* A/N--oops, wrong email. heathir1@yahoo.com is correct
Upon arriving back at the hotel, the three girls decided to take a walking tour of campus.
“Good thing about Brown of course is that you don’t have to worry about general requirements, the schedule is pretty much wide open for you.” Andy commented as they walked south on Brown Street to the main quad.
They wished that the weather was better, mid-fifties and raining wasn’t quite how they pictured their first visit to Brown, but the sun was bright in their eyes as they realized that they had increased their chances of getting accepted from slight to fair.
It didn’t take long for them to realize that the student body was moving in a northeasterly direction towards the stadium. The Brown Bears were hosting Dartmouth – and it was nearly underway. Jennifer, Lisa, and Andy followed the crowd to the rather oddly-shaped stadium.
Not much of a game though, Brown won in overtime 14-7. “Good Lord, the Hyenas could beat either of these teams,” Jennifer muttered cynically. Tickets had been available without much difficulty, and they had seats at the 35-yard line.
“Are you girls freshmen,” asked one of the young men that had turned to see them.
“Seniors,” said Jennifer. Well, high school seniors, we just came up for the weekend for the interviews. Andy’s a college senior though, she’s going to NYU film school.
Andy smiled serenely. It turned out that they had been speaking to one of the better physics students on the campus, Sergei Mastin, a second generation immigrant from Belarus. “My family left right after Afghanistan, but I grew up in Chicago.” He nodded towards the field. “Game isn’t much of course…but if you want to play football, the team would probably take a look at you at least.” Sergei had to get back to the physics labs, but recommended that they try Thayer Street to celebrate, it was one of the most popular areas around Brown.
“M’hungry!” said Lisa as they were filing out. “Thayer, eh?”
At Café Paragon, they were waiting for turkey and lobster club sandwiches when they were approached by a blonde freshman girl.
“Um, excuse me, d’you mind if I join you?” Her voice was distinctly British.
They exchanged glances, shrugged, and agreed. She sat down. “Sorry I was so forward, I thought you looked familiar.” She bit her lip, as if considering. “Did I see you on TV last night?”
Lisa and Jen exchanged a look. “That…might be a possibility,” agreed Lisa. “Had you been following the case.”
“I have, it’s frightening, what people will do. You’re here to see the campus for next year, I guess?”
“Lisa and I finished our interviews just in time for the game. Andy’s just tagging along. And you’re…”
“Emma. I’m here from Oxford.” The English girl offered her hand and her eyes went wide as she felt the coarse hairs on their hands. “Is that one of the effects?”
Jen chuckled. “Oh yeah, Emma, and they tell us that things are just getting going. Jeez Lisa, we’re already being recognized.”
Lisa rolled her eyes, “I never wanted to be famous either. I’d hate to be recognized everywhere I go, especially for something like this.”
Emma smiled, “At least if the time comes that you find yourself on Letterman or Nightline, almost everyone will be sympathetic to you. Believe me; I’ve had friends who have been overwhelmed just because they were rather popular.” She checked her watch and fished out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. “Here’s my email and phone number, if it not too cheeky, let’s keep in touch.” “Oh,” she turned to the three. “We’re having a little get-together tonight at my place…just a few friends, love it if you can make it.”
The four girls exchanged numbers and email addresses. Emma smiled and waved goodbye.
As she departed, Jen looked after her, puzzled. “Where have I seen her before,” she mused.
Andy kept quiet, struggling to keep from bursting out laughing.
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Lindsey had been checking herself for any changes throughout the day. While before she had eagerly awaited the first signs of incipient womanhood, she now realized that those same signs could now permanently lock her body into something completely unnatural. Images of Lisa and Jennifer flashed through her mind; she could still feel the wiry hairs and soft fuzz on Jen’s arms tickling her skin.
Kelly had never been shy about her body in front of her sister, and even now it was obvious to Lindsey that her sister’s body was changing. Sadder still was the obvious resignation that Kelly was showing, Kelly had been so lighthearted before. Now she seldom laughed for long, her laughter cutting short as she remembered her prognosis.
Practically speaking, she knew that there was nothing she could do…but Lindsey had taken to drinking water whenever she could, thinking that the hormones might be diluted enough to not effect her. The natural result of that of course was to give her plenty of opportunities to check herself.
“Don’t let it happen to me,” she begged. Her Semitic heritage was much more obvious in her appearance than in Kelly’s. “PLEASE!”