of wax that made use on the crotch almost a comfort. Marissa's breasts were then revealed, being B cups after all, with suitable brown nipples on display since Marissa wasn't too pale, though she wasn't that tan either.  What was curious was Marissa also had a chain around her waist, a small gold one.

            “It seems wrong to remove it, funnily enough,” realized Erika, shrugging. Reaching into a drawer under Titania's bed, Erika found the dildo her roommate had failed to hide, though Erika mainly knew about it thanks to her own curiosity after a failed Siren test. The double-sided dildo fit comfortably into Erika's crotch and she then slid it into Marissa's, glad she finally had someone she could be at nose level with when making love.

            “Ohh...” moaned Erika as she began to thrust, a bit tender after her previous experience with Monica. None the less the blonde managed to get going and moved back and forth, kissing her open-mouthed and somewhat sleepy-looking Marissa as she moved. Despite not removing the chain, Erika couldn't help but play with it a bit as she moved, though she also found the woman's breasts to be quite nice.

            “Ahh...” finished Erika, another twenty minutes having gone by. Erika rolled over, managing to remove herself from the dildo, and breathed heavily as she lay next to Marissa. Erika didn't have long to think about how much fun she was having as all of a sudden her cell phone rang over on the desk.

            “Oh!” exclaimed Erika, jumping up and nearly tripping over Monica as she grabbed for the phone, having rolled over Marissa and hit the floor. “Hello?”

            “Erika, it's Bianca!” came the voice over the phone. “Krystal, Ashlee and I were going to go to this place called Bean There over in LA, you interested?”

            “I really hope the name isn't better than the coffee,” remarked Erika, repressing a chuckle. “Umm...” Erika glanced around, but knew she still had four hours until Titania would unfreeze. “I think I can, just I can only spare three hours tops.”

            “It's okay, we'll probably be there and back in that, Krystal has a class,” Bianca assured her friend. “You want us to stop by your place?”

            “No!” shouted Erika, quickly composing herself. “Sorry, just, the place is, ah, a bit of a mess. Meet you out front in five?”

            “Perfect!” agreed Bianca, Erika hearing stifled laughter as the call ended.

* * *

UCLA Library Women's Bathroom

Early December, 2002

            Erika had been hiding in the bathroom stall for half an hour, starting to question if she was really that good at predicting people's habits. Clad in a casual black T-shirt with gray slacks, neither of which were Erika's usual style, Erika was incognito and holding the newly modified Siren. Just last night Erika's idea on how to block the sound using the device itself rather than a simulated outside source had born fruit, so now the device not only used a bulky battery attachment but a pair of ear buds which the blonde had already in place in her sound receptors.

            As Erika questioned if she was in fact correct about the habits of her intended targets, the bathroom door opened as the blonde huddled down. “Oh my God, I'll be so glad to be done with this exam,” came the voice of Wanda Beck as Wanda, Vicky, Connie and Carla all came into the bathroom. The door swung shut behind them and while Erika was huddling down she could hear footsteps as all four women approached the bathroom sinks.

            “Be glad you don't have to worry about finding a law firm or taking a bar exam,” commented Connie as the footsteps stopped. “You know how hard it is out there? I'll probably need to sleep with someone to even be considered for partner...”

            Rolling her eyes, Erika turned the dial on the Siren. Whatever noise the device made Erika didn't hear, instead enjoying a sort of faint hum, a sound she could only describe as the revving of a motorcycle with a weak engine. Turning the device off, Erika carefully got down off of the toilet she had been standing on top of and opened the door, emerging into the bathroom.

            “Four stiffs, picture perfect,” laughed Erika, seeing that the Siren had worked. Wanda was on the far right, her brown hair down and her hands under it around the back of her neck, her lips pursed and her gaze straight ahead. Wanda was wearing a simple black summer dress that hugged her body, matching heels on her feet. Vicky was next to Wanda, clad in a purple V-neck top with no collar that revealed ample cleavage, a yellow skirt on her legs and pink sandals on her feet. Vicky's hair was spiked around the back and she was applying pink lipstick with her right hand, leaning forward while gazing into the mirror with her left hand on the rim of the sink. Connie stood next to Vicky in a brown skirt and vest, a tan blouse under the vest and her long hair down past her shoulders in a ponytail. Connie had her right hand on her hip while her left touched her lips, her left side of her face turned closer to the mirror as she gazed her reflection. Carla was last in line, wearing a pale green hooded sweatshirt over a low-cut black tank top, blue shorts on her legs and black stiletto heels on her feet. Carla's hair was done up in chopstick-like needles and she had a powder puff in each hand, each one applying to the matching cheek.

            “Twin powders, interesting,” chuckled Erika, proceeding to pull out a stick of spearmint gum and start chewing. The already fairly quiet bathroom went dead quiet as Erika stopped time, pocketing the Siren as best she could though it still bulged out quite a bit. Taking a breath, Erika exited the bathroom. The area outside of the main library bathroom was just around the corner from the custodial closet, which Erika had managed to steal a key to earlier that day and she knew contained the kind of objects she'd need.

            Turning the corner outside the bathroom, Erika nearly walked smack into a woman who seemed to match her in height. A blonde, like Erika, stood idle since time was frozen, sporting a denim jacket and jeans with a white collared V-neck underneath. The frozen blonde's hair was darker than Erika's but she had piercing blue eyes that seemed a bit large. The denim-clad woman was looking straight ahead, her expression blank with her left arm and right leg slightly forward, though the latter had yet to touch the floor. There was no purse but Erika saw a wallet bulge in her jacket pocket so she reached inside.

            “Addison Finn, huh?” noted Erika, glancing at her ID. “Only a year older than me, and just my height...” Seeing Addison, Erika was half-tempted to use the Siren on her as well, but Erika already had plans for the evening and kidnapping a random student she didn't know didn't seem fair.

            “Until we meet again,” offered Erika, giving Addison a kiss on each of her cheeks in the greeting style before moving past her. Upon opening the custodial closet, Erika found two large gray garbage cans on wheels and pulled them out, moving them past Addison and taking them into the bathroom. Erika knew she'd still have to carry her targets down some stairs but the cans would make the trip a bit easier.

            “Okay girls, time to go,” Erika called as she approached the silent group in the bathroom. Wanda was picked up first, her shoes falling off as Erika swung her up into the first garbage can. After the shows were tossed in the can Erika removed Vicky's lipstick from her grasp and lifted her up as well, the frozen blonde's head ending up in Wanda's breasts thanks to how she'd been leaning. With Connie, Erika found easier to simply stick in upside down, resulting in her skirt falling down to around her waist with a quick preview of her black thong and her large thighs. Carla went last, Erika knocking the powders away and letting the woman's hair down as she was moved.

            “Come on, I've got some friends for you to meet,” insisted Erika as she started wheeling the cans.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

            There was no one in the hallway when Erika parked her custodial bins outside her dorm room, so she unfroze time when she arrived. The moment time resumed, Erika moved to quickly open the door and try to drag in the two cans before anyone noticed.

            “You're back!” exclaimed Gwen as Erika entered the dorm, her girlfriend having been waiting along with Titania for her return. Gwen had straightened her hair for the time being so it was long and rested around her head, the African-American sporting a short-sleeved red and white horizontal-striped crop top as well as jeans and gray ballet shoes.

            “Oh, you did it!” added Titania, having stood up with Gwen to see what Erika had brought. Erika's roommate was wearing an orange T-shirt with a green cartoon dinosaur on it, Erika unsure what kind but it had big, cute black eyes. On her legs Titania was wearing gray, black and white plaid fleece pants, and her hair was up in a relaxed bun. From the looks of things, Gwen had been helping Titania paint her toenails a festive red.

            “Yeah, I'd call this a successful field test,” grinned Erika, tapping the cans as she finished wheeling them in, closing the door behind her. “Four sorority bitches, stiff as boards.”

            “I am amazed you managed to bring them all the way here,” commented Titania, Erika having yet to tell her about her gift, though it was her darkest secret.

            “I covered them up for the journey, a couple of garbage bags over the obvious parts,” lied Erika, indicating the three upper bodies and pair of legs sticking out of the cans. “You'd be surprised how jaded some students are...”

            “We need to celebrate!” insisted Gwen, wrapping her arms around Erika. “We've got time for that right?”

