Women's Studies Ch. 04

"Don't worry about it," I said, dismissing her apology with a wave of my hand. Then leaning towards her over the table, "How was it?"

"As good as you've imagined," Kennedy said with a huge grin. "Unpracticed, sure, but I think that just made it even better," she mused.

We sat in silence, both of us probably reliving last night, but with different perspectives. Eventually Kennedy ordered a coffee for herself and we both got something to eat.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Kennedy asked.

"Yeah, a bit nervous though," I admitted.

"It's a piece of cake," she assured me. "We go in. We come out."

"Sure, just add in a few felonies there in the middle parts and everything's dandy," I joked.

"It's only illegal if you get caught," Kennedy quipped.

"What's illegal?" Abigail asked, scaring us both.

We had been so caught up in our conversation, neither of us had seen her approach. Kennedy and I were both shocked into silence, staring from one another and then back to Abigail.

"Um...nothing. Illegal?" Kennedy asked bluffing.

Abigail wasn't buying it though. Worse, she looked hurt by our deception.

"Why didn't you guys say you were coming here?" she asked, forcing a smile back onto her face.

I wasn't fooled. We were all friends, and we'd had a really fun time last night, and now it must have looked like we'd cut her out of our breakfast plans. Even worse, her relationship with Kennedy had...grown last night. I felt like crap. We weren't trying to cut her out of anything, we just couldn't really bring people into our future felonies.

"Hey! Sit with us!" I said, motioning to the seat next to me and waving for a server. "Great minds think alike! First Kennedy, and now you?"

I didn't know if she was buying the coincidence explanation, but she did sit with us.

"So, what is it that's illegal?" Abigail asked again.

"Oh nothing. I'm not even sure I remember what we were talking about now," Kennedy said casually as the server walked up.

After the server left with Abigail's order, she dropped a bomb on us. "Does it have anything to do with why the two of you have spent every night sitting in a car in front of the Administration building? Or why you two always clam up whenever someone gets close?"

Kennedy and I were at a loss for words yet again. How did she know all of this? It wasn't much, but it was enough to start causing problems. I thought we were being careful. Obviously, we hadn't been. I began to wonder who else might have noticed?

"So, what's in there?" Abigail asked.

"In where?" I asked, truly confused this time. My mind was still racing, and I was having trouble following her train of thought.

"In the Admin Building," she replied calmly.

Trying to avoid looking guilty, I kept my eyes on the table. I wanted to tell her, but it was Kennedy's secret. I trusted Abigail, but she was raised differently, she might not understand why we were willing to break the law.

"My file," Kennedy blurted out.

"Why do you want your file?" Abigail asked, confused. "Are you trying to change a grade?" she hissed, leaning in conspiratorially.

"No, nothing like that," Kennedy assured. "I don't want to change anything, I just need to find out who payed my tuition and got me into this school in the first place."

"I thought you received a scholarship," Abigail said.

"No, someone pulled strings to get me in here, and then they paid my entire tuition up front," Kennedy explained reluctantly. "There should be some record in my file of who it was."

"Who would pay for you to go here, and how come you don't know," Abigail asked. "Why is it so important anyway? It's a free education for you."

"Because it was my dad," Kennedy said after a long silence. After that she explained everything. She told Abigail how she'd never known who he was, and even her mother had kept it a secret from her. He was an important person, and powerful, but it had been an affair. He had made sure that Kennedy and her mother had been well taken care of, but she still had a deep need to know who he was. When he had manipulated her into going to school here with a trust fund, she saw her opportunity. Without the grades to get in on her own, he must have pulled some strings, and then he had to pay for it on top of that. This was her chance to find him. If he paid, there had to be a record of it.

"Wow! That's intense!" Abigail exclaimed. "So, you two are going to sneak in? When?"

Kennedy looked from Abigail, to me, and then back. "Tonight."

"Can I help?" Abigail asked, excited.

"What?" Kennedy and I asked together.

"I want to help! This sounds like so much fun!" she continued. "I've never done anything like this before. What do we do? How do we get in? Where are the files at?"

"Whoa! Slow down!" I said. She was talking so fast, with so many questions. "You do realize we could go to jail for this, right? Breaking and entering, trespassing, possible theft, not to mention some serious privacy laws. We're not talking a slap on the wrist. We're looking at expulsion at the very least and more than likely some prison time depending on how far we get."

"I really want to help!" Abigail pleaded.

There was an awkward silence before Kennedy acceded. "Okay, you can help. But if your dad comes to me, angry that I got you mixed up in this shit, I'm going to tell him you were too thick to be turned away. I really don't need those kinds of problems."

