Secrets & Lies

Chapter Ten

The first morning of classes Gia stood looking at herself in the mirror, "Why, God Why?" she asked her reflection over and over again.  She looked stupid!  Oxford's uniform policy while nonnegotiable really needed updating.  For the next five years she was going to have to wear a black skirt, white dress shirt, and a black ribbon tie around her neck, plus this poly-blend robe to her knees and a stupid cap not to mention the black dress shoes. This was really something she should have considered before applying for the fellowship.  Gone were the days of running to class in sweats and tennis shoes because you woke up late.  At least Gia knew every other girl would be dressed exactly the same and the guys would be in similar dress except for they had white bow ties.  Why did these uniforms seems so stiff compared to the ones she had worn in high school not all that long ago?

The first few days were the same as any other school.  You go to class meet the professor and get a syllabus and book list then off you go after an extensive list of expectations and upcoming assignments.  Evenings were reserved for doing the work assigned.  Oxford was less lecture centered and more independent study.  That was not what Gia had experienced before, but it was okay because as an upper classman you don't need much supervision.

The communal dinners were always interesting with everyone from the house gathered.  All twenty of them were in attendance every night as was expected.  The food on the other hand was horrible.  No taste, no spice and just about everything was boiled.  How did these people manage to rule the world for hundreds of years and yet the food had no flavor.  Garlic and peppers must be a foreign concept to these Brits.  Gia began to long for her mother's cooking.  She was thin to begin with, but with this food Gia soon found she was quickly dropping pounds, something Diane thought was great.  Thinner was always better Diane exclaimed and she would know because secretly Gia believed she was an anorexic.

About three weeks into the term Diane met the love of her life John at a house party on the west side of campus.  Thus beginning their weekends of attending parties at houses of other people John and Diane knew.  Every weekend it was a different party in a different location which made Gia think about home and being at Adams State with Mallory and Marcy.  It also made her wonder if all colleges around the world had the same general idea of house parties, where people went to drink and find the love of their life, or at least for the night. Maybe that was the sole purpose of college and not the useless information that they were required to learn on the hopes that one day a graduate would need to know statistics.  Gia didn't always attend these parties stating she needed to study, and as long as she went to the majority of the parties Diane didn't complain.  In mid-November Diane announced they were going to a party at her boyfriend's house that she was helping to host.  His house was not a campus house but an actual house in London.

"I'm not sure I can go.  I have some work to do for my classic literature class." Gia stated.

"I don't bloody well care, you are coming." She declared. "There are going to be a ton of gorgeous men there and Anne has the hot's for one of John's mates and so you are going whether you like it or not.  Plus, we might find you or Janice a nice boyfriend." Diane explained like this was all any girl needed in her life.

"I could use a good shag right about now." Janice declared, "It has been so long since I have been properly shagged."

"I don't need anyone thank you very much." Gia retorted.

"Gia...Gia...Gia, everybody needs a good shag.  It keeps you sane and relaxed.  Wait you're not a virgin are you?  Oh you poor thing, I never even thought to ask." Diane went on.

"Diane, I really need to just concentrate on my classes right now." Gia explained.

"Oh I see you're a lessie."  She stated as a fact she had just realized.

"A what?" Gia asked.

"A lesbian.  Which is fine, there will be other hot girls for you to do stuff with.  I've never really understood it myself but hey we're all open minded so good for you." She said patting her shoulder.

"I'm not a lesbian Diane." Gia stated flatly and calmly.

"Then I don't understand what your problem could possibly be.  You can wear the new outfit we bought last week that I picked out for you and I will let you borrow my black booties which will give you some desperately needed height.  What size shoe do you wear again?"

Gia decided to stop fighting because she was never going to win this battle, and who knows it might be fun. "I'm a 7 1/2 ."

"Can you wear an 8, because I have these shoes that would be perfect with that outfit?"

"An 8 will be fine." Gia agreed

"Oh perfect." She clapped her hands like a mad genius putting an evil plan together.

The next few days flew by with Diane arranging what everyone would wear and what they were going to do and how much fun Saturday night was going to be.  Diane also made Them all go shopping twice because their "style" was ghastly and they needed new wardrobes which included under garments. Gia was trying to be cautious with spending because she was pretty sure her daddy would not appreciate a bunch of new clothes being charged daily.  Gia told Diane she needed to watch how much she spent.  Diane said she understood and proceeded to take Gia to some really nice yet surprisingly reasonable boutiques.  Gia loved shopping as much as any other girl, but Diane made it seem more like a sport.  Diane felt that she had to hunt down the most deserving outfit, an outfit that enhanced every perfect part of her body.  Diane believed that Gia's best assets were her immense breasts.  Diane felt that this attribute would be best showcased and set out to find Gia shirts that exposed or enhanced them.  This included purchasing push up bras and of course no girl can have bras without panties that matched, but no one wore regular panties anymore everyone wore thong underwear.  These by the way were very uncomfortable and hard for Gia to get used to but came in handy when wearing tight pants because no panty lines, obviously those were tacky and tight pants were a must, just ask Diane.