            “They don't unfreeze for six hours at the setting I used,” explained Erika, the Siren now also having the ability to adjust between four to eight hours of duration. Titania was working on ways to made the duration range wider while Erika had been focusing on the portable power supply and user protection.

            “Okay, Transmoxide Party?” suggested Gwen, pointing her fingers at the other two present. Erika knew what the drug was for, but was curious what specifically Gwen was proposing.

            “You talking about that suggestibility drug?” asked Titania, unsurprisingly having heard of Transmoxide. “The mental relaxer? What would we do with that?”

            “I brought my laptop, and there's some great hypnosis videos on there,” revealed Gwen, indicating her briefcase that was resting on the side of Erika's bed. “We all take some, are given some triggers, and play a little! Maybe an hour tops?”

            “I... suppose?” offered Titania, glancing at Erika for guidance.

            “I guess we'll give it a shot, though last time we tried this it didn't work on me,” Erika reminded Gwen as the trio left the two garbage cans behind to go sit. Titania sat in her chair, Erika sat on the edge of her bed and Gwen took Erika's chair. Digging into her bag, Gwen found her laptop as well as a water bottle, which she handed to Titania.

            “Take a sip, you don't need much,” insisted Gwen. Titania glanced at Erika again, who nodded, and with that the young junior did as was asked. After Titania sipped the liquid Gwen took it back and enjoyed a sip herself before offering it to Erika.

            “You sure this will work?” questioned Erika, taking a sip as she asked.

            “Hey, you're willing this time,” reminded Gwen, opening up her laptop and searching her video files. “If you're willing, you'll go under. So... How about in honor of your success we do freeze tag?”

            “How does that one work?” inquired Titania.

            “If we hear our name and then the word 'freeze', well, we freeze,” explained Gwen. “Hear your name and the word 'unfreeze', you unfreeze. Simple as that.”

            “I like it, though tag might not be accurate,” chuckled Erika, Titania nodding in agreement.

            “Ugh, semantics,” chided Gwen, loading the video. “Okay... Here we go...!” Erika slid closer to her desk as Gwen started the video, the full-screen of the laptop showing swirly lines and flickering lights as a voice came on. Titania had wheeled closer so the three were practically next to each other.

            “Huh... I don't feel quite sleepy yet, but I do feel... Odd...” muttered Titania as the video started to try and get them to sleep. Erika glanced at her friend and saw her eyes were fluttering a bit, and she was wobbling in place.

            “Yeah... I... know...” gasped out Gwen, who seemed to be at Titania's level. Erika felt a bit drawn in to the video, but she wasn't sure if it was working.

            “I don't think this... is... oh...” offered Erika, only to suddenly find herself feeling drowsy. Glancing over at Titania and Gwen again Erika saw the former had slumped backwards, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted. Gwen meanwhile had leaned forward, her eyes curiously open yet clearly glazed over.

            “That's...” began Erika, only to suddenly feel herself fall backwards and then nothing. Erika felt light, replaced, and at rest. It wasn't clear how long was passing, but Erika didn't care. Eventually she heard the word 'zero' and, like being struck by lightning, she was back up, feeling amazing.

            “Woah,” breathed Titania as she stood up from her chair, Gwen meanwhile having snapped up and started rubbing her eyes. “Did... Did that just work?”

            “Video's over, and I think we all clearly were inducted,” groaned Gwen. “Ahh... I think I feel asleep with my eyes open again. That can happen when I'm hypnotized... Never slept that way though.”

            “Huh... Erika freeze!” exclaimed Titania, and Erika suddenly went still. “Gwen, freeze!” Gwen likewise was instantly petrified by Titania's words. Erika was standing up, touching her neck with her right hand while her left rested near her pocket, puzzlement on her face. Gwen was rubbing her eyes with both hands while bent over, her jaw clenched.

            “Ha ha... Oh this is so cool,” laughed Titania, pleased with the Siren but really enjoying being able to freeze people with a word. Moving over to Erika, Titania reached into her pocket and removed the Siren, placing it over on the junior's desk. Returning to Erika, Titania let the blonde's hair down and raised her left hand up to be touching her neck as well, then bending her knees slightly. Gwen Titania stood upright and moved her hands from her face to her breasts, her elbows sticking out like wings. Testing the limits of how effective the hypnosis really was, Titania managed to coax Gwen's jaw into being unclenched and even opened her eyes.

            “Ah... Gwen, unfreeze, Erika, unfreeze,” commanded Titania, resulting in Erika and Gwen suddenly both looking around in confusion and glancing at their hands. A chortle of amusement then filled the air.

            “Titania, freeze!” yelled Gwen, and Titania promptly froze. The brunette had been laughing, her hands on her stomach as she leaned back, her mouth open and her eyes closed. Gwen approached the brunette and played with her hair, letting it down out of its bun.

            “This really might be more fun than the Siren,” giggled Erika, reaching out to touch Titania's head.

            “Erika, freeze!” shouted Gwen, and Erika froze with her hands inches form touching Titania's head. Erika was grinning ear to ear. Giggling, Gwen turned Titania to be facing Erika and moved the girl's hands to be resting on Erika's backside, while Erika's own hands held her shoulders.

            “Erika, unfreeze, Titania, unfreeze!” snapped Gwen, and both women looked at one another in surprise as they unfroze. “Aw, you're so cute together! Ha... Erika, freeze.” As Erika was glancing down at the ground, puzzlement on her lips, she locked in place once more. The blonde's right arm was raised up at head level while her left was hanging down near her waist.

            “Don't you dare,” warned Titania, gesturing at Gwen. The nineteen year old raised her hands in a gesture of peace.

            “I was going to suggest you help me get her down to her underwear,” revealed Gwen, moving to stand next to her girlfriend. “Come on, I'm sure you've seen it by now.”

            “Uh, yeah, okay,” agreed Titania, and the pair got to work on Erika. The blonde's arms were raised up and her top was peeled off, her pants going next. Erika was left in a pink bra with matching thong, metallic black lining the outside of the underwear. Erika's hands were reposed to she looked like the Birth of Venus painting.

            “Erika, unfreeze!” commanded Gwen, and Erika blinked to life. Gwen and Titania both started laughing once more as Erika looked down in shock, her eyes going wide.

            “Titania, freeze, Gwen, freeze!” yelled Erika a moment later. Gwen and Titania were standing side by side, her arms up at their sides with big grins on their faces as they glanced at where Erika was standing. “Oh, you bitches... Payback time!” hissed Erika, though she knew it was in the spirit of good fun. Raising the arms of both women above their heads, Erika got to work willing off their tops, revealing that Gwen was in a white sports bra while Titania was in a festive red. The pants went next, Erika standing up one leg at a time for each woman before managing to work with their pants off.

            “Hang on, not quite perfect,” muttered Erika as the two women with her now stood with their arms above their heads, grinning as they stood clad in their underwear. Raiding Titania's bed drawer, Erika retrieved her special dildo and stuck it in the top of Titania's panties. Erika then posed Gwen to be holding the top of the dildo with both hands while facing Titania, the Latina of the pair meanwhile having her hands on her hips.

            “Gwen, unfreeze, Titania, unfreeze!” Gwen glanced down and burst out laughing as she stepped back, Erika giggling herself. Surprise, however, came when Titania glanced down and saw what was going on. The young woman wasn't filled with amusement, her face instead showing horror. Titania glanced at Erika and the blonde could see tears welling up in her eyes.

            “Oh, Titania...” began Erika, but Titania suddenly laughed.

            “Ha, it's okay...” insisted Titania, removing the dildo and throwing it on her bed. “I had you, didn't it?”

            “Titania freeze,” interrupted Gwen, the Latina freezing with her right index finger pointing at Erika, a grin on her lips between red eyes. “Hey, uh, maybe we should leave her alone. Pretty sure we just crossed a line...”

            “Yeah...” agreed Erika, glancing at her girlfriend. “Gwen, freeze.” Gwen froze while looking at Erika in concern, her arms at her side while raised to hip level, her lips slightly parted. Pausing to give Gwen a kiss on the lips, Erika then focused on Titania.

            “I'm sorry sweetie,” sighed Erika, wrapping her arms around her roommate and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Man... I need to take the edge off...” Letting out a breath, Erika moved past Titania and headed over to the garbage cans. Connie stood out since she was in upside down, so Erika reached in and managed to pull her out first. The brunette's ponytail was let down and her vest was peeled off when her arms were raised up. The top and skirt went next, revealing Connie to be wearing slutty silk underwear, her white thong covering little and her bra practically painted on. Hoisting the shorter woman up on her shoulder, Erika carried Connie over to her bed.