"Well at least I know what this was all about now," Abigail said smiling once again. "One minute you guys were hot, and the next cold. I was wondering if it was something I had done wrong."

"We really didn't want to bring anyone else into this, especially you," Kennedy explained. "It wasn't that we didn't trust you, we didn't want to put you into a position where you could get into trouble."

"Do we get code names?" Abigail asked, brushing past Kennedy's apology excitedly. "Can I be Rogue?"

"What? No, we don't need any-" I started.

"Ooh! Dibs on Black Widow!" Kennedy interrupted. "Seriously though, Rogue?"

"From the X-Men," Abigail said quietly, defending her choice. "I've always liked her."

"Why do we need code names?" I asked. These two were definitely not taking this seriously.

"Come on Lexi! It's fun!" Kennedy pleaded with a smile.

Both Kennedy and Abigail were looking at me expectantly with these excited smiles on their faces. I swear, the last time I had seen that kind of playful joy had been before Audrey had started high school. I couldn't help but give in.

"Okay! Fine!" I relented. "I'll go with Bat Girl, though I don't know why we need code names in the first place."

"Because it's fun, party pooper," Kennedy explained, sticking out her tongue at me.

We shared the whole plan with Abigail and spent the rest of the day in our room doing girly things like painting our toes and reading girl magazines. As the day went on, I regretted having ever kept our secret from her. I still didn't think she was taking this seriously enough, but she did have a way of taking the pressure off. I could even see more of that change in her that I caught a glimpse of earlier. I didn't know if it was a byproduct of her intimate time with Kennedy last night, or the secret we all now shared, but I couldn't remember seeing her this bubbly before.

She had a beautiful, rich laugh, something she held back before. I even noticed a change in her posture. Usually proper and a little stiff, she now looked more relaxed. We had some serious bonding time, the three of us.

As the time drew near though, our minds were drawn back to the task at hand.

I love clothes. I love that as a girl I have so many options to make myself look pretty. But one thing I found thoroughly amusing was watching Abigail and Kennedy spend twenty minutes trying to decide what they were going to wear to a B&E.

"You can't wear that top with those pants, the fabrics clash," Abigail said.

"Are you sure? I think it looks great, especially with this belt," Kennedy said, twisting around in front of the mirror.

"Let's see what other tops we have to work with," Abigail said, moving back to the closet.

"Ladies! Does it matter if it matches?" I asked. "The whole point of this is to not be seen. Unless she gets caught, no one is going to know if she wore any clothes at all."

"No, that is not a challenge Kennedy, so put that idea out of your head," I said when I saw Kennedy's eyes light up. I've gotten to know how her mind works, and I needed to head that one off at the pass.

*** *** ***

An hour before time, we were all sitting in Kennedy's car with a clear view of the Admin Building. It was dark, and I was beginning to feel a hint of a chill, signifying the hopeful end to a dreadful Phoenix summer. It was either that, or a bad omen.

We waited patiently, drumming our fingers and tapping our feet on various surfaces of the car, and after about forty checks of the clock on my phone, it was time. Any moment now, the security guard would be passing by to go on his break. One minute passed, then five. Finally, seven minutes after he was supposed to start his break, he drove past, heading towards the break room.

"Whew!" Kennedy said watching him drive away. "Let's just hope he takes a little longer on his break to make up for the time.

We exited the car and casually strolled to the sidewalk that ran next to the building.

"Listen," Kennedy said nervously. "I think I should go in alone."

"What?" I asked on top of Abigail's 'why'.

"I don't want you guys to get in trouble, and to be honest, I don't think three of us running around in there will be any faster than one. We all can't type on the same computer at the same time or anything," she explained. "Besides, I would feel a whole lot better if you guys were out here keeping a look out for me."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I really didn't want to let her go in there alone, but she did make a valid point. If we all went in, it would only be for moral support. If we stayed outside, we could be real support, letting her know if someone was onto her so she could make a quick exit.

"Yeah," she said pulling out her Bluetooth. "We can do a group call. Put your earpieces on, that way you guys can let me know if anything starts happening out here."

We set up the group call and made sure we could all hear each other. Abigail and I had to mute each other since we were going to be right next to one another. The echo had made it hard to concentrate.

"Looks like we're ready," Kennedy confirmed. "See that bench over there? Go and sit on that, and let me know if you see anything suspicious."

"You mean more suspicious than a girl dressed in all black breaking into a building?" Abigail whispered.

"Yeah, something like that," Kennedy said, turning towards the building and walking away.

I grabbed Abigail's hand and pulled her along with me to the bench. I had the feeling that she would have rather gone in with Kennedy. We sat on the bench and watched as Kennedy made her way from window to window on the ground floor, checking to see if she could find one that was unlocked. After the sixth window I was beginning to think that this was a bad idea.

