Cherry walked back from the coffee-bar with our drinks as if she wasn’t famous. Despite wearing boring gym clothes, heads turned to follow her. I couldn’t blame them, the wisps of red in her short blonde hair were mesmerizing.
She slid into the booth across from me, sitting cross legged. “Give me some of that almond-milk, lamb-chops,” she said, in a low voice that sent shivers up my body. She was always trying to seduce me.
I started pouring into her cup. “Ahhh… yes, ma’am,” I said without thinking.
Her steely blue eyes jabbed me with a look I’d never seen. She put her phone down and her eyes moved across my face, consuming me with her presence, as I tried to not shift around uncomfortably. Her lips parted briefly. “I think you should give it a go,” she said warmly.
“You mean the sorority? No no… I would never…”
Cherry looked down at her feet. She was ashamed to talk about the sorority after the school administration had forced them to kick her out. There were rumors about her being some kind of bad-ass hazing queen, but I didn’t believe it for a second.
She looked up at me. “You should go through rush. Don’t worry… no hazing anymore. A cute little Korean girl like you would fit in perfectly.”
“I hate them for what they did to you.”
Cherry took a sip of her drink. “It wasn’t them, it was the Dean of Students.”
“You were obviously ratted out with lies. What was it like? What was the big deal? I heard that you used an app?”
“You know I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Cherry please…”
“Not going to happen, lamb-chops… I’m not like that anymore. Let’s focus on our studies, plus I’m training for a marathon.”
“You were never like that! That whole situation was totally unfair. They had no right!”
Cherry, looked taken aback by my attitude. Again, she looked at her feet. “I wasn’t entirely innocent.”
“I don’t care, I’m tired of all the crazy exaggerated rumors. Obviously you are a good person, I’ve known you for over a month. So… haze me! I want to know firsthand what went on. To put the rumors to rest.”
Cherry looked at me like I was insane. “Not happening, lamb-chops. I don’t want to hurt you. Change the subject,” she warned, her expression quite serious.
I was offended. “I’m a psychology major. A lot tougher than I look.” Why was everyone always underestimating me?
She dismissed my comment with a shake of her head, looking back at her phone.
I glared boldly into her face. “I’m doing this, whether you help me or not.”
“You are going to haze yourself?” she laughed, still looking at her phone.
I was becoming desperate. “I need this Cherry. And for our friendship to continue, you can’t just blow me off when something is important to me.”
She looked up abruptly, the coldness in her steely gaze knocking me back in my seat. She looked around the room in irritation. “I told you, I’m not proud of my past. Don’t push me Lilly.”
“You like it… don’t you? That bad-ass reputation. You’re afraid I’ll figure out that you’re just a softie. That’s it! Isn’t it? Are you really that messed up?” I said, instantly regretting my words.
Her face hardened. “It was the app… look, don’t play with fire, lamb-chops… I’m warning you,” she said. The intensity of her gaze was alarming. Why was she being so dramatic?
“Oh come on, what’s a little skin,” I chided, I wasn’t that shy. I even let my bra straps show a little – sometimes.
She leaned back, reeling me in with her with her eyes. Her lips froze briefly. “You know how you are always talking about how we are a product of our environment?”
I nodded, uncertain where this was going.
“Well, I likely traumatized those girls… they might never be the same again.”
“You are just trying to frighten me,” I said, actually feeling scared. “Tell me about this app. How does it work?”
She shook her head in frustration. “It’s all about consensual leverage,” she said, showing me the app suddenly. “Look… once you get on this train, there is no backing out. Those are the rules. You have to buy a ticket to this rollercoaster ride, and it’s NOT cheap.”
She was working so hard to deter me. “Ahh… okay… so let’s do it,” I said, feeling semi-safe, after all she was my friend.
She looked at me with her lips pressed together. “Go to slave.com and download the leverage consent form. Provide five emails … people that you would be absolutely devastated, if they received the most embarrassing emails that you can imagine. The last people on the planet that you can imagine seeing you naked.”
“Ahhh…” I hesitated, but seeing her, looking confident that there was no way I would ever do it, annoyed me. Typing madly into my phone I did as she asked and hit send. “So? Now I’m all paid up!”
“Not quite there yet lamb-chops, but I’m impressed with your foolish bravado now go to the washroom, strip, and take a full frontal nude of yourself, face showing,” she laughed, knowing full well I would not do that in a million years.
“You are just trying to scare me.”
“Damn right.”
I marched to the washroom before I could think about it. I was going to win this little confrontation. I was going to surprise her. I could do this and – a rollercoaster ride – I would have. There was nothing she could do to stop me. With trembling hands, I took and texted her the image.
Blushing, I returned to my seat, unable to look her in the eye. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I finally looked up to see her. A tear escaped her left eye, “Oh Lilly, what have you done,” she said, brushing it away with the back of her hand.
She took out her phone and did something, finally showing me a strange app on her phone that had my signed consent form and my naked photo in it. It had a big ominous button with clear instructions. ‘Press this button in order to enroll as a participant.’
“This is it lamb-chops, your final chance to back out of this insanity. Do NOT press this button.”
Hesitating briefly, I reached over.
“Lilly, wait…”
I pressed the button, grinning at my show of fearless audacity. Okay I was worried, but hiding it. “So now what?”
“Now we wait. Your application is uploaded to the Administrator and we wait to see if it is accepted.”
“What?! Somebody will see my picture? What the hell Cherry, I thought this was strictly just between the two of us!”
“Hell no… I’m not that creative, or evil. I outsource that shit. Everyone knew I was using the app, my role was to ensure compliance, and help girls make choices they could live with.”
“So… what? Who will see this?”
“I have no idea, but if you do all seven of your tasks then nothing bad will happen.”
“Nothing bad?!”
“Yeah… I’ve seen a few dozen go through this and only one girl failed.”
“Wah…” I coughed. “What happened to her?”
“Well, you know. Her shit got emailed. That’s how it works.”
I felt my face go numb. What did I get myself into? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hasty.
The app beeped. “Your application has been accepted. You have 7 days to complete 7 tasks, then your account will automatically be deleted along with the associated files.”
“So now what?” I asked, my alarm growing.
“Duh, now you do the tasks.”
“What kind of tasks?!”
“NOW you’re asking me?” Cherry shook her head, grinning sympathetically.
“Hey! I’ve been asking you all along.”
“Well now you’ll find out,” Cherry said, morosely.
“Just tell me, for God’s sake.”
“Well since you are my friend, I’m going to let you know everything, in advance.”
“Thanks,” I said, as sarcastically as possible.
“It starts with some light stuff, like streaking the cafeteria. Nude modeling class, playing soccer naked. Stuff like that.”
I started to hyperventilate. “Are you kidding me? You call that light stuff? Is the streaking naked?”
“You better believe it, lamb-chops. How many times did I warn you? How many times?”
I ignored the question. This was way too serious to be messing around. “What is the hard stuff,” I asked her in a quiet voice, sweating suddenly.
“You really don’t want to know.”
I gripped her arm. “Tell me!” I pleaded.
“Let go, you’re going to give me a bruise… fine, I’ll tell you,” Cherry said, looking apprehensive. “Ahh… well… it gets pretty bad but the worst is the last two. A ‘slut’ tattoo on your pussy, after you permanently remove the hair. And a video of yourself masturbating, with your face showing, uploaded to PornTube.”
My frozen shocked face caused her to sit back.
“It’s not that bad. It’s only up until the Administrator approves it, so a few days. Then you can take it down. Also you can use some anonymous account that nobody you know will likely see.”
I was in shock. “tattoo… pussy… permanent… masturbating…”
Cherry patted my shoulder. “Look, it won’t kill you. Probably put nipples on your chest. After all this, you will be fearless. You… will… be… Amazing!”
I couldn’t take it anymore, and started bawling. “I don’t want to be amaaaaziiiing!” I cried. After sniffling for a bit, I gave her a serious look. “I’m not doing any of it. Fuck em.”
“That’s my girl. I was hoping you would say that. Come to your senses. That’s why I let you know everything in advance.”
I was pretty sure I hated her now. “Thank you,” I said, my words dripping with sarcasm.
Cherry perked up. “Wait. There is one way to get this whole thing to go away.”
“What?” I asked desperately, hope filling my chest.
“The app has one alternative, if you agree to one mega task, more serious and intense than all the others combined. But we can specify exactly what it is, limit your exposure.”
“R… eally?” I asked, my brain spinning. “Like what?”
“Ahh well… the only thing that worked before was agreeing to be my naked sex slave for the semester.” After seeing my face, she quickly added. “But just when in my room. So limited exposure.”
“That’s my choice? Oh my God.” It was definitely a better option than doing those 7 tasks. And I liked Cherry, but this was all a little fast.
Cherry batted her eyes a little. “So… what will you choose?”
“I… ah…”
“It won’t be so bad. You will always be naked, cuddling me, kissing my neck. It will be fun!”
“Do I really have to be naked when we do that? What? Why are you smiling?”
She grabbed me, and pulled me into a big hug. “God, you are so precious, lamb-chops” she laughed. “Don’t you remember what I’m minoring in?”
“I dunno, computer science?”
“Bingo. What? You still don’t get it? I pulled a fast one on you lamb-chops. The website and app… all fake. Just tools I used to use.”
Sitting back, I suddenly punched her in the arm about as hard as I could.
“Ouch!” She winced, “That’s DEFINITELY going to leave a bruise.” She looked at me with that stupid grin. “So wanna cuddle up to a movie tonight?”
I couldn’t believe the gall. “Did you really… do that to those girls?”
“The app helped. But no, not tattoos or anything that crazy. I totally exaggerated. Sorry, you were annoying me. You should have seen your face!”
I punched her again. “Delete that photo immediately!”
She winced. “Not on your life lamb-chops! That’s the price for being so naive. So movie?”
“Whatever, I get to pick this time,” I mumbled, looking up into her big goofy grin.
This story is exactly 2000 words, on the nose, according to google docs. It wasn’t easy cramming all this into 2k, but it was an excellent exercise – having to constantly choose what to keep or toss. Something we rarely do enough of when we write our larger stories.
I can’t believe it ended this way. What about choosing alternate endings. That way we can read about the hazing events over 7 days and the sex slave semester events.
An interesting read for an intro.
haha… an alternate ending? Like what, for example?
Of the four sentences in my post you only read the second one?
Good catch Steven. I read that a little quickly and was thinking the only of possible alternate endings that would have fit into the 2k limit. So one possible alternate ending could have been Cherry choosing to not tell Lilly that it was all a ruse. But in this story, Cherry is working hard to cleanup her past and focus on the future. So if we wanted something a bit more wicked (and drawn out) in that manner that you are looking for – then it would have to be a prequel.
Boy, my mind raced through so many possibilities of what Cherry may have to do between the known “Streak the Cafeteria” and “permanently remove all pubic hair and get a tattoo with the word ‘slut’ in that most sensitive of places.”
The story was most arousing and Cherry was quite realistic. My only complaint was that it would have made a great novel rather than a short story. (LOL – just teasing.)
Once again you showed us all how a short story can be both entertaining and brief.
I submit “the most imaginative plot award;” The innovative use of IT technology award” and “The erotic visuals award.” I loved the title as well – Cherry Bomb.
Nice job.
Hooked6
Yep… with that much extreme gap, endless possibilities for Lilly. Thanks, yeah Cherry doesn’t like having her buttons pushed, obviously. Haha… but knowing you, I think you would have preferred a prequel novel, rather than expand this particular story. Thanks for the Awards. I also really liked the title.
Public Demand Prequel Award
That’s actually not a bad idea.
I like how you achieve the fantasy of public stripping without ever having the character actually strip in the open. It’s just entirely a mind thriller between the two people.
So um…
“Free your mind / It’s all in your head” award.
“You’re your own worst enemy” award.
Thanks tenyari, those are fitting awards. Yes, this was certainly a mind thriller that could have gone a number of different ways. Also, we will never know, how close Lilly came to being Cherry’s toy for months or what exactly got Cherry kicked out. At least Cherry has a little token for her efforts that will have Lilly blushing for days.
Just a friendship? Award
Rollercoaster ride Award
Every bit as badass as her reputation indicates Award
Pushing the limits of 2000 words Award
The tasks Cherry was talking about seriously stretched believability, but then it all makes sense in the end. I had no idea it was going this direction. Well, written. Now I wonder what their next movie night is going to be like, and will Cherry still use the photo as leverage of some sort? I’m not too worried about it though, since it’s obvious she cares about Lilly’s wellbeing so much.
Just a friendship? I think it’s fair to say that likely enough seasoning has been applied to this already spicy salad, to make it editable. Thanks for the awards Cave. Yes, it was a wild ride thanks to that badass reputation.
The 2k limits were a bit strained. I wish it was a tad bit more subtly communicative, like your writing manages, and fluffed out the pacing a bit to make it richer and breathe better, like Blair does. Add in better body language along with more interesting dialog sentences (less talking heads) – like CountryMouse prefers… and then it would have been perfect. But then it would have been 3k, at least.
Yeah, I was hoping her past reputation would help believability. I did wonder if it would be stronger if toned down a bit. I experimented in early drafts going either way, hopefully this was the sweet spot. That said, it was a ruse, so believability is less important in the end, but does it hurt the middle? Regardless, I’m glad that it surprised you.
Haha… considering the relationship, it’s more likely Lilly can use the photo as leverage. And considering what Cherry forced Lilly to imagine and kinda agree too, a lot has been filling Lilly’s head recently. That said, Lilly is likely unlikely to play with any more fire for the next while, so she might have to settle with a simmering imagination while Cherry subtly, playfully pushes her, as usual.
Foolish Leap Award, Twisty Twists Award.
With Cherry’s punishment, almost anything from her is plausible. Lilly’s naivete is a slightly bigger push but we’ve all known someone who gets an idea and runs with it.
I especially like the ending, where a nice future is in for the couple.
Thanks for the Awards. Yep, Cherry briefly considered a darker more selfish ending to this. Lilly was pushing all kinds of buttons, and pulling her back into that older mindset that she worked hard to escape from. That said, Lilly is such an easy target that it was hardly worth a heavy hand. They were already gravitating in a good direction, and well, Lilly is just so gosh darn cute that the rewards would be much better earned fairly, with a pure heart. Which is something refreshingly new to Cherry, and precious. Especially, with how much Lilly is willing to fight for her honour. She’s not sure she deserves it, but it sure feels good and she doesn’t want to lose it. So the final decision was easy to make.
Hi ReaderMan,
I really enjoyed your story.
What a pity you didn’t answer the “Seven Chapters Award”, I would have been pleased with the last ones.
I also liked tenyari’s “You’re your own worst enemy” award, so a “Vanilla Submission Award” is the least I can award for the 7 tasks she could have completed!
Helen.
Thank you Helen… haha… I totally knew that you would be disappointed, but… it was the best I could do with a completed 2k story. The focus was feeling, not actual actions. Technically speaking, in a story, feeling is more important. At least, that’s what I always say.
In the beginning I had no idea where the plot was going. When it was about the PornTube video, I got suspicious. But only after the “be my naked sex slave for the semester” I was on the right track.
As someone mentioned before, apart from the full frontal nude photo everything just takes place in their imagination. That’s a clever idea, I like this.
What I also liked is that apparently Cherry cares a lot about Lilly, so all those scary things were just mentioned to scare Lilly and teach her a lesson. I don’t think she was in any real danger. Although I wonder what Cherry made the other girls do. So Cherry is somewhat dangerous; Lilly better shouldn’t piss her off.
Cherry had a lot of fun at Lilly’s expense and even got a naked pic of “lamb-chops”. So a total win for her.
and then
LOL. Yes, sure, a naked sex slave just for cuddling…
Lilly addressed Cherry already “yes, ma’am” in the beginning of the story, so there might be more in it for Cherry…
Thanks Arthwys. I like that you usually sense what’s going on just below the surface. You rarely miss a subtle detail. The ‘yes, ma’am’ in the beginning was naturally occurring, and was definitely noticed by Cherry. One could almost say it was a like a blood drip into the water with a shark nearby. That said, luckily Cherry thinks highly of Lilly, not at all like prey. Still, it’s not wise to pod a shark too much, even if it’s very fond of you… as Lilly has likely learned. Fortunately the reaction wasn’t too much damage, just a love bite – a naked photo and a BIG scare.
Nice little story. Established the character personalities and dynamics pretty quickly, which is always one of my struggles. I figured the story would end the way it did, as this is one of those times where the content type tags at the top of the story kind of gives it away…so I expected cute and fun instead of something more dark or blackmailey.
Very Imaginative core conceit too with the app. I could def read a longer story about the premise, particularly one that focuses on a protag being into thrilling, high risk adventures that feel almost out of their control (which clearly isn’t lamb chops lol), or even a prequel with Cherry. But it’s not needed to enjoy this one shot, which is the hallmarks of a good short story, I think. Leave em wanting more.
Thanks Kinsey. This one was a lot of fun to write, and I was lucky enough to have help with editing as well – which I deeply appreciate my friends for.
Oh man, the content tags? haha… good detective work!
I actually outlined a prequel. It will be the ‘real’ story behind Cherry’s downfall. But an Emi chapter (or two) is the next priority so the ‘Cherry Bomb Prequel Story’ will have to come sometime later.
This short little story really cooks along. That was even more evident to me now reading it a second (possibly third) time. ReaderMan puts every word to good use. Maybe that’s the purpose of a contest with restrictive rules such as this — a writer can’t be lazy and indulge in wasted sentences. Here’s a quick example from the second paragraph:
This tells us a great deal about the Cherry-Lilly relationship. The second part of that lets readers know that Cherry (presumably a lesbian) has set her sights on Lilly. The first part, the shivers, indicates that her efforts are having some effect. Lilly, to me, seems straight and yet, maybe, just maybe, Cherry will be successful. So there — I just proved my point. It took me more than three times RM’s word count to explain all that he accomplished with just a snippet or two.
Admittedly, I circled back to this story because it has nagged at me that I did not manage a comment during the time frame of the contest (although I did read the story then). Right away, I thought of the award that I needed to give ReaderMan. It was going to be:
The ‘It’s about time you entered one of your own flippin’ contests AWARD.
But even if I came back to right a wrong, I was well rewarded. This story has aged very well, which is to say that it is probably better on second read than first. It is so enjoyable watching Lilly get herself into trouble. She’s so self-assured!
Oh, Lilly — “over a month,” lol! That is clearly enough time — no reason to be at all concerned about what you might be getting yourself into.
And Cherry is so confident, so resolved.
Everything about Cherry is delightful. Such a fun character!
Oh, but does this story ever get scary — for Lilly — lamb-chops as Cherry calls her. Somewhere in there, I was trying to recall the ‘like lambs to slaughter’ parable. Is Cherry actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
I won’t go into any more detail. You’ve either read the story or you haven’t. But — if you haven’t, do yourself a favor and give Cherry Bomb a try. In the immortal words of Cherry herself, it will…
“Blair
This story has been in the world for 6 months and I am just now seeing it. I like that this is more about potential embarrassment instead of actual cruelty. It is much more fun to watch Lilly blush at what might happen, and have to admit her crush on Cherry. No actual nudity, but very sexy.