            “Hate to bring it up, but I need to borrow this,” whispered Erika to Titania, grabbing the dildo from her bed. Pulling off her own underwear, Erika inserted the dildo into her crotch as she climbed on top of Connie on her bed. Connie was posed so her hands were behind her head and her thong was pulled down, her bra then coming off. Erika slid the other end of the dildo into Connie and glanced over at the garbage cans, her hands resting on the brunette's nice thighs.

            “Don't worry, I plan to go through all four of you before I work hard to make up a mistake to a friend...” Erika called to the frozen trio before she started thrusting.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Late December, 2002

            There were only a few days left until Christmas, and Eric Stone had promised his daughter that they'd visit Montreal for the holiday. Erika had already packed her bags and Titania had already gone home for Christmas, but Erika was waiting to have a little personal time with Gwen. While Titania seemed better after the Siren celebration had turned awkward, Erika was still worried, the brunette appearing to have it out for Gwen in particular.

            There was a knock at the door as Erika finished adjusting her Christmas outfit in the bathroom. The blonde was wearing a tight red sweater with a green bow on the chest along with a red skirt that had a white fur trim. Tossing her hair back, Erika blew herself a kiss in the mirror with her ruby red lips as she went to answer the door. Standing on the other side was Gwen, wearing a metallic green strapless dress with a white fur trim, her hair back up in curls and a pair of big red stockings on her feet with matching ballet shoes over the top of them. “Mistletoe?” offered Gwen, lifting up a piece of the holiday tradition and sharing a peck with Erika before entering.

            “No present?” questioned Erika, trying not to sound too disappointed.

            “Oh, it'll be here in a minute,” Gwen assured Erika, touching her girlfriend's shoulder. Erika kissed Gwen again and took her hand.

            “Come see your present,” grinned Erika, leading Gwen into the room proper. Three women stood present, all naked save for green bows taped on their belly buttons. The other day Erika had encountered a trio of other students after an exam and learned they were working as strippers part-time when they offered her a card. Deciding to spread some good will, Erika had hired them, including paying a large fee, but then froze them with the Siren for Gwen. The first had her right foot on Titania's bed, her right hand on her knee while she flashed a come hither look through blue eyes. The woman was Tina Ly, three years older than Erika and of Vietnamese descent, her eyes being due to colored contacts. The tan-skinned first generation Texan had a nice rack and her hair was up in a high ponytail, her hair spilling out in all directions. Next to Tina was Angelina Snowe, a woman with an amazing ass and hair that had equal strands of blonde and brown. Angelina's pink lips formed a confident smirk, her hands on her hips, which were swayed to the right. Next to Angelina was Isobel Kozlov, whose pose in general was a mirror reversal of Tina's, her left foot on Erika's bed. Isobel had naturally blonde hair but she was wearing a black wig with bangs, it being part of her stripper attire. Isobel, who was an immigrant from Lithuania, had a cocky look on her face. All three women had groomed their womanhoods well, Tina and Isobel were effectively clean while Angelina had a perfect strip. Erika figured it was a stripper thing.

            “Oh wow, they look amazing!” exclaimed Gwen.

            “Tina, Angelina, Isobel,” indicated Erika, pointing to each statue individually. “They apparently are also roommates. “Business major, sports medicine major with a nursing minor, and philosophy major. The work for that place that does strippers and adult films, I forget the name, but they're down in that one nasty district where all the porn film seem to shoot...”

            “Ugh, hope they don't make a career out of that,” shivered Gwen. “Or at least get their own business...” Gwen turned to Erika and gave her a long kiss. “Thank you, Merry Christmas. And I believe your gift is at the door,” concluded Gwen as a knock was heard.

            Moving to the dorm room door Erika opened it to find Gwen's roommate Chita standing there. Chita was dressed casually, sporting a white blouse and a black skirt that stopped well above her knees, her luscious brown hair down. Something seemed off as Chita seemed to be vaguely swaying in place. “Chita, come in,” commanded Gwen, and Chita did as she was told, entering with confidence while almost looking drunk, her eyes having a vague squint to them.

            “She hypnotized?” questioned Erika as the door was closed.

            “Oh yeah, you would not believe how easy it is to do her like this,” giggled Gwen, casually unbuttoning Chita's cleavage. “Nice, huh? Met her sister a week ago, just as gorgeous, though I'm not sure I see the resemblance in person...”

            “So she's all mine?” gasped Erika, her face lighting up as she stepped over to Chita. The blonde began stroking Chita's left cheek, getting no visible reaction.

            “Oh of course!” assured Gwen. “Chita, freeze.” Chita suddenly stopped swaying, standing more or less at attention with a dream-like look on her face.

            “Nice,” chuckled Erika, squeezing Chita's breasts. “You know I'm not so into just having someone do what I want, but the freezing aspect is pretty sweet.”

            “Best part of Transmoxide is it can make hypnotic triggers last for a really long time,” revealed Gwen, unbuttoning the rest of Chita's blouse as she spoke. “With the best subjects it can be like three months before it finally wears off, though a month is the average. For example... Erika, freeze!” Erika thought she heard Gwen speak, but everything went dark.

            “Honestly, all I want for Christmas is you,” sighed Gwen as she looked at Erika, who stood frozen. “Still even with the Siren I can't exactly freeze you forever... You'd deserve it though. So beautiful... I'd put you in a shrine, all for you...” Erika stood with her left hand on Chita's shoulder, glancing at Gwen with a smile on her lips while right hand touched Chita's stomach.

            “Chita, unfreeze,” ordered Gwen, and Chita resumed her subtle sway. “This blonde woman before you is Erika. I want you to take Erika to the bed with the red sheets and pose her naked. I then want you to start giving her oral sex.”

            “Understood...” breathed Chita, wrapping her arms around Erika's waist and managing to lift her up. Chita was two inches shorter than Erika but she made it work, hauling her over to the red bed, which was Erika's done up for the holidays. Titania's bed meanwhile currently had black sheets with a green plaid pattern on them and a pure black blanket.

            “Oh, better move her,” realized Gwen, running over to Isobel and managing to lift her by the legs so she now stood on Titania's bed facing Tina. As Chita went to work stripping Erika, Gwen got started herself, laying Isobel down on her back and Tina next, Angelina going in between them. All three were adjusting to be laying straight, though they were perpendicular to where they should be on a bed. Gwen proceeded to then pull off her dress, revealing she was naked underneath, though she kept her stockings and shoes on as she slipped on top of the three smiling strippers.

            “I need a little tongue,” whispered Gwen, leaning in and kissing Isobel, at the same time admiring that her wig had failed to come off despite being on her back. Using her teeth, Gwen was able to extract Isobel's tongue so it was sticking up, and she then did the same thing to Tina and Angelina. Angelina Gwen had the best time kissing for some reason, though she thought it was her lips being the softest. Isobel however had the prettiest eyes thanks to how green they were, but Tina had the firmest breasts. Since not only were the strippers all around five foot seven or so and Gwen was an inch shorter than them at best she had no problem setting up for a 69 position.

            “This is one thing I can't do properly with Erika,” mused Gwen as she placed her snatch on top of Tina's tongue. The feeling tickled, in a good way, and soon Gwen was moving back and forth on top of her row of strippers, letting each help stimulate her. As this was going on Erika was rendered nude and placed on her back, her hands behind her head and her legs apart while bent fully at the knees. Chita had also stripped down and her head was in between Erika's legs, working away.

            “Oh... Oh!” gasped Gwen as she had an orgasm on top of Angelina. “Ah... Erika, unfreeze.”

            “Oh!” exclaimed Erika, and Gwen could tell Erika was about to climax herself. Sure enough as Gwen climbed off of her stripper bed Erika did just that, Chita finishing and then pulling back her head, being on her hands and knees.

            “Chita, freeze,” ordered Gwen as Erika collapsed on her side, moaning in pleasure. “Nice, huh?”

            “You are not freezing me again, you trickster,” gasped Erika in between breaths. Gwen smiled but it was then that the door was knocked on once more. The door was opened and in walked a dark-haired Latina with fair skin who looked to be about thirty. The woman was wearing a beat-up brown leather jacket over a tan blouse with matching pants, her luscious hair tied back in a ponytail. The woman was full-lipped and had very-nice looking breasts.

            “Erika, meet professor Nadine Vargas, Archeology,” introduced Gwen, closing the door as Erika got up from the bed. Nadine stood idle, smiling between pink lips with her eyes half-closed.

            “You hypnotized a professor?” gasped Erika, unable to help but chuckle.

            “Slipped some Transmoxide into her coffee and played a video, she fell for it pretty much instantly,” giggled Gwen, letting down the professor's hair as she spoke. “Be glad you've never heard her speak, she can be kind of grating. Amazing bod though, right?”

            “Oh yeah,” agreed Erika, placing her hands on Nadine's shoulders. Leaning in, Erika planted a kiss on the woman's lips. Nadine wasn't frozen but she might as well have been, not really responding despite being conscious and not told to freeze.

            “Erika, freeze!” ordered Gwen, and Erika froze with her lips touching Nadine. “Nadine, take a step back.” Nadine moved backwards one step, continuing to stand idle after. “Nadine, freeze.”

            “Gwen, freeze!” Erika suddenly shouted, promptly moving herself. Gwen froze with crossed arms, beaming as she looked at Nadine with pride. Erika laughed and walked up to Gwen, doing a quick tickle test to make sure her girlfriend wasn't faking. “Told you you weren't freezing me again,” taunted Erika, kissing Gwen on the cheek. “Thanks for letting me know those triggers still work though, yours seems just fine.”

            Returning to her bed, Erika was about to move Chita when she realized keeping the other Latina might be better. Grabbing Nadine, Erika carried her over to the beds and began to strip her down, her gorgeous body soon revealed from under the gear that made her look more like an adventurer than a professor. Once the other Latina was naked Erika placed the professor on the blonde's bed, seating her on her knees with her arms out and a bright smile on her now mannequin-like face. Laying back, Erika was resting on Nadine's arms, knees and, most importantly, her breasts. Chita was still in place to give Erika oral sex.

            “Chita, unfreeze,” commanded Erika, and Gwen's roommate suddenly started where she'd stopped earlier, working her tongue around Erika's womanhood. Now, however, Erika was conscious for the whole thing, and had a very sexy pillow.

            “Oh...” gasped Erika in ecstasy. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Early February, 2003

            Titania was sitting with Erika in verbal silence, the latter flipping through a textbook while the former was working on a class assignment on her computer. Titania was actually effectively done with all her class work for the whole semester and had been thinking about ways to make the Siren's effect reversible using the same trick to protect the user from its effect. Earlier tests had shown the Siren could still protect a user even with only one ear bud, though that caused headaches. A splitter was installed so now two people could use the Siren together, but Titania was working on a method to use that to unfreeze someone already frozen by it. The real assignment, a work on Big O notation, Titania was only paying attention to half the time while the other half was focused on the Siren work.

            Biting her lip a bit, Titania glanced over at Erika. The blonde was laying on her bed, engrossed in her text, sporting a pink tank top with a pair of knee-length white shorts while her hair was in a ponytail. After the incident in December, Titania had made her peace with Erika, but the truth was she was still angry about the dildo incident. Titania hated that Erika had so brazenly used a sex toy she'd thought was hidden and basically designed for lesbians to humiliate her in front of Gwen. Titania hated that Gwen seemed to think she was superior to the prodigy, and hated that Erika saw more in Gwen than her roommate. Gwen was intelligent enough, but Titania saw Erika as a kindred spirit, someone worthy of rivaling her own genius scientifically. Jealousy was boiling over.

            Titania's eyes were starting to hurt and she knew she needed to take off her contacts. For reading purposes Titania needed glasses but she preferred contacts, not so much for thinking she couldn't pull off glasses as much as she just hated having anything resting on her ears. The half-Puerto Rican was wearing a white T-shirt that really showed off her breasts as well as very tight jeans, her hair down in a way she thought looked sexy, but Erika wasn't giving her a second glance.

            Finally after was seemed like an eternity of silence something happened: the dorm room door was knocked on and in walked a trio of women. Erika's friends Bianca, Krystal and Ashlee all entered. Bianca was wearing a black vest under a white blouse with opened sleeves, a green and yellow plaid skirt on along with rolled down socks and moccasins. Bianca was a bit of a fashion victim, but Titania liked her since she seemed true to herself, her hair down in a braided ponytail with a green ribbon. Krystal had her hair in a half up-do and was wearing some logo white T-shirt Titania didn't recognize, loose jeans on her legs with a pair of cowboy boots. Ashlee was striking, her face looking a bit model-like and her body was sexy enough, her curly brown hair spilling down over her shoulders. The British brunette that was Ashlee sported a black leather jacket over a brown T-shirt with a band logo Titania didn't know, dark red slacks on her legs. “Hey girls!” called Bianca in greeting, waving as she entered.

            “Oh hey, you're early!” exclaimed Erika, standing up from her bed. “So today's the day? We're finally going to try Fifi's...”

            “You, you're going to try,” corrected Ashlee, not sounding arrogant per say though her accent did make her sound almost professor-like. “I've been telling you three to join me there for weeks.”

            “Hard to justify a trip into central Los Angeles with classes going on,” reminded Krystal, scratching her neck. “So-” Titania had heard enough, but she'd been subtle with her actions. The Siren had been in her lap, so she put on the ear buds while pretending to be using her CD player, only instead she froze the four women right there on the spot. Krystal had O-shaped lips, her right index finger scratching that side of her neck as she stood silently. Erika was grinning with her hands on her hips, her elbows pulled back like she was doing some kind of cocky bird impression. Bianca had her eyes closed and seemed ready to face-palm with the right hand, her left at her side. Ashlee was glancing to her left at Krystal, her right index finger raised and pointing at her friend with a sort of apologetic smile on her lips.

            “I am so sick of this,” grumbled Titania, putting down the Siren and getting up from her computer, focusing on Erika. “Everything is just so perfect for you: girlfriend, rich parents, no concern for how your actions affect others, hot friends... Just take it all for granted!” Glaring at Erika, Titania couldn't stop herself from slapping the blonde with her right hand, causing her head to turn sharply to her own right.

            “Now I'm going to have sex with them in front of you!” declared Titania, pushing Erika backwards onto her bed. Titania proceeded to, in turn, drag Ashlee, Krystal and Bianca over to her bed. Krystal went first, her tan body soon revealed to possess a full bush and brown nipples as she was rendered nude. Bianca and Ashlee meanwhile had pink nipples as their bodies were revealed, Bianca and Ashlee both grooming a bit. Krystal was stripped first, her scratching hand raised over her head and her T-shirt pulled up in that direction, though her other arm remained at her side. Bianca's glasses were pulled off and her arms remained as they were, the blouse Titania managing to slide off with no difficulty. Ashlee ended up posed like she was doing a jumping jack while she was stripped, still looking to her left. For underwear Krystal had white, Bianca had black and Ashlee had purple, plus she had a gold chain around her waist. Krystal's underwear was a bit conservative while the other two went with thongs, Ashlee also had a nipple piercing that seemed to be healing over on her right breast.

            “Waist chains and nipple piercings, kind of kinky,” giggled Titania, soon stripping herself down. All three women were laid down on the bed like a buffet, Titania laying on top of their heads in particular while also groping their breasts. Krystal was where Titania's head was, Bianca was in the middle and Ashlee got the biological engineer's womanhood, which she'd recently painfully waxed  in hopes of flashing it Erika's way by 'accident.'

            “Oh, I bet you wish I was doing this to you!” taunted Titania as she tried to use Ashlee's tongue to get herself to orgasm. The motions were awkward however, and as she gyrated more and more the student's body cramped, eventually leading her to just give up and roll off of the bed, landing on the floor with a thump.

            “Dammit!” yelled Titania, standing up and glaring at the beaming Erika statue who lay on her own bed. “This is so stupid... Why can't you love me? I don't want to love you, yet here I am! Ugh...” Titania growled and sat down next to Erika, who continued to beam. Titania sighed as she reached out and touched Erika's face, and sighs soon turn to sobs.

            “Damn you... Damn you...” wept Titania, who in between tears noted with each touch of Erika's body her crotch became more excited than during the awkward sex she'd tried to have with three not unattractive women. “Dammit... This is so stupid. You're like a freaking Mary Sue! Even the things I want to hate about you I just can't... You're too damn perfect...”

            Feeling her nose start to run, Titania ran to the bathroom. As she washed her face, Titania looked at herself in the mirror, seeing her mascara running down her eyes. “She's only going to be your roommate a few more months,” Titania told herself in the mirror. “You’ve lasted this long. And really, she isn't perfect. That dildo thing went too far. It's like she doesn't fully understand what will upset people. Socially colorblind... Not a good cook, either, from what I've tasted. Spoiled rotten... You hate her. You hate her...” Even as Titania spoke the words to herself she knew believing them wasn't going to be easy. The fact that the Siren was going to wear off in twenty minutes was perhaps the only thing that would rouse her from the mirror.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Late March, 2003

            Erika had a skip in her step as she entered her room, having just returned from the library. Last semester Erika had barely managed a 4.05 GPA, but so far it seemed she was on course to torpedo that statistic. The previous week Erika had also finally started regular correspondence with Marissa Hawkins and was actually finding her insights very useful, as well as finding her just a nice person to chat with in general. As it was now early afternoon, Erika figured she'd have another email from Marissa waiting. The blonde was dressed for the day in a black V-cut sleeveless top with a yellow three-quarters-to-knees skirt, her hair in her usual ponytail.

            “Heya!” greeted Erika as she came up beside Titania, who was sitting at her computer, apparently crunching some data. Titania's hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with silver shorts that had neon green lining. Erika was in sneakers while Titania went barefoot, her red toenails in full view.

            “Hey,” nodded Titania, barely glancing up form her screen.

            “So I was thinking about the Siren earlier...” revealed Erika, sitting down on Titania's bed and glancing at her roommate. “I think I might have come up with a way to better focus the sound. It'll make it more like a sonic gun than just any old speak—”

            “Oh for fuck's sakes!” screamed Titania, making Erika jump as the biological engineer turned to face her. “This was my fucking project, Erika! My fucking project! Then you come hopping in here innocent as can be while sparkling in the daylight, and now it’s ours?! God!”

            “Hey, are you okay?” asked Erika, stunned by Titania's reaction.

            “No, you've ruined everything!” hissed Titania, standing up now and grabbing the Siren from her desk. “This is supposed to be my legacy, my ticket to fortune and relative fame! Instead it's just another thing for the girl who has it all, who ignores the little person who turned her onto it!”

            “Hey, I haven't been ignoring you!” insisted Erika, utterly baffled that Titania had such rage seething inside of her. Erika stood up, offering a calming gesture with her hands. Titania didn't have the ear phones in so using the Siren wasn't a potential threat, but Erika was worried by how unbalanced she was acting.

            “You never noticed...” sobbed Titania, tears suddenly falling from her eyes. “Not once. You. Fucking. Bitch. You just zip around like a manic pixie on stilts, not even thinking just once about what you're doing to people. What is it? Mind-blindness? Bipolar? Something from the Autism spectrum? Get. Help.” Titania's words cut hard, but as Erika was left in a daze she realized Titania was raising up the Siren, intent on smashing it.

            “No!” exclaimed Erika, and faster than she'd expected she stopped time on the spot. Titania stood with the object raised high above her head in both hands, teary-eyed rage locked in her face along with clenched teeth.

            “Gum, gum, gum!” chanted Erika, frantically running over to her desk and finding the chewing substance in question. Taking a breath as she began to chew, Erika moved back over Titania and really looked at her.

            “I... I just can't have this,” breathed Erika, touching Titania's sad face and stroking her cheek. “I can't have you mad at me. I care about you. But... How the hell do I fix this?” Biting her lip, Erika reached up and snacked the Siren from Titania's hands, her extra inches in height making it child's play. Putting the ear buds in place, Erika returned to her own chair and pointing the object at Titania. Triggering the Siren, Erika stopped chewing and let time resume. While sound returned Titania didn't move an extra inch, remaining the sad, furious statue that she'd been before. Erika had turned the knob up to the twelve-hour mark, just in case.

            “What to do, what to do,” Erika asked out loud, putting the Siren aside. Unable to stand seeing Titania as she was, Erika got up and adjusted the brunette's pose, letting her hair down, drying her eyes, replacing her face into a more friendly smile and standing her at attention, though in a relaxed way.

            “Much better,” sighed Erika, giving Titania a kiss before returning to her computer chair. Remembering she had been looking forward to an email from Marissa, Erika logged on to her computer and quickly checked her email. Seeing a message from Marissa, Erika quickly read it and chuckled at a selection of puns the older woman had included as apparently the Stone Enterprises employee was a big fan of them.

            “Hah, when you're reputation is at stake you want to make sure it's rare that you're not well done,” chuckled Erika was she drafted a quick reply. The situation with Titania was quickly outlined, Erika explaining that she apparently was suffering hurt feelings over a possible hogging of spotlight and wanted a way to show Titania she did care about her. The email was soon sent, though Erika bit her lip as she knew Marissa might not get back to her for hours. Fortunately as the email was sent off there was a knock at the door.

            Standing at the door was a gorgeous woman in her early fifties Erika knew to be Vivian Skye, her father's long-time assistant. Vivian was Jillian's mother, and was probably unhappy that Jillian had transferred to Cornell despite it being a good school, since Vivian had liked that Jillian was close to where they lived. Vivian was wearing a pink skirt suit with a blue blouse, her big bouffant-like blonde hair resting past her shoulders while her blue eyes sparkled. The short woman was holding two paper bags and was smiling at the peephole. Not wanting to shut out her father's assistant, Erika quickly moved Titania to the bathroom and closed the door before letting Vivian in.

            “Hello darling, sorry to pop in uninvited,” greeted Vivian, kissing cheeks with Erika before moving further inside. “Your father thought that after the trip to Montreal you might miss some of the cuisine you enjoyed. He apparently did since he ordered some in straight from the source, and sent me to give you some. I could have delegated but I haven't seen you in ages!”

            “It's been a month I think,” noted Erika, taking the paper bags from Vivian. “What's in here?”

            “One's a selection of Montreal smoked deli goods, your meats and your cheeses,” recited Vivian, tapping her index fingers together as she spoke. “The other I believe is called Kibbeh? It didn't sound very French...”

            “There's a Lebanese-Canadian place we ate at while we were there that made these,” explained Erika, opening up a bag to confirm that it did hold Kibbeh. “I think it's Lebanon's national dish. Bulgur, onions, some kind of nice meat...”

            “You know me darling, if some part of it isn't green I'm not eating it,” giggled Vivian, who only seemed to ever eat salads or something with spinach in it, her favorite drink being kale mixed with orange juice. “So how is school doing? You enjoying your second semester?”

            “I think I'm on track for a pretty good GPA this semester,” admitted Erika, beaming despite a nagging question. “Hey, um, I need to ask you something.”

            “Anything darling, anything!” insisted Vivian, indicating for Erika to sit on her bed. Vivian took a seat on Erika's chair and held the young woman's hands, looking her straight in the eyes. “Tell me all,” asked Vivian.

            “My roommate is pretty pis— er,” began Erika, stumbling on a word.

            “You can say 'pissed' dear; I've been around my share of drunk British men,” Vivian assured Erika with a wink.

            “She's mad at me,” continued Erika, sighing. “She thinks I don't appreciate her, that I've overshadowed her on something we've been working on and basically stolen her spotlight. I really want to fix this.”

            “Darling, not everything is a quick fix,” chided Vivian, making Erika immediately want to frown. “A grand gesture at this point will seem insincere. You need do it gradually, make her realize she was maybe wrong in her opinion.”

            “Hm, oh hang on, let me just put this away,” offered Erika, grabbing the Siren off of the desk.

            “Of course,” agreed Vivian, crossing her right leg over her left and placing her hands together on top of her right knee. Erika stepped away, putting the earphones in, and a glance behind her showed Vivian kindly glancing ahead as she waited for Erika. Turning the knob, the room was flooded with stasis-inducing sound and Vivian was now frozen on the spot for two hours.

            “Sorry, but I can't accept there isn't a 'quick fix' as you called it,” insisted Erika, putting the Siren back down on her desk and moving to sit in front of Vivian. The gorgeous older blonde had her lips together in a relaxed smile, her gaze straight ahead yet not looking particularly glassy despite her clearly being frozen. Erika had fantasized about having sex with Vivian more than once, but she vowed to hold off on that until she had a plan for Titania. The vague smell of Montreal-smoked deli treats wasn't helping Erika either.

            “Got it!” realized Erika, quickly scrambling around for her cell phone. After finding her device Erika dialed Gwen's number.

            “Hello?” greeted Gwen over the phone, Erika meanwhile sitting back down in front of Vivian and starting to feel her chest. Vivian's body felt very firm, too firm to be natural. Still, despite the signs of plastic surgery, Erika had to admit a decent job had been done.

            “Hey Gwen, it's me, can you come over with some of your special blueberries?” asked Erika, the term being a reference to Transmoxide. Erika's father had warned her more than once that, due to being rich, there were good odds someone was monitoring their phone so to always watch what you say on them. Erika figured her dad hadn't meant drugs but it seemed like a gimme given the warning.

            “Yeah, gonna need like twenty minutes to get over there though,” confirmed Gwen, sounding like she'd just woken up from a nap. “See you then.”

            “Later soon!” called out Erika before hanging up, then tossing her phone down into the laundry hamper at the foot of her bed. “Now... What to do with you?” Erika placed her hands on Vivian's legs and grinned before leaning in and kissing her on the lips. Vivian bobbed slightly despite the hands on her legs and Erika uncrossed the older blonde's legs, standing her upright and raising her right arm. The blazer was pulled up over the right arm and then down off the left, the blouse soon going the same way. Vivian's bra was revealed to be a fairly conservative white one, which didn't shock Erika much since Vivian didn't have a man in her life and it was implied she wasn't really looking for one at this point anymore. What did surprise Erika was that after the skirt came down a white thong with a cute cartoon pig on it was revealed.

            “I guess at this point you just wear what you like, sexy or not,” determined Erika, shrugging. As the panties went down, Erika was now certain Vivian had stopped caring to a degree since while her bikini line was groomed there was still plenty of hair around her womanhood and it was all quite long, clearly not trimmed regularly.

            “If it wasn't for the fact you'd notice and be suspicious I'd probably trim this for you,” noted Erika, running her fingers through Vivian's bush. Shrugging, Erika hefted the older woman down onto the bed, posing her with her arms at her sides but the warm smile still on her face. Erika stripped down herself but as she got naked she eyed the bag containing the cheese and meat. “I've got a fun idea...” Erika whispered to Vivian.

            A few minutes later Erika had laid out the smoked meat and cheese to be resting on Vivian's naked body, and Erika was laying next to her while heating the food without picking up save using her mouth. “Oh, I love erotic buffets!” cooed Erika, knowing that it was probably hard to love something she'd just done for the first time. Going a step further, Erika bit holes into some circular cheese and then placed them around Vivian's pink nipples, giving them a frame. Erika got so into her fun little snack that she barely noticed Gwen when she came in.

            “Hey, so why do you-Oh hello,” giggled Gwen, seeing what Erika was up to. “Wow, she looks amazing for whatever her age is.” Gwen was wearing a dark blue spaghetti-strap top with light blue cross-stitching and a pair of very stonewashed jeans. She had her mustard yellow purse with her, which no doubt held the drug Erika wanted.

            “This is Vivian Skye, Jillian's mom,” introduced Erika, indicating her frozen companion. “She's not why I need you...” Climbing off the bed, Erika walked up and gave Gwen a kiss, giving her a taste of the deli platter she'd just been enjoying.

            “Mmm... Smoky,” remarked Gwen. “So what is up?”

            “Titania has snapped and I need to get her calmed down,” explained Erika. “Just make her forget what happened, have her chill, for maybe a month? Long enough to make sure when she snaps out of it she'll see she didn't need to be mad.”

            “Umm... Okay...” shrugged Gwen, pulling the Transmoxide out of her purse. “Here, you go ahead. I gotta say though, I'm not sure that's the best way to solve whatever has her so worked up.”

            “No better solutions have come up,” sighed Erika, taking the drug and hurrying into the bathroom. Retrieving Titania, Erika carried her out into the main room and sat her down in her chair while Gwen laid down on the bed, a video already queued up on Titania's computer. The Transmoxide was poured into Gwen's mouth and Erika retrieved the Siren, placing a set of headphones on her.

            “Here,” requested Gwen, sitting up from Titania's bed, expecting a pair of ear buds as well. There were enough headphones for everyone but Erika already had some on herself so she didn't bother, instead turning the knob. Gwen froze with her right arm extended, her face looking at Erika expectantly while her left supported her body, her legs over the side of the bed. Titania meanwhile blinked and glanced around.

            “The hell, how did you freeze me?!” exclaimed Titania, trying to stand. Erika however held her friend down as the video played on the computer. “What, are you trying to make me take back what I said?! Because I won't! I hate you! You're ruining... Uh... Ruin... Ruined...” Titania trailed off, having a lot of Transmoxide in her, and sure enough soon slumped over in her chair. Removing the ear buds from Titania's ears, Erika put the Siren away and returned to Vivian. A few minutes were needed until the video Erika was using would be finished, ensuring Titania was fully suggestible.

            After the few minutes of past Erika headed back over to a slumbering Titania, leaning down to her left ear. “When you wake up, you'll have nothing but feelings of happiness and friendship for Erika Stone,” Erika whispered into Titania's ear. “She's your best friend, your roommate, and she's awesome. You know she's giving you due credit for your work on the Siren. You're so cool with her you love the idea of having people frozen and naked around the apartment, including Erika herself. I'm going to count down from three to zero... At zero, you will awaken and feel great. Three... Two... One... Zero!”

            Titania snapped awake and practically bounced out of her chair, immediately turning to Erika and giving her a bit hug. “Erika... you're my best friend, and the coolest!” insisted Titania, smiling warmly with closed eyes as she leaned on Erika's shoulder.

            “Thanks, you're my best friend too,” replied Erika, hugging her friend back. “Want to eat some Montreal smoked deli stuff off of a naked woman?”

            “Do I!” exclaimed Titania, and both women laughed.

* * *

Erika's Dorm

Late April, 2003

            Erika felt an unusual sense of dread as she flicked on the lights to her room, feeling something was amiss. Glancing around, Erika noticed the walls were unusually bare, and a glance inside the bathroom showed some towels and hygiene products were missing. Erika was on the outs with Gwen, but she'd never given her a key to the dorm, and even then her showing up to make off with stuff wasn't her style. Soon enough Erika realized the things that were missing all belonged to Titania, and after walking into the main part of the dorm room, shock took over as the blonde saw Titania's stuff was all gone. Worse still, broken electronic pieces lay on the floor, which it didn't take a genius to figure out were the remnants of the Siren prototype.

            Despite the lights not being on there was a glow from Erika's computer monitor and a glance at it showed the scowling face of Titania. The image was frozen and Titania had a death-glare about her, her eyes piercing into Erika. Below the image was a play button and Erika realized it was a video. Curious, Erika sat down and hit play.

            “Hey Erika, best friend and super cool girl!” greeted Titania, not smiling despite the happy tone of voice. “So you know what happened this morning? I woke up and remembered how pissed I was at you for hijacking my work! Then I realized you fucking hypnotized me into being all happy!” Titania paused, letting out a sigh and shaking her head. “You know... I wasn't sure if I was actually going to smash the Siren, but since you pulled this one me, somehow, I decided to go for it.” Titania began to smirk. “It's okay, I've got all the data we compiled... You, however, don't. I kind of wiped your hard drive... Whoops!” Titania put a hand to her mouth in false-shock before laughing, then returning to her serious expression. “I even burned some of the fragments of the Siren, so good luck trying to reverse engineer it without the exact specifications... I've moved out, I'll be finishing my studies online. Sincerely, fuck you. I can't believe I-”

            The video abruptly cut off, indicating Titania had deleted whatever came next. Titania's image sat frozen on the screen, her head bowed with embarrassment on her face. Erika's skin felt clammy and her mouth was dry, her heart skipping a beat. Titania was gone, and all the hard work they'd put into designing the Siren was gone too. Erika remembered bits and pieces, but despite obsessing over their work she still didn't remember all of it thanks to all of the schoolwork she had, and without her now ex-roommate she'd never be able to fill in the gaps.

            “Son of a bitch,” groaned Erika, rubbing her eyes. It had been hoped that a second dose of Transmoxide given to Titania over a week ago would keep her in her state a bit longer but it either didn't take or only bought them a few extra days. Erika was angry, and she needed an outlet. Thinking about what might have driven Titania so crazy, Erika wondered about her being bullied, and when Erika thought of petty bullying her mind went right to the women of Delta Nu Omega.

            “Time to really make those bitches pay,” muttered Erika, grabbing a stick of gum from her desk. Fishing around, Erika also grabbed her book bag and stuffed it with her laptop and Transmoxide. Deciding she wanted to look a little sneaky, Erika also changed into a pair of black sweatpants she normally only wore when doing laundry and a black T-shirt, tucking her hair into a brown flap cap she owned. As the blonde chewed her gum she found her mind buzzing a bit. It wasn't until she stepped out into the hallway that she was confident time had stopped. As the silence hit, Erika turned to her right and headed down the hallway, trying to remember how to get to the sorority house.

* * *

            Krystal George had her hair down and was sporting an orange T-shirt with a white star on it as well as a beat-up pair of jeans with a few holes in them. The young woman had just finished class and, given how close the building her course had been in was to Erika's dorms, decided she'd pop in and see what her friend was up to. Bianca had gone for coffee with Ashlee, but Krystal wondered if Erika was interested in hanging out, perhaps watching some TV. Krystal knew Erika was going through a rough patch with her girlfriend Gwen, possibly one that would end their relationship, and wanted to be there as a friend.

            As Krystal moved down the hallway, Erika's room coming up on her left, her friend suddenly emerged from the room. Erika looked a bit funny, wearing all black with her hair all tucked into a bonnet, or what was also called a flat cap, her big book bag on her hip. Krystal raised her arm, about to call out a greeting.

            “Hey, Eri-wha...” managed Krystal, her voice dropping as the impossible happened: Erika vanished before her very eyes. There was no mistaking what Krystal had just witnessed, as one moment Erika was there and the second she was gone. Krystal stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping.

            “She... What...” muttered Krystal, prompting turning right around and deciding to head for her own room she shared with Bianca in another building. Whatever was going on, Krystal decided she wanted alcohol to help understand it.

* * *

            After a little searching, Erika had managed to find the sorority house, and was now upstairs searching around. The place seemed to be mostly empty, Erika having only passed one sister so far down by the door that she didn't know. Erika was hoping to find at least one familiar face around the house and give them some humiliation, though if she didn't succeed soon she'd probably settle for the one she'd seen earlier. The building had two floors of rooms and one of common areas. It was on the top floor that Erika soon hit pay dirt.

            “Ah ha!” exclaimed Erika between bits of chewed gum, opening one door to find the people she wanted. Vicky Sandrosi, Wanda Beck and Carla Gomez were all present in the room, joined by a fourth girl that Erika didn't know. Vicky was wearing a tight black dress with a bit of sheen to it, a V-cut down her chest showing ample cleavage and a skirt that stopped well before the knees. High black heels matched the dress, and Vicky's hair was sticking out around the bottom. Wanda was wearing a leopard dress that only had a strap on her right shoulder, the left side of the skirt also long enough to go past her knee on that side. Like Vicky Wanda had big heels on, and unlike Vicky Wanda's hair was up in a regal bun. Carla's hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a red dress with a frilly skirt and two big straps that went from her shoulders down to her waist, covering her breasts fairly well but with the cut going down all the way to her waist. Carla had sparkly silver heels on her feet. The fourth woman was a blonde that was around Erika's own height who had piercing brown eyes. The blonde had a very even tan and her hair in a half up-do, sporting a blue dress. The dress's skirt on the right side was practically non-existent, while on the left it nearly reached her gold-heeled feet. The dress cut around the chest normally but there was generous amount of back and no straps. Vicky was standing with her left hand holding a cell phone to her ear while looking annoyed, her right on her hip. Wanda and Carla were holding each other's shoulders and glancing at one another, seemingly checking each other's make-up. The mystery blonde looked almost like a mannequin, her right hand on her hip, her left at her side, and her gaze not focusing on anything in particular.

            “Okay, I've got my subjects,” noted Erika, glancing around the room. The space wasn't much different than Erika's own dorm room save for a lot more floor space, allowing for a couch as well as two beds, two desks and two dressers. There were also two closets but no bathroom, Erika having passed a few outside. Erika put her book bag down on one of the beds and fished around, soon finding some duct tape she'd backed as well as the Transmoxide. Using one of the desk chairs Erika set up the laptop to be facing the couch evenly, the couch having enough space for all four women if she crammed them in. Once she was set up Erika pulled out the couch from the wall enough that she could stand behind it and then got to work sitting everyone down. Vicky's cell phone was smashed against the wall, and soon all four were seated in front of the laptop. Vicky was on the right, Wanda and Carla in the middle with the random blonde on the left. Checking the room, Erika had confirmed it belonged to Wanda and Carla, so it wasn't so easy to learn who the blonde was.

            “Ah well, I could use someone to have some fun with,” muttered Erika, getting to work securing her four prisoners. The four women were duct taped by their hands and feet, Erika then securing one main strip around them at neck level. After each woman was given a bit of Transmoxide, Erika taped their mouths and bound their foreheads together with another long strand of silvery tape, hoping that would keep them from looking up.

            “Okay, the video is queued, you're secure, lets have some fun,” giggled Erika, once she was sure the hypnosis video was playing. The laptop had been touching Erika when she'd stopped time so it was still functioning, a trick Erika had picked up earlier in the year. Once she was behind the four women Erika relaxed, spitting out her gum, and time unfroze.

            Muffled cries started almost immediately, but they didn't last long. With their heads locked onto the video none of the women had time to really look up. Vicky and Wanda stopped struggling immediately, and the other two didn't take much longer. Risking a step around from the back of the couch to the front, Erika saw all four had their eyes closed and, were they not secured, would have slumped over.

            Waiting a few more minutes to make sure pulling off the tape wouldn't wake up the women; Erika then did just that while turning off the video. Wanda and Carla ended up leaning against each other while Vicky and the blonde slumped into their corners. Carla's mouth in particular was hanging wide open, though all four were open to a small extent. “Wanda, Carla, Vicky,” announced Erika, focusing on the three girls she knew and had developed a loathing for. “When you wake up you will find yourselves to be very horny. You'll get up, go the library, and find an empty study room. Inside the study room you'll strip down naked and start having sex together, all three of you. You'll have your own private orgy. You will keep this orgy up as long as you can, then sleep, and keep going. Only when someone enters the room will you stop and come to your senses, having no memory of what happened. I'm going to count down from three to zero, and when I reach zero you three will awaken. Three... Two... One... Zero!”

            Wanda, Vicky and Carla all snapped awake, their eyes wide. The trio got up in unison, almost like zombies, and quietly marched out of the room. Erika giggled to herself as she watched the three leave, curious what would become of them before focusing on the final blonde. “You...” Erika whispered, touching the blonde's shoulder. “When you wake up, you'll want to obey my every command. You'll be happy to do it, finding me incredibly sexy. You feel aroused just looking at me. You will remain this way until I tell you to freeze, after which you'll strike a pose and be a mannequin. You will remain this way for one hour, then you'll be back to normal and not remember any of this. When I finish counting down to zero from three you will awaken. Three... Two... One... Zero!”

            The blonde's eyes opened and she smiled as she saw Erika in front of her, the one who'd drugged the other pulling off her flap cap to let her hair down. “What's your name, beautiful?” Erika asked the other woman.

            “Summer McGuire,” answered the blonde, standing up and placing her hands on Erika's shoulders. “And what can I do for you?”

            “Let’s have sex,” suggested Erika, and Summer immediately leaned in for a kiss. The two women began kissing passionately, Erika quickly managing to pull down Summer's dress to reveal she didn't have a bra on but was wearing a pair of gold panties. Summer's hair was let down and Erika was stripped by her hypnotized partner, the duo soon ending up on one of the beds, Summer on top and flashing her pink nipples as well as her 32D breasts, which looked enhanced. Ducking down, Summer's tongue found its way to Erika's crotch and she began to feel very warm.

* * *

Fifi's Cafe, Los Angeles

May, 2003

            The orgasm was achieved and Eric Stone pulled out right before, the resulting mess hitting the bare floor below. Eric Stone was standing naked in the restaurant, time frozen around him as it had been for an hour and a half. Invited to meet with his daughter for lunch, Eric had been drawn to several of the women working in the restaurant and elected to use his trusty Tempus Watch to stop time. Eric had bedded two waitresses on opposite sides of an empty booth and had now just finished with a third woman that he'd been leaning against the side of the table of said booth.

            “Not what I imagine for French cuisine,” joked Eric, glancing back at the woman he'd just finished with. Rosette DuBois, the restaurant owner, who looked to have just turned forty, was leaning against the side of the table with her hands behind her on top of it for support. It wasn't Rosette's sort of dark-blonde nearly full bush that had drawn Eric's eyes so much as the diamond studs through her nipples, which after staring at them for the last fifteen minutes he decided were classy after all. The Frenchwoman's hair was spilling down around her head and her blue eyes sparkled innocently as she gazed straight ahead, her mouse-like mouth closed. Rosette's eyes did have a hint of green to them and while Eric decided her actual hair on her head was more brown than blonde he could easily see it compared to honey.

            Laying to the left of Rosette on her back, her hands behind her head and sweet smile on her lips, was a waitress named Layla Ziane. The woman was around twenty-five and Eric had a hard time pegging her ethnicity, though he figured she was partially Arabic if not fully. The woman had black hair, a well-groomed bush and massive 34E breasts. While Rosette had been sporting satin underwear Layla had been wearing a white sports bra and thong before taking them off, which combined with Layla's already large breasts made Eric wonder if she wanted to be in show business, or at the very least a stripper.

            To Rosette's right was a blonde who looked to be in her early twenties named Shelly Zimmerman. Shelly was in very good shape and had some nice 36C breasts, though Eric felt her crotch had left a little to be desired bush-wise. Eric had more than once trimmed a woman's crotch while time was frozen, though he only did that if they had no idea he was around before or after he stopped time. Since Eric still had a meal to get to he decided to spare Shelly. “It's been wonderful ladies,” Eric told the trio, before deciding he needed to clean up.

            Eric started with Shelly, sliding her into her black underwear before putting her in the purple silk blouse, black knee-length skirt, black short apron and pantyhose that all waitresses were wearing. Shelly's hair was then returned to a ponytail and Eric moved Shelly back over to the table she'd been serving, raising her hands up so she could hold two occupied trays. Rosette was next, putting her satin underwear back on before her own silk purple blouse, a long black cashmere shawl and her own skirt, pantyhose too. Rosette's hair was put up in a bun and she was posed by the bar, leaning against it with a smile as she gazed over around the restaurant. Layla was last; he dressed her the same as Shelly, but she was placed in front of Eric's own table, a notepad in her right hand and a pencil in her left which she was glancing down at.

            “Sorry sweetie, Rika,” offered Eric as he hastily pulled on his blue suit, white shirt and yellow tie, having only a minute before time unfroze. Properly dressed, Eric sat down next to his wife. Ingrid sat frozen, glancing up at Layla with her left index finger raised, her mouth slightly open as she'd been about to speak. Ingrid was wearing a white pants suit, the pants very snug to Eric's delight, a gray tight blouse underneath. Ingrid had big sunglasses up on top of her head, her hair down and straight while her lips were their usual ruby red. Across from them sat Erika, who was in a pink blouse with black pants, her hair in a ponytail. Erika's arms were crossed on the table but she was looked up rather brightly at Layla.

            With seconds to spare Eric leaned in and kissed his wife on the lips for returning to how he'd been sitting when he'd first stopped time. “-'ll have the Coq Au Vin,” requested Ingrid, having finished her order. There was already wine on the table and water, so it was time to order the main courses.

            “Raclette for me please,” continued Erika, glancing at the menu one more time first.

            “Choucroute Garnie for myself,” finished Eric, handing the menus to Layla. “Some Onion soup to start, I think?”

            “Yeah daddy, sounds good,” agreed Erika with a nod.

            “Perfect!” added Ingrid, also nodding.

            “Great, I'll get that started for you right away,” offered Layla, taking the menus. “Let me know if you need anything else, but I'll be by to check on you too...” Layla flashed everyone a very nice smile, her teeth looking excellently white, and she then departed.

            “So any plans for where you want to go this summer, Rika?” Eric asked his daughter when Layla was gone.

            “Was thinking Europe, not sure where specifically yet,” shrugged Erika. “Maybe London, Paris...”

            “Good choices dear, I actually quite like London in the summer,” offered Ingrid, nodding in approval. “If you do go that way you should try and make a stop in Sweden if you can, my uncle's still out there and he's not been doing well this past year... I'm sure a visit from you would be nice.”

            “I'll think about it,” replied Erika, and Eric couldn't help but notice she seemed a bit distracted.

            “Something wrong?” pushed Eric, offering his daughter a friendly hand.

            “A... Friend of mine, she was expelled last week,” revealed Erika, letting out a breath.

            “Was it one of the three that got caught having sex in that study room?” asked Eric, then realizing that had been a bit more than a week ago.

            “No,” corrected Erika, shaking her head. “Gwen Welch was her name.”

            “I heard about this!” exclaimed Ingrid, Eric instinctively tugging her arm to get her voice lowered, it being a signal they'd honed over the years. “Is it true she tried to drug a teacher?”

            “Not try; she did, and she got caught,” confirmed Erika, nodding gravely. “That blue stuff. Honestly it's the main reason I've been worried about going to Europe, I know it comes from there. Drugs are not my thing and going to a place that reminds me of Gwen and what happened, well...”

            “Rika, was Gwen, ah... A bit more than a friend?” Eric suddenly asked, Ingrid giving her husband a look.

            “Papa, I-” began Erika, but Eric held up a hand.

            “It's okay sweetie, you can tell us,” insisted Eric, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Honestly, we'd kind of suspected since a comment Miss Glanville made when you were finishing your twelfth grade education. I'd just like to know if we were right.”

            “I... Yeah,” admitted Erika, bowing her head in shame. Ingrid, however, joined Eric in holding Erika's hands.

            “It's okay little one, we support you,” Ingrid told her daughter, though her words were low. Eric and Ingrid had talked about it more than once and while Eric admittedly wasn't thrilled, since he knew getting a grandchild wouldn't be impossible per say but a bit more complicated, Ingrid had taken it worse. It wasn't disapproval, Ingrid had been quick to insist she'd love her daughter no matter what, but her worries had to do with what would happen if Erika came out publicly. While gay rights were progressing, Eric knew, the fight was far from over and Ingrid did worry a bit about their public image. Some people Eric had to deal with were conservative about the idea of sexuality and he knew his wife had a point, not that it thrilled him.

            “Mom, daddy...” muttered Erika, smiling at both of her parents. It was then, at a rather inopportune time, given that Monica Stein arrived in her black business dress.

            “Hello Stone family,” greeted Monica, then glancing around. “Oh dear, am I interrupting?”

            “No, please sit down,” insisted Ingrid, and Eric just knew it was because she didn't want to have to have the awkward talk about staying in the closet just yet. Eric wasn't too thrilled to potentially talk about it was well but he figured if he encouraged Erika to be smart, given her life was no doubt soon to become tabloid fodder as more people realized she even existed, then they might get through okay. Eric did hope in a few years she'd be able to come out and both he and Ingrid would support her.

            “So I think your first year went pretty well,” Eric offered, breaking the silence. “Made a few friends?”

            “I suppose,” shrugged Erika. “Problem is, people kind of disappoint you. Well, most people.” Erika paused and glanced at Monica, who'd sat next to her. “Monica's an exception. You're one of the best.”

            “Oh, um, thank you,” replied Monica, smiling at Erika in turn, and everyone chuckled a bit as the soup arrived.

The End

            CAST

Erika Stone – Blake Lively

Bianca Whitman – Brittney Irvin

Krystal George – Gabrielle Christian

Vicky Sandrosi – Kristen Miller

Jillian Skye – Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Titania Versace – Aubrey Plaza

Ashlee Norman – Camilla Luddington

Wanda Beck – Mandy Moore

Carla Gomez – Sandra Echeverria

Connie Soyer – Amber Tamblyn

Gwen Welch – Annie Ilonzeh

Monica Stein – Shiri Appleby

Marissa Hawkins – Marisa Miller

Addison Finn – Leelee Sobieski

Tina Ly – Kim Loan

Angelina Snowe – Jamie Szantyr

Isobel Kozlov – Zivile Raudoniene

Chita Francisco – Eve Torres

Nadine Vargas – Sofia Vergara

Vivian Skye – Morgan Fairchild

Summer McGuire – Danielle Moinet

Eric Stone – Kyle Maclachlan

Rosette DuBois – Emmanuelle Béart

Layla Ziane – Layla El

Shelly Zimmerman – Britney Spears

Ingrid Stone – Kim Cattrall