Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:49:56 -0400
From: pertinax carrus <perti@live.com>
Subject: Bryce, Chapter 12

This story is fiction.  The city of Clifton, and the University of Clifton,
exist only in my imagination.  Any resemblance to real persons, living or
dead, is purely coincidental.  These stories have as their main character a
sexually active gay college student.  If this is offensive to you, or if it
is illegal in your area, or if you are under age, please leave now.

This story involves a search for personal acceptance, worth, and meaning.
There is a religious element in these stories.  If you don't like that,
maybe now is a good time to leave.

My stories develop slowly.  If you're in a hurry, this is probably not for you.

Thanks to Colin for editing.

Constructive criticism is welcome on my e-mail at perti@live.com.

____________________________________________________________________

Bryce, Chapter 12 - Rush

     The week beginning Monday, August 31, was enveloped in the whirl of
fraternity rush.  Classes seemed to pass without much notice, and little or
no serious studying was accomplished in the evenings.  Bryce did, however,
manage to get his term paper topics approved by Dr. Drake on Tuesday and
Dr. Dickinson on Wednesday.  In the Milton class, Dr. Drake agreed to the
topic which Bryce entitled, "Milton, Religious Toleration, and the
Catholics."  Continuing his researches into Milton's writings, he found
that, while he advocated toleration for the various sects of Protestantism,
he was not willing to extend that same benefit to Catholics, and he wanted
to find out why.  Perhaps as an unconscious part of his inner struggles,
which were otherwise placed on hold for most of the week, Bryce also chose
a topic involving Catholicism for his history paper.  Dr. Dickinson gave
his consent to the topic, "King James II and Anthony Farmer at Oxford."
     But these academic concerns definitely took a back seat to rush week,
not only for Bryce, but for Damon as well.  Each of the fraternities and
sororities had booths on the main quadrangle, with members in attendance
passing out literature and talking to prospective pledges.  Each evening,
they would hold open house, with those interested invited to come by and
look over the fraternity or sorority, while the interested parties were
themselves being evaluated by the members.  The sororities got more formal
and complicated than the fraternities after that, but that was of no
concern to Bryce or Damon.  Bryce and Damon were not the only residents of
Clay Hall to be interested in the fraternities.  There were brothers and
students who hoped to become brothers, so talk about the various
fraternities, and what each had to offer, seemed to be everywhere - in the
corridors, in the lounge, on the front steps.
     The first fraternity visited by the duo was, of course, Sigma Alpha
Tau.  It was less crowded than at the party, and a good deal neater.  The
large room where dancing had taken place was now adorned with several
couches, and the brothers were dressed neatly, each displaying the
fraternity letters or motto in some fashion on a blazer, sweat shirt, or
tee.  Curtis, as Pledge Master, acted as some kind of master of ceremonies,
speaking to each visitor as he arrived, and then introducing him to the
fraternity officers.  When Bryce and Damon appeared, Curtis's face lit up.
     "I thought you guys had abandoned us," he said.
     "No way!  We just didn't want to seem over eager," Bryce returned.
     "You guys clean up pretty well," Damon observed.
     "It's the difference between a reception and a party," Curtis informed
him.  "Come on, I'll introduce you to the other officers."
     So it was that the two were introduced to the President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chaplain.  In the process
questions were asked on both sides, and answers received.  One question
asked several times was about the visitors' SAT scores and their academic
majors.  This favorably impressed Bryce, who saw that the fraternity took
seriously its declaration that it prized academic achievement.  Of course,
they were also asked about athletic achievement, when Bryce's experiences
on his high school soccer and swim teams were mentioned.  They then were
passed on to other brothers, who showed them around, and continued the
questions.  A black brother appeared to greet Damon.
     "Hey, Bro!  How's it hanging?"
     "Great, man!  What are you doing here, checking out the house, too?"
Damon asked.
     "No, man.  I'm a brother here.  I joined last year."
     "No shit?  And here I thought you were just another peon like me."
     The other black man laughed.  "Who's your friend?"
     "Sorry.  This is Bryce Winslow.  He's my neighbor in the dorm."
     The other guy laughed as he shook Bryce's hand.  "Oh, yeah.  That dorm
which is an insult to all the black students on campus."
     "It was Bryce who told me about the other Clay guy.  Bryce, this is
DuBois Kennedy.  I linked up with him back at that IMPORTANT meeting at the
BSO, and we've gotten together a couple of times since then to share a few
beers and some choice comments on you-know-who," Damon completed the
introductions.
     "No," Bryce acted innocent.  "Who?"
     Damon merely laughed and socked Bryce on the shoulder.  DuBois began
to show the two around, commenting on the house and the fraternity,
obviously proud of his membership and urging Damon to consider joining as
well.  Bryce felt left out just a bit, but then he considered that Damon
probably felt that way in predominantly white company from time to time.
Noting the name badge on DuBois' shirt, Bryce sought to re-enter the
conversation.
     "Damon introduced you as DuBois [pronouncing it the way it's spelled
in English], but that's a French name, isn't it.  Are you actually named
DuBois [pronouncing it in French]."
     "No, actually Damon is correct.  I was named for W.E.B. DuBois, the
famed black leader, who pronounced it the way I was introduced," DuBois
responded.
     "I've heard of W.E.B. DuBois, but I didn't know about his
pronunciation," Bryce admitted.
     DuBois paused in his tour of the facilities, and really looked at
Bryce for the first time.  "You're the guy Damon is always talking about,
aren't you?"
     Bryce laughed.  "I don't know.  Damon, are you always talking about
me?"
     Damon looked embarrassed.  "I might have mentioned you from time to
time.  DuBois exaggerates."
     "You're the guy who not only knew about Cassius Marcellus Clay, but
who also goes with Damon to help out at the soup kitchen on Sundays, and
who is lending Damon the cash to join the fraternity, right?" DuBois
insisted.
     "The Clay stuff is in the catalogue and on the web site," Bryce
dismissed this achievement.  "And the soup kitchen is run by the
St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic organization, and I'm Catholic."
     "Yeah, go on," DuBois kidded.  "How can you explain away the financial
assistance?"
     "I've got money and Damon doesn't," Bryce shrugged.  "Besides, that
was supposed to be just between us."  Turning on Damon, he continued, "What
are you doing, spreading our private arrangements all over campus?"
     "Who, me?" Damon eluded the question.
     "Come on.  This way," DuBois said, leading the other two down into the
basement, to a large room where several other brothers were gathered.
There was a large screen TV broadcasting some sporting event, with several
brothers sitting around, watching, talking, and drinking beer.  DuBois
announced to the assembled group, "These are some special guests of mine."
Then, to Damon and Bryce he said, "We don't usually bring guys who are just
asking about us down here, but you two deserve a beer on the house."
DuBois got beers from a glass door refrigerator behind a large bar for both
Damon and Bryce as well as himself, and led them to a well used couch, a
little apart from the TV crowd, where they sat in the cool basement and
discussed SAT further.
     Some fifteen minutes later, Bick Lomax swaggered into the room.  He
went over to the bar and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.  Turning
around, he saw the three of them.  "Hey, assholes, this area is off limits
except to members!" he yelled.
     "Members and their guests, Bick," DuBois shot back.
     "Might have known you'd be involved," Bick said with a sneer.  He
clutched his beer and left the room.
     "The one negative in an otherwise perfect fraternity," DuBois
commented, loudly enough that several other brothers heard and snickered.
     As Bryce and Damon were leaving, Curtis again appeared.  "Fill out
these bid forms," he instructed them.  "We'll vote on Friday afternoon, and
have a party for the pledges on Friday evening.  I'm sure you'll both be
hearing from us."
     "I don't know," Damon said.  "We ran into this guy named Bick, and he
didn't seem very welcoming."
     "Bick's an ass.  Bryce and I have already agreed on that.  Final votes
on accepting a new brother after the pledge period must be unanimous, but
decisions on extending invitations to pledge are by majority vote.  It'll
work out, somehow," Curtis promised.
     On Tuesday, Bryce and Damon visited the fraternity to which Mike
Sandoval belonged.  Bryce was a little uneasy after hearing the comment
made by Mike's brother after Mass on Sunday, but had noted nothing unusual
during class that morning.  At the fraternity reception, Mike was as
friendly as usual, welcoming both visitors, and making no reference to
Kyle's remark, although he did mention seeing Bryce at Mass.  Maybe he did
not know Bryce had overheard the comment about a new boyfriend.  Or, was
Kyle just annoying his brother, maybe getting back at Mike for introducing
him as his "little" brother?  Could it be that Mike actually was gay?
Bryce tried to see something about his friend to give him a clue, but
nothing appeared.  Didn't he remember reading somewhere that gays were
supposed to have this ability to recognize each other?  Gaydar?  Yeah,
that's what it was called.  But either he wasn't gay, or his gaydar wasn't
working, as he got nary a clue as to Mike's sexual orientation at the
reception.
     On the way back to the dorm, Damon asked, "What were you looking for
in there?"
     "Huh?"
     "You were looking for something, and didn't find it.  I can tell.
What was it?"
     "Um, just something I heard about Mike," Bryce replied.
     Damon did not pursue it until they were back in their rooms.  Then,
just before slipping out to meet a couple of the brothers, Damon dropped
another surprise.  "You mean, you heard something about Mike being gay,
right?"
     He disappeared before Bryce could recover.  "Damn you!" Bryce yelled
at the empty corridor.  "You keep doing that!"
     On Wednesday, Damon refused to talk about anything except their visit
to the fraternity of which Robert Blanton, a.k.a, Mr. Aeropostale, was
Vice-President.  Talk in the dorm discouraged their visit.  More than one
guy said Bryce would not be welcome, but he was determined to accompany
Damon.  Naturally, they decided to wear their Aeropostale shirts to the
reception.  As they approached the house, Bryce noticed that he was the
only white student headed that way.  He asked Damon, "You did say whites
were permitted in this fraternity, didn't you?"
     "Of course," Damon responded.  "We could no more have a campus
approved organization which excludes whites than you could have one which
excludes blacks."
     "Do you have any idea how many white members this fraternity has?"
     Damon got a big grin across his face.  "Yeah.  I checked.  The exact
number is ... zero!"
     "Purely by chance, of course," Bryce commented ironically.
     Damon chuckled.
     At the house, when Damon and Bryce entered there was some confusion,
as Bryce was the only white person there, and the fraternity officers did
not seem to know how to deal with him.  He blandly noted, in response to a
blunt question as to why he was there, that the fraternity publications
said it was open to all interested males, so he was just checking it out.
He was introduced to the officers, including Robert Blanton, Damon's
bˆte noir.  At last, he had a face to associate with the figure Damon
spoke about so often.  The man was not impressive, and seemed to be
offended by Bryce's presence.  He made a comment about those who mocked the
black experience, evidently aiming that at Bryce.  Inspired by a wicked
thought, Bryce asked Blanton about the fraternity policy with regard to
homosexuals.
     "There are no queers in this fraternity, and there never will be," he
was told.
     "Isn't that contrary to the University's anti-discrimination code?"
Bryce asked, acting naive.
     "The anti-discrimination code is to protect blacks and other oppressed
people, not perverts," Blanton insisted.
     "Oh, I see," Bryce said, allowing the matter to slide.  He had heard
enough anyway.
     After leaving this fraternity, Bryce and Damon visited another
"historically black" house.  Damon had no intention of joining
Mr. Aeropostale's fraternity under any circumstances, but just in case he
was not invited to pledge Sigma Alpha Tau, he wanted a fall back position,
and Bryce agreed to support that.  Bryce himself had his second choice with
Mike Sandoval's fraternity.  Their second visit of the day was much more
pleasant.  For one thing, Bryce was not the only white person around.  For
another, they were welcomed and shown around without the obvious suspicion
and hostility of their previous visit.  Pushing things, Bryce again asked
his guide about gays.  He was told there was no rule against admitting a
gay person, but some of the brothers might object, so it would be better to
kept it to oneself.  The member telling him this did so in a whisper, as
though he were in a conspiracy with Bryce against everyone else.  Bryce
thought all this most interesting.
     The next day, the two friends visited still other fraternities, but
they were merely going through the motions at this point.  If they did not
get Sigma Alpha Tau, they had their second choices, and if those also
failed, they had decided not to pledge any fraternity this semester.  Bryce
actually got started on his Psychology project that afternoon.
     On Friday afternoon the various fraternities held plenary chapter
meetings for the purpose of deciding to whom invitations were to be
extended to pledge.  The potential pledges were requested to designate on
their bid sheets where they would be located between five and six that
afternoon.  At Sigma Alpha Tau, there would be a cook-out and party that
evening at which the new pledges would be the guests of honor, the only
time until the final vote on admission at the end of the semester when they
would not be at the beck and call of the brothers.  Other fraternities had
their own welcoming arrangements.  One suggested location for the
candidates was the dorms of those students who lived on campus, and this
option was selected by Bryce and Damon.  They spent some time in the lounge
on their floor, but found the other guys annoying rather than helpful.
They were nervous, awaiting the outcome of the vote, and could not
concentrate on the program on the TV or the talk about the weekend away
game.  Returning to Bryce's room, they tried playing games on his computer,
but they were too distracted to enjoy the games or to be very successful at
them.  They talked nervously, and paced.  The first messenger to arrive
came from Damon's second choice.  He was invited to pledge.  The second
came from Bryce's second choice, where he was also invited to pledge.  They
were afraid there would be no messenger from Sigma Alpha Tau, and were
about to give up, when, shortly before six o'clock, there was a knocking on
Damon's door.  As both guys were in Bryce's room, this resulted in some
scrambling, but eventually two invitations were received from SAT, one for
Damon, the other for Bryce.  They were ecstatic, actually jumping up and
down and hugging each other.  They would do this together.
     Despite their excitement, at Bryce's insistence both sat down to pen
letters to their respective second choices, thanking them, but declining
the invitations.  Then, they prepared to attend the festivities at Sigma
Alpha Tau for the evening.  They dressed nicely but casually, and strolled
over to the SAT house, with invitations in hand.  They were welcomed, and
joined the other new pledges in the back yard of the house, where three
grills were busy turning out hot dogs, hamburgers, and barbequed chicken.
The keg was in evidence this time as well, and there were side dishes
enough to slake any appetite.  The yard had Japanese lanterns hung all
around the place, intended to give lumination after dark, which, however,
was still several hours away.  Bryce immediately noticed that there were no
females present.  In fact, he overheard Bick complaining that it was "one
hell of a piss poor party" where there was no pussy.  He located Curtis and
asked about that.
     "No, tonight is just a guy thing," Curtis explained.  "The brothers
are welcoming you pledges, and showing you a good time."  Then, rubbing his
hands together, Curtis cackled, "then, for the rest of the semester, we'll
make your lives miserable."
     Bryce laughed, but wondered just what was in store for the pledges
after tonight.  He had been assured by Curtis previously that hazing was
against the policies of both the University and the fraternity, so he was
not concerned about his actual safety, but he knew he would be subjected to
various humiliating experiences, whose object was to prove that he was
willing to go through anything in order to join Sigma Alpha Tau.  This
could be interesting.  But tonight, he was a guest of honor, and determined
to enjoy it.  The food was great, the beer was plentiful, and the brothers
were friendly.  Bryce found himself talking to several guys about soccer,
which took up a couple of hours.  Discussion of the fraternity, of classes,
and of professors, along with the command that he show up for the
intramural soccer game tomorrow afternoon, caused the time to pass quickly
and pleasantly, until those Japanese lanterns served a real function.  He
completely lost track of Damon.
     At one point, he did ask Curtis whether he was permitted to ask what
took the brothers so long that afternoon making up their minds.  He
admitted both he and Damon received invitations from other fraternities
while they were waiting, and had almost given up on Sigma Alpha Tau.
Curtis replied that he could divulge no details, but there was one
applicant who was favored by some of the brothers, but who had been found
guilty of unethical practices connected with his football scholarship.
That engendered a great deal of discussion, but his bid had eventually been
rejected.  Bryce was relieved to find that the delay had nothing to do with
himself or Damon.  Sometimes it's hard to believe that the whole world does
not revolve around oneself.
     About eleven o'clock that evening, Curtis came to get Bryce, saying
Damon was in one of the upstairs rooms and in bad shape.  He had been found
slumped in a corner, obviously having drunk more than he could handle, so
Curtis and another brother laid him on a bed, but he needed to be taken
back to his dorm room.
     As they walked down the corridor leading to the room, Curtis said, "I
think Damon has a drinking problem.  Obviously, we have no problem with
drinking, but he seems to end up falling down drunk every time he drinks."
     "You might be right," Bryce responded.  "He's had a rough time.  I
think his drinking is his way of escaping his background.  I'll talk to him
about this."
     Just then, as they approached the room where Damon had been left, they
heard a rough voice shout, "Take it, you damned cock sucker!  Suck my
fucking cock!  Damn it, nigger, suck it!"
     "No!" Damon's voice cried out.  "No, I don't ...."
     There was the sound of flesh smacking into flesh, cutting off Damon's
protests.  The first voice repeated, "Suck it, damn it!"
     Bryce and Curtis looked at each other, shocked.
     "That's Damon," Bryce declared.
     "And Bick," Curtis added.
     Bryce was closest to the door, so he burst into the room before
Curtis, although the two were both there in seconds.  It was a lurid scene
which greeted their eyes.  Damon lay on his back on the bed, with Bick
straddling his chest, with his knees pinning down Damon's arms.  Bick had
discarded his jeans and shorts, and had his erect cock shoved in Damon's
mouth.  Bick's hands held Damon's head steady as he began to pump his
protuberance into the black pledge's mouth.  Damon's legs floundered
helplessly, like a fish out of water.
     In a flash, Bryce launched himself against the bigger man, knocking
his head against the wall with such force that Bick was momentarily
stunned, and dislodging him from atop Damon.  While Curtis pulled Bick the
rest of the way off Damon, Bryce saw to his friend, asking whether Damon
were okay.  Damon was still largely incoherent, but one statement came out
loud and clear: "That bastard tried to rape me!"
     As Bryce and Curtis tried to get Damon to his feet, Bick recovered
somewhat, and let out a roar.  Although still groggy from having had his
head knocked against the wall, Bick looked as though he were about to
challenge their right to escort Damon from the room.  Curtis left Damon in
Bryce's hands for a moment, turned, and hit Bick in the stomach, hard.  The
bigger man doubled up, collapsing on the floor, gasping for breath.
     Bryce and Curtis led a befuddled and only partly sobered Damon down to
the ground floor.  The party was still going on, of course, so Bryce
decided he would simply escort Damon back to the dorm, leaving Curtis to
handle things at the house.  He believed he could do this alone until Damon
stumbled and nearly pulled Bryce down as well.  Fortunately, DuBois
happened on them at that point, and offered to help escort Damon home, as
Curtis did not feel he could leave his responsibilities there at the house.
As they exited, Damon was heard to mumble, "I'm going to sue that bastard
for all he's worth."
     Between them, Bryce and DuBois got Damon back to his room in Clay
Hall, stripped, and in bed.  Damon immediately fell asleep.  After
discussing the matter between them, Bryce and DuBois decided Damon was safe
enough where he was, so they both returned to the party.
     There, Curtis told them that Bick had locked himself in his room, and
refused to respond to Curtis's demand for an explanation.  It seems that,
in their haste to place Damon in a safe place while going to look for
Bryce, Curtis and his colleague had left Damon in Bick's room.  It was
house policy that all rooms be available for guests during parties, or else
locked, and, as Bick's was not locked, they had a perfect right to make use
of it.  Bick was returning to his room to collect something when he found
the inebriated pledge spread out on his bed.  That explained how he came to
find Damon in the first place, but did not, of course, excuse Bick's
attempt to rape Damon.  None of those present in their little huddle knew
enough about the law to know whether what happened met the legal definition
of rape, but Curtis and Bryce could both testify that Bick had his naked
cock in Damon's mouth, and Damon was attempting to resist.  The fact that
he was drunk and ineffective did not make the penetration any more
acceptable.  Curtis did know that rape was cause for expulsion from the
fraternity and from the University, and, if pursued in court, was a felony
offense.  Bick was in serious trouble.
     The next morning, Bryce met Curtis at the gym later than usual.  While
carrying out their exercises, they continued to discuss what had happened
the night before.  Damon was still sleeping it off, so Bryce had nothing
new to contribute from that angle.  Bick was still locked in his room,
refusing to come out, and cursing anyone who knocked on his door.  Curtis
was concerned that an accusation of rape brought before the University
authorities might cause disciplinary action to be taken against the entire
fraternity.  Thus far, only a few brothers, Bryce, and Damon himself knew
what had happened, but it could become a serious problem, not only for
Bick, but for the entire group.  The fraternity was expected by the
University to prevent such things from happening.
     Concerned, the two cut their work-out short and made their way back to
Clay Hall to check on Damon.  On that Saturday morning after a party, it
was later than their usual work-out times, so there was at least a chance
Damon would be awake.  To Curtis's amusement, Bryce armed himself with his
water pistol before venturing into Damon's room.  As it happened, however,
the armament was not needed.  As they came through the bathroom into
Damon's room, the victim was stirring and moaning.
     "How're you doing this morning?" Bryce asked.
     "Fucking lousy," Damon responded.
     "How about getting yourself in gear.  We've got some serious talking
to do.  Maybe over breakfast," Bryce declared.
     At the mention of breakfast, Damon groaned.  Then he asked, "Do I
remember right?  That SOB Bick was sitting on my chest, and trying to stuff
his stinking cock down my throat, wasn't he?"
     "That's what we need to talk about," Curtis said.
     Damon paused, sitting on the side of his bed.  After a moment's
thought, he agreed, "Okay.  Let me shower and get dressed, then we can
talk."
     "Great!" Curtis said.  "I'm going to change into something that
doesn't stink, then I'll meet you guys at the cafeteria for breakfast."
     "No," Bryce said.  "I think we need to meet off campus, just in case
someone might overhear us.  I'll come by for you when Damon's ready, and
we'll go somewhere else."
     "Good thinking," Curtis agreed.
     A half hour later, Bryce appeared in front of the Sigma Alpha Tau
house in his Mustang, with Damon in the back.  Curtis ran out and jumped in
the passenger seat.  They agreed on a Shoney's out by the Interstate, where
it was unlikely anyone from the University would overhear them.  There,
they selected a corner booth, and each collected a substantial breakfast
from the bar before getting down to business.
     "What went down last night?" Damon demanded, once they were settled.
     "No.  First tell me what you remember," Curtis said.
     "I had too much to drink.  Damn!  That's happening more and more.  I
need to watch that," Damon admitted.
     "Yes, you do.  And it could play into all this.  But for now, just
tell us what you remember," Curtis iterated.
     "I was lying on a bed, feeling like shit.  Only half aware of what was
going on, you know.  Then, all of a sudden, there was this big guy right
next to me yelling at me.  Seems I was in his bed.  I don't think I put
myself there?" Damon said, making that into a question.
     "No, another brother and I did when we found you slumped down in the
corridor.  Then I went to look for Bryce," Curtis confirmed.  "Go on."
     "Next thing I knew, this guy Bick was crawling on top of me.  I felt
lousy, and tried to get him to go away, but I couldn't get myself
organized.  I think I got in one good lick before he pinned my arms down.
By then, I noticed he was naked from the waist down, and had a hard-on.  If
I'd noticed earlier, I would've hit him there, but it was too late.  My
arms were useless.  He tried sticking his cock in my mouth.  It smelled
gross.  I don't know who or what he had been fucking, but it was rancid.  I
don't think Bick washes carefully," Damon speculated.
     Curtis and Bryce were having trouble keeping a straight face as Damon
mused on Bick's personal hygiene, but Curtis was able to contribute, "I
think that must be about when Bryce and I came along.  What do you intend
to do about this?"
     "I'm not going to just let it pass," Damon forcefully declared.  "If I
remember correctly, Bick was spewing insults directed at my sexual
orientation and my race.  That's a hate crime, in addition to being rape.
I want the bastard's balls."
     They discussed the matter at some length, with Curtis indicating the
possible consequences for the fraternity should Damon file a complaint with
the University administration.  In the process, for the first time Damon
explicitly stated that he was gay, but insisted that he had done nothing
either to antagonize or to encourage Bick.  Curtis repeated for Damon what
he had told Bryce a week earlier, namely that there was nothing in the
fraternity by-laws prohibiting admission of a gay brother.  Furthermore, he
agreed that Bick should not go scot free, and promised to testify on
Damon's behalf if he did insist on a formal process, but he pled with the
pledge to let them handle the matter quietly.  He pointed out that Damon
now had an interest in protecting the reputation of the fraternity.  After
some struggle with his desire to punish Bick for what he had done, Damon
agreed to give Curtis a chance to work things out in a way which would not
harm the fraternity.  After all, Damon still wanted to complete the
pledging process, just to see the expression on Mr. Aeropostale's face, he
said with a grin.
     Their breakfast and their conversation over, the three returned to the
fraternity house.  There, they located the President of the fraternity, Tom
Blankenship.  Further discussion, with Tom indicating his gratitude to
Damon for his cooperative attitude, and promising to make sure Bick did not
escape the consequences of his actions, resulted in the four of them then
marching up to Bick's room.  Bick had not come out since the previous
evening, and refused to open the door, which was locked.  He was in there,
and answered in crude language, but refused to even discuss what happened.
Tom sent Curtis to obtain a key to the room from the fraternity treasurer,
who was custodian of keys to all the rooms.  With this, they opened Bick's
door over his loud protests, and confronted him.
     "We have a serious problem here, Bick.  We need to settle it right
away," Tom declared.
     In response, all Bick could do was curse and swear, calling Damon
names offensive to his race and his sexual orientation, as well as stating
he wished he had succeeded in fucking him bloody the evening before.  At
that, Tom asserted control of the proceedings.  "Look, Bick, you're in
serious trouble.  Just now, you as much as admitted you tried to rape
Damon, and we all heard you use language which would be considered a hate
offense under the University's code of conduct.  If Damon goes to the
administration, you'll be expelled from the University, and if he goes to
the civil authorities, you'll be put on trial.  In that case, we'll all be
testifying against you.  We won't forgive you what your prejudices will
cause to happen to SAT.  We're looking at suspension for a year, at least,
and we don't like it.  Now, either you cooperate, or that's what's going to
happen."
     Bick looked stunned.  The prospect of being expelled in his senior
year sobered him up so that he cut the bluster and listened.  "Okay, so
what do you want?" he grumbled.
     "First of all," Tom said, "you will apologize to Damon for your
comments on his race and his sexual orientation.  I know you won't mean it,
but that's the way to begin."
     "Okay," Bick agreed ungraciously.  Without looking at Damon, he
grudgingly conceded, "I apologize for my language."
     "That's just the first step, and a pretty piss poor effort at that"
Tom said.  "I happen to know you're pretty well off, so I think a little
financial compensation of, say, a thousand dollars, paid to Damon in return
for his agreement not to prosecute you for rape, is in order."
     "That's blackmail!  That's robbery!" Bick protested.
     "Nonetheless, take it or suffer the consequences.  Now, as to the
fraternity, you will relinquish this room today.  Move out.  I don't care
where you go, but out of the house.  You've been a pain in the ass for all
the brothers for entirely too long."
     Bick howled in protest, but Tom continued, "Furthermore, you will take
no part in further fraternity activities.  You will especially not be
involved in the pledging process and will not vote on anything having to do
with new members or accepting pledges for membership.  You are suspended
from all fraternity activities for the entire year.  Got it?"
     "This is not fair!  There's no way you can force me out without a vote
by the brothers!"  Bick protested again.
     "I don't care whether you think it's fair or not.  What you have done
is a disgrace to Sigma Alpha Tau, and mere suspension is really too good
for you.  Tom is being generous.  As for me, if I catch you around here
again, I will personally launch an ethics hearing and see you expelled from
the fraternity, which will automatically bring you up before the University
student court," the Pledge Master stated.
     "Bunch of wusses.  You're nothing but a bunch of cock suckers
yourselves," Bick spewed.
     "More hate language," Tom pointed out.  "You don't have many choices,
Bick.  What's it to be?  Accept the deal I laid out, or start proceedings
against you?"
     "Shit!  Fuck!  You fags leave me no choice.  I can't take a chance on
getting expelled in my senior year.  I accept," Bick surrendered.
     "Fine.  Be out of here before the soccer game this afternoon," Tom
ordered.  "And I want your signed statement that you will not participate
in any fraternity related activity for the entire year, along with your
check made out to Damon Watson, in my hand by Sunday evening.
     Leaving Bick's room, the four descended to the main floor.  There, Tom
asked Damon, "Are you satisfied?"
     "I will be when Bick carries out everything you said.  Thanks.  You
guys are impressive.  You're awesome," Damon responded, obviously touched
that these guys would go to bat for him like this.  It was a different
world than that he knew before.