"Bingo!" Kennedy whispered into my earpiece as she slid open a window near the north corner of the building. "Looks like an office that's being used as a storage room," she relayed.

I watched as she sat on the window ledge and casually lifted her legs and spun inside. Closing the window behind her, she disappeared from sight. Even in the dark, and from my limited vantage, I got the impression that this wasn't a first time sneaking into a window for Kennedy. Remembering why I was here; I went back to scanning the grounds instead of focusing on where Kennedy had made her entrance.

"Do you see anyone, Abigail?" I asked.

"No. It's so creepy at night," Abigail said with a shiver. "I feel like we're in the middle of some cheap slasher film or something."

"That's exactly what I want to hear while I'm stalking the halls of an old building in the middle of the night," Kennedy said. "Thanks for that, Abigail."

"Sorry," Abigail blushed. "And my code name is Rogue, remember?"

"Fine Rogue, you and Bat Girl just keep an eye out."

"Just keep your clothes on, Black Widow," I advised. "It's always the naked chicks that get killed in those movies."

There was a long silence as Abigail and I waited. We could hear the odd rustling of papers and such through Kennedy's earpiece, but so far, there was no indication of success. I found my knee bouncing nervously as my eyes continued to scan the quad and surrounding areas for any potential threats to Kennedy's search. So far, we hadn't seen another soul, and the complete lack of any other human presence was beginning to make me more nervous than if there had been. Not even a single girl walking to or from the dorms.

"Have you found anything yet?" I asked nervously.

"I'm in the Student Services Center. I just started looking for a log in," Kennedy replied.

"Remember to check under everything. Keyboards, mouse pads, phones, staplers," I reminded her. "If you're having a hard time, try to find an old person's desk. They forget things all the time and have to write them down. It'll be the desk with cat figurines and a lot of really ugly picture frames."

"You know that's a little stereotypical. Not all old people are forgetful," Abigail said.

"Bat Girl you are a genius! Old lady desk had a list of logins and passwords sitting on a post-it right there on the monitor!" Kennedy laughed.

"Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. They might not always be correct, but they usually are," I shrugged.

"You've got about fifteen minutes," I reminded Kennedy after checking my phone.

"Let's see...student files...student files...there they are," Kennedy mused, more to herself than to us. "Okay, I found my file!"

There was another long silence as she looked for her long-awaited answer. The anticipation was killing me. I didn't even realize I was gripping Abigail's hand as we sat together on the bench, still keeping our vigilant watch.

"Did you find it?" Abigail asked anxiously.

She was met by silence. I was trying to figure out if that was bad news, or if Kennedy was just in shock from having found it.

"Shit!" Kennedy hissed over the line. "It's not in here!"

"What? It has to be!" I replied.

"It's not. I'm looking right at it," Kennedy insisted. "All that's here is some alphanumeric number, for all the good that does."

"Take a picture of it and send it to my phone," Abigail said pulling her phone out of her purse.

In no time, the picture made its way to Abigail. After only a short perusal, she figured out what she was looking at.

"It's a reference number, Kennedy," she said, just a little louder than necessary, causing me to look around to make sure no one could hear. "Do a search. Pull up the file directory, and there should be a search field. Make sure you select the option to search file contents as well," Abigail explained. "The file name isn't likely to have the reference number in it, but the file name could tell a lot about what the reference number is."

"That was quick," Kennedy said. "It says Endowment HC Ref."

"HC? Is that hard copy?" I asked.

"I guess so. It would make sense. That kind of information could be sensitive; who donated what, and when. There could be financial information attached to it that they would want to keep secure," Abigail informed.

"Look for a readme file. Looks just like it sounds, one word," I encouraged. It was just a hunch and we were desperate.

"I found it. It says that the files are in Assistant Dean Decker's office!" Kennedy exclaimed.

I could hear some noise as she powered down the computer, and then the unmistakable sounds of running.

"You don't have time Kennedy!" I pleaded.

"I've got five minutes," she insisted. "that's plenty of time. It's only on the second floor."

"We can come back another time!" I tried to reason with her.

"Almost there!" she said, a little out of breath.

My eyes were torn between their frantic watch of the grounds, and the timer on my phone. The seconds seemed to tick away faster and faster. Kennedy now only had a minute and a half left before 2am. She was really cutting it down to the wire.

"Damn!" she hissed after a long silence. "He has a pass code lock on his door!"

"You're out of time! Take a picture of it and get the hell out of there!" I demanded.

Kennedy was so desperate to finally end her search; she was becoming reckless. It was almost hard to blame her. As it was, she was only risking herself, but I really didn't want my friