Sorority Rites, Part 1

By Jay Manning

One of my best memories from the 1950s is the dressiness of women’s attire. Women’s fashion emphasized femininity, from the “Empire waist” and “A-line” skirts to hats, gloves, hosiery and high-heeled pumps. Many folks dressed up more, whether to travel or just to leave the house. “The best of the dressed” included airline stewardesses and women in the movies and TV. On the Superman episodes, Lois Lane wore a suit or good dress with heels, a hat and gloves on assignments (and was frequently bound and gagged). It was also a more innocent era, and before the proliferation of lawyers and lawsuits that have become so prevalent today.

            This feminine dress code may have been more prevalent in small towns; it was definitely observed by the young women in sororities at Clifford College, in a small, Midwestern city. Try to visualize five such women in the second-story lounge of a sorority house on the Friday before Labor Day, 1955. Four freshmen, “dressed to the nines” because they’ve been invited to an afternoon tea, are being addressed by the chapter president.

            Freshmen had been urged to arrive on campus a week before the start of classes to attend orientation, registration, and to get acquainted with classmates before the upper classmen returned the day after Labor Day to move in and register. Since all freshmen and sophomores were required to live in the dorms, no one would be living in the sorority house over the weekend, however it would be opened from noon to 9:00 pm for conversation, games and snacking. Noting that she and other officers were going to an out-of-town conference over the weekend, she introduced Jane Andrews to continue the session.

            Jane was approximately 5’ 5” tall and about 120 pounds, with short black hair, and a disarming smile. She wore a blue blazer over a white sweater, gray skirt, and black pumps. Outgoing and extremely popular because of her good looks and many activities, she was a natural leader. She also had a strong attachment to bondage. Ever since her early years, she’d been turned on by women who were tied and gagged. She’d occasionally tie herself up, and frequently fantasized that she was helplessly bound and gagged, or was inflicting similar treatment on another woman.

            After introducing herself, Jane spoke briefly about the advantages of sorority affiliation, including their chapter, their pledge duties, and specifics of the new-member indoctrination process. She then described a brand new program for pre-acceptance of new members, ending with:

            “Now, I have a big surprise – each of you has been pre-accepted by our chapter! This means that your applications for membership have been reviewed and tentatively accepted, subject only to your decision not to join or the discovery of some disqualifying information that we’re not yet aware of. Ladies – my congratulations!”

            As smiles broke out she continued. “This is why you’ve been separated from the other girls who were here today. I’d like to get started on your orientation, and then you’ll have the weekend if you want to begin with your pledge assignments. Most of your questions are probably covered in your pledge guides, but feel free to ask whatever questions you have now. But first, let’s go around the room with introductions. When you give your name, say something personal about yourself, such as hobbies, interests, etc. I’ll go first.

“As I said, I’m Jane Andrews. I was raised on a farm near Princeton, and I’m majoring in English. I like most sports, and I’m also active in drama.”

Then she nodded to the woman to her right, a brunette with short hair, approximately 5’ 4” tall and 115 pounds, wearing a pink suit, white blouse, and black patent pumps with white piping across the vamp and heels. Connie Walton was from Lansing, and liked athletics and cheerleading. She planned to study teaching and coaching.

Next was Mary Lou Riley, a resident of Milan. The shortest of them all, she was almost 5 ft. 2 in. tall, and had shoulder-length blonde hair. She wore a long-sleeved, navy-blue dress with an empire waist and a white collar and cuffs. Her white pumps had petite bows on the backs. (In those days, white shoes were only worn between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) She also liked drama, and was undecided whether to major in teaching or nursing.

The next woman, Nancy Wright, stood about 5 ft. 3 in. with long, dark-brown hair, and weighed not a pound over 100. Her short-sleeved, yellow dress had a full skirt, accented with a white belt and black patent pumps. In fact, she began by joking, “Mary Lou, I really like your shoes. I also like animals and photography. I graduated from Princeton High School, and I plan to major in home ec.” To which Jane added, “And since you’re probably wondering, ‘Yes’ I’ve known Nancy since we both attended Princeton High.”

The fourth woman, Sue Ann York, was an “Army brat”, whose parents currently lived near Washington, D.C. She planned to major in political science, and she also liked drama, writing and speech. She was about 5 ft. 4 in., and weighed around 115 pounds. She had short, black hair, with a large wave in front, and wore black, horn-rimmed glasses. Her dress was light gray, with three-quarter length sleeves, a white collar and cuffs, and an empire waist and flared skirt. She’d completed her outfit with simple pearl earrings and necklace and black patent pumps. Actually, all four women wore simple ear rings and complimenting jewelry, as well as white gloves.

*  *  *  *  *

When the Q and A session ended, Jane looked at her watch and said they still had time for a short “team-building exercise”. She did not say that she intended to tie up and gag the four of them and watch them struggle to free themselves, but that it was a sorority-sanctioned “learning activity” that would build trust in each other and a team approach to solving a problem.

She understood that they might feel the exercise was unorthodox, and thus their cooperation would be “entirely voluntary”. Any one could back out at any time by just saying so. (Of course, she was depending upon their assumption that doing so would greatly affect their chances of becoming members.) Then she took from a closet a black suitcase, from which she removed black scarves and handed one to each of them.

“The first step is to put on these blindfolds, so that you can see nothing,” she explained, “and then sit perfectly still and remain perfectly quiet as I prepare you for the rest of the exercise. If you make any noise at all, even if I speak to you, I’ll assume that you want to back out. Are my instructions clear?”

By then they had put on their blindfolds and each one answered, “Yes, Ma’am!”

A devilish smile crossed her face as Jane realized that she had them exactly where she wanted them! From the black case she took several pieces of clothesline and approached Sue. Like the others, she was sitting erect in her chair, her hands folded primly on her lap. Kneeling behind her, Jane firmly grabbed her arms and slowly pulled them back. Instinctively, Sue resisted and said, “What are…,” then caught herself and let her arms fall limp. Now Jane guided her arms behind the chair, crossed her wrists, and said softly, “Just hold that.” Quickly she wound several loops of clothesline around her wrists in both directions and tied the ends.

Then she guided a longer length of the white line around her elbows, pulled them together and bound them in the small of her back, and bound the remaining lengths around her torso above and below her breasts. As she tightened the ropes, it stretched the fabric of Sue’s dress, accentuating her breasts. Next Jane moved in front and grasped Sue’s slim ankles, placing her feet together about a foot from the chair, so they balanced only her high heels. Placing the middle of a rope below the insteps, Jane wound both ends over the top of her feet and twice around her ankles, tying them firmly together. After shoving the hem of Sue’s dress up on her thighs, Jane wrapped the final piece of rope around her legs above the knees, where she tied the ends and then passed them between her legs and secured them in a cinch.

With more cords from the case, Jane next turned her attention to Nancy. Quickly she was bound in the same manner as Sue, and the identical process was repeated for each of the other girls. When Jane finished, all four were sitting quietly, still blindfolded and securely bound hand and foot, and none had tried to interrupt her.

Finally she took a roll of three-inch wide adhesive tape that she’d picked up from an athletic trainer, and again moved behind Sue. Holding her captive’s mouth firmly in one hand, she tilted her head back and plastered a long piece firmly over her lips, stretching it almost from ear to ear. Then she removed the blindfold, repositioned the cloth over the tape, and tied it firmly behind her head to hold the gag in place.

When Jane had gagged the others in a similar manner, she stood before them. They either glared or writhed against their bonds but then, sensing Jane was waiting, they again focused on her. She explained that this was an exercise in “team-building and problem solving.” They’d all been tied and gagged in the same way, she said, although they were not tied to their chairs. They were to try to free themselves as quickly as possible, and by whatever means they could, including communication. She would remain present as a safety observer and timer. If no one was free in 30 minutes, she would intervene. Then she took a few steps back and said, “O.K., Go for it.”

Immediately the captives exchanged glances, then they began to squirm on their chairs, make mewling noises through their gags and wiggle their bound hands and feet. Nancy was the first to stand. She took two small steps as she turned toward Sue, and started to shuffle on her precarious base when one of her high heels caught on the rug. She lost her balance and, as she made protests into her gag, she collapsed onto the floor.

Next it was Sue’s turn. She too made bleating noises through her gag as she wriggle off her chair onto the floor beside Nancy. There followed a series of “M-m-m-m-f-ffs!” as the helplessly bound women writhed around on the floor, attempting to reach each other’s tied wrists. In a similar fashion, Mary Lou and Connie had also stood up, and struggled into positions where they could reach each other’s bound hands. Before long, both of them had also fallen onto the floor and continued their struggles. It was apparent the women had paired up in their efforts to get free.

Jane could feel excitement as she watched four helpless women, dressed to the nines, struggle against their confining ropes and gags. After nearly 25 minutes, Mary Lou succeeded in pulling off Connie’s gloves, allowing the latter to loosen the cords binding Mary Lou’s hands. This enabled both women to loosen other ropes and by the 30-minute mark, they had removed the last of their bonds and gags. When they stood in the middle of the room and asked Jane what to do next, she said it was up to them. Seeing that Sue, because of her gloves, was getting nowhere untying Nancy’s wrists, Mary Lou quickly knelt down and finished the job, while Connie untied Sue. Within minutes, all four women, very much disheveled, stood facing Jane and wondering what was next.

“Ladies,” Jane said, “I’m proud of you. The purpose of the exercise was to see whether you’d just give up or work together to solve your predicament. You passed with flying colors. That’s all for today, although I ask you not to discuss this or any other pledge tests with other pledges, or among yourselves if you should receive individual challenges. I encourage you to start on your pledge books as well as getting to know as much as possible about each other in the coming days. Don’t worry about this mess. I’ll clean it up – and enjoy the holiday weekend.”

*  *  *  *  *

As the four pledges walked across campus, they held an animated discussion about what they’d just experienced, and it was obvious that they held different opinions. A couple felt that Jane’s actions had crossed the line of propriety, and there was no evidence that those actions had the blessing of the leadership. Nancy discovered she’d torn her dress, Sue had ruined her nylons, and all of them claimed they’d been humiliated. The good news was that the experience had united them more closely than any of them would have believed possible just a few hours previously.

After changing clothes, they went out for hamburgers and then gathered in Sue’s room for a talk session that extended late into the night. On Saturday they were nearly inseparable as they toured both the campus and the community. By the end of the day they’d even begun to refer to themselves as the “gang of four” (hereafter abbreviated “GO4”). That evening over pizza their talk turned again to their humiliation at the hand of Jane. Once all agreed that Jane needed to be “taught a good lesson,” the conversation changed to just what “good lesson” she needed to be taught, and how?

They discussed two options: A protest to the chapter president, or trying to settle the matter directly with Jane. No one was ready to approach the chapter president, so discussion turned to an “appropriate lesson.” By the end of their pizza, they agreed that Jane must be humiliated in much the same way as they had been, and it should be done quickly, preferably be before the chapter leaders and upper classes returned. This pretty much dictated it must be done the following day. They needed to get their stuff together, including a camera “for evidence.”

The college required that all students attend a Sunday worship service at least three times a month. While attendance was basically on the honor system, most of the Greeks kept a record of members’ attendance. Once classes began students could attend the church of their choice, but on some occasions, including tomorrow, everyone was expected to attend the 10:30 service in the campus chapel. The GO4 “plan” was to lure Jane into the sorority house and use her own restraints on her! Mary Lou agreed to be the “bait.” After chapel, she had to entice Jane to the house and keep her occupied while the others changed clothes, sneaked into the house, and “ambushed” Jane.

*  *  *  *  *

Sunday morning dawned mild and clear as Mary Lou waited in the lobby for Jane to appear. She wore a light blue, full-skirted dress accented by a white, soft leather belt, a white purse and gloves, and the same white pumps with petite bows that she’d worn on Friday. A white boater-style hat with a cloth band matching her dress perched jauntily on her head. Although she seemed a picture of innocence, her outward composure masked great nervousness as she considered various scenarios, and how she’d react to complete her assignment.

“Hi, Mary Lou!” the voice behind her said warmly. “I assume you’re going to chapel? Are you waiting for someone?”

Mary Lou was momentarily speechless that Jane had caught her unawares. Then she blurted out, “Uh, Yes! Uh, No! Oh Jane – I love your outfit!”

As usual, Jane Andrews’ appearance turned heads. Today she wore a tailored yellow jacket and black sheath skirt with a wide-brimmed black hat and matching gloves. A black patent purse and matching pumps with narrow straps buckled across her insteps accented her slender figure. At Jane’s invitation, the two headed towards the chapel together. Jane alternately greeted others and talked with Mary Lou. Finally the latter made her move.

“Jane, I think I lost an ear ring when we were at the house Friday. After chapel could we briefly go over there and look for it? It was my favorite pair, and I’m just sick about losing it.”

“Actually, I have plans after chapel, Mary Lou. Can it wait until tomorrow?” Jane replied. She’d agreed to spend the afternoon with Jill, another sister/classmate. Hopefully they’d meet some guys. But when she saw the disappointed look on Mary Lou’s face, she added, “…but let me think about it. OK?”

During the service Jane gave it a great deal of thought. If just the two of them were alone in the sorority house, could she conjure up some pretext for either (a) tying up Mary Lou, or (b) getting the freshman to tie her up? The more she considered the possibilities, the more excited she became. As for Jill, well – she’d catch her after chapel and tell her that she had to go over to the house for a few minutes, but would meet her in her room after lunch. As they left the chapel, she told Mary Lou to wait while she talked briefly to a friend.

After most of the crowd had dispersed, Jane noticed the freshman talking with Connie Walton and Nancy Wright. The latter had a camera and, with just a little coaxing, she took a couple of shots of Jane and Mary Lou. When Connie and Nancy started to leave, she said, “So, I’ll see you about 6:30 then, and I’m just going to wear what I have on now, since it is a church service. OK?”

Nancy wore a pastel pink, full-skirted dress, accented with a broad-brimmed white hat, white gloves, and the again the same style white pumps as Mary Lou. The latter replied, “I’ll be ready at 6:30. Can you come to my room?”

“Will do,” Nancy replied.

“What was that all about?” Jane asked as they set out for the sorority house. Mary Lou explained that Nancy wanted to visit a local church across town. They had a Sunday evening service, but she didn’t want to go alone, so she agreed to go with her.

After a pause, Jane said, “I hope you and the other girls weren’t upset with the pledge session Friday – uh, especially the, uh – team training?”

“Oh no; not at all!” Mary Lou replied, adding, “Well, actually there was a little grumbling, but after we discussed it, we could see the point you were trying to make.”

“And what did you think? Did I succeed?”

“Oh, sure,” Mary Lou answered. Actually, (pause) personally (another pause) just between us? (pause) I found that it was kind of (another pause) a turn on! Suddenly she realized that she half-way meant it as she continued, “Do you think there’ll be any more of (pause) that type of activity?”

Jane could hardly believe what she was hearing. She already felt an arousal. She quickly looked around and then looked at her and, in a low voice replied, “Would you like a personal session? (pause) Right now?”

They had arrived at the front door. As Jane paused to find her key, Mary Lou returned her look and , nodding her head in the affirmative, practically whispered, “Why, yes (pause) yes, I would.” To herself she thought, “Yeah! She took the bait!”

With increasing excitement, Jane fumbled to unlock the door. Once inside, she headed for the stairs. Mary Lou confirmed that the door was unlocked and followed Jane up the stairs and into the lounge. There was an awkward pause when their eyes met, then she said, “Oh! I don’t want to forget my ear ring! Why don’t I look for it while you get out the rope and stuff?”

“Good idea!” Jane replied. Both of them removed their hats and gloves, then Jane walked out. Immediately Mary Lou moved over by an overstuffed chair, opened her purse and removed an ear ring. As Jane returned with her black case, she held it up and said, “Look, Jane, I found it!”

“Hey – that’s great!” Jane replied, as she dumped the contents onto the couch. “Now (pause) how shall we begin?” I think I will ask you to put on your hat and gloves. Then you’ll look more like an innocent damsel in distress. OK?”

While the freshman complied, and picked up her purse, she said, “Well, since both of us like drama, why don’t we make a little scenario? I’ll leave the room until you’re ready. When I come back, you could grab me from behind and say it’s a robbery or something like that?”

“OK, what about this?” Jane replied. “I’ll be a foreign agent, and I’m looking for a small notebook with secret information that I think you possess. When you come in, I grab you and ask you to give it to me. When you refuse, I tie you up to make you tell me!” When Mary Lou nodded her head and said, “OK”, Jane continued, “I assume that you’ll give me some resistance?” Again Mary Lou nodded “Yes.”

“Great!” Jane replied. “If you’ll just walk to the end of the corridor and back, I’ll be ready. When you enter the room, the play begins!”

Mary Lou’s high heels beat a staccato noise on the bare floor as she went down the hall. At the top of the stairs she slowly turned and thought, “I wonder where the others are. They’d better not leave me alone on this. I don’t want to be tied and gagged all afternoon.” Then to herself she though, “But I won’t mind a few minutes or so. In fact, I’m kind of looking forward to it – being the helpless ‘damsel in distress’.”

Then she saw herself as an innocent, feminine and vulnerable heroine, headed into some unknown danger, and started toward the lounge. The tapping of her heels announced her approach louder than trumpets. Once at the door she paused, as she felt anticipation growing deep within her, and then slowly opened it. She took three steps into the room before she was grabbed from behind. Swiftly her elbows were jerked back and pinioned behind her as a hand roughly clamped over her mouth. She struggled and little noises escaped from her mouth before her head was jerked back and a low voice hissed, “Stop fighting Lady, and you won’t get hurt! I have a gun, and I won’t hesitate to use it! Do you understand me?”

She tried to nod her head, but the hand over her mouth held her firmly, and she could only whimper. Again the voice hissed, “When I remove my hand from your mouth, I don’t wanna hear a peep outa’ you! Do you understand me, Lady?”

Again she tried to nod her head and mewled, “Mmmm!, Mmmmm!” As soon as the hand dropped, she said in a frightened voice, “What are you going to – mmm-fff!”

“I said to be quiet!” Jane hissed, as she forced a wadded hankie into the woman’s mouth. Still pinning her arms behind her, she hustled her over to the game table and ordered, “Bend over! On the table!” Mary Lou was forced to bend at her waist until her upper torso sprawled across the table top, and only the toes of her shoes touched the floor. Jane crossed her wrists behind her back and tied them together with a cord. Kneeling behind her, she wound another line around her slim ankles and knotted it. Standing up, she grabbed her victim by her shoulders, pulled her up onto her bound feet, and spun her around.

Getting right into her face, Jane said, “Now listen to me, Lady. You have something that I want very badly – a little black book. I know that you know what I’m talking about, so…” she continued as she reached for the hankie stuffed in her mouth, “..when I remove this gag, you are not going to yell. You are going to tell me the location of that book! Isn’t that right?”

The helpless woman defiantly shook her head “no!” and added an “Mmmff-mmff!” for emphasis.

“Well! Jane replied. “There’s no use arguing with anyone as obstinate as you are. I’ll just have to be more persuasive, won’t I?” She placed a straight-back chair behind the bound freshman and forced

Her down onto it, saying, “Sit!” She tore of a long strip of two-inch-wide adhesive tape and fixed one end to her right cheek. After forcing the hankie further into her mouth, Jane firmly sealed it in place with the tape, adding two more pieces for good measure.

            Next she raised Mary Lou’s bound wrists up over the chair back, and tied a short length of rope from her wrists to her ankles, running under the chair. Then she raised her skirt and secured more clothesline around her legs above her knees, and tied still another cord around her thighs and the chair seat. Finally she wound a long piece of rope around her elbows, drawing them together in the middle of her back, and firmly tied the rest around the helpless woman’s arms and chair back. The ropes that bound her body securely to the chair also stretched the soft material of her dress tightly across her breasts. Mary Lou caught a fleeting glance in the large mirror of herself, helplessly bound and gagged and demurely dressed in her best dress, heels, hat and gloves, at the mercy of her captor.

            Standing with her legs spread before her captive, Jane shouted, “I’ll ask you nicely just one more time – where’s the book?”

            Still defiant, the bound woman shook her head, “No!” At this Jane raised her hand as if to strike her, and Mary Lou cringed, moved her head to one side and uttered a loud, “Mmmff-mmff!” through her gag. Jane’s next attack was to jam her fingers into Mary Lou’s exposed sides, just below her armpits. Reflexively her entire body heaved against the confining ropes, and more loud noises escaped through her gag. Because of the slack in the cord connecting her wrists and ankles, she almost reached Jane when she lashed out with her bound feet. Now that Jane had discovered her prisoner’s weak spot, she squatted down in front of Mary Lou with her seat balanced over her high heels, to tighten the woman’s restraints.

            Just as she had removed the cord between Mary Lou’s wrists and ankles, the flash bulb fired on Nancy’s camera. As she and Connie burst into the room, Mary Lou raised her bound feet and pushed Jane off balance. She fell backwards on her rump, and instantly Connie knelt behind her, grabbing the woman’s arms. She pulled them firmly behind her as Nancy forced a wadded-up rag between her teeth. Then Connie levered her over onto her side sand rolled her onto her tummy, crossing her wrists behind her back as Nancy tied them together.

            Jane’s black patent high heels flailed the air as she tried to resist her attackers, but Nancy quickly captured her ankles with a loop of clothesline, yanked them together harshly, and secured them with several turns. Then she lifted Jane’s bound feet up against her rump and used the remaining rope to tie them to her wrists. Connie had grabbed another length and was wrapping it around Jane’s upper torso, further limiting the movement of her arms. As Mary Lou struggled against her bonds, made wild head movements, and mewled through her gag, Nancy ripped off several pieces of tape and plastered them over Jane’s mouth. In less than two minutes Jane Andrews went from temptress to helplessly hog-tied and gagged on the floor, where she glared as her captors released Mary Lou.

            Obviously the GOF (less 1) took the time to celebrate. Amid comments like, “Jane, just think of this as ‘team-building’” punctuated by more flash photos, Jane‘s reaction changed from chagrin to a secret delight in the feeling of  damsel in distress, helplessly bound and gagged in her chic outfit. While outwardly acting defiant, she inwardly hoped they would let her revel in her predicament. That was not going to be a problem, as the girls discussed what they should do next.

            They did pretty much what Jane had done with Mary Lou – they quickly discovered her ticklish spots and tortured her mercilessly, reveling in the woman’s wild thrashing against her bonds and protests muffled by her gag. After a while Jane got both hot and exhausted, and the girls tired of their fun. Releasing the hog-tie rope, they hauled her up onto her bound feet and forced her to hop on  her bound high heels through the corridor to an adjacent bedroom, where they forced her gloves onto her bound hands and again hog-tied her on the bed.

Jane Andrews was no longer the chic, self-assured campus leader. Her hair and clothes were disheveled, there were swatches of dust on her clothes and cheeks, she had runners in her stockings, and she had sweat through under the armpits of her smart, yellow jacket. Before they left her alone, Mary Lou plastered a long strip of tape over her mouth and completely around her head to ensure that she couldn’t loosen her gag.

            In their guerilla operation the GOF (less 1) made one major mistake: during their discussion of whether and how Jane could get free, they agreed that one of them would return later to release her. Unbeknownst to them, Jane had overheard it, and was already planning her revenge.

To be continued in Part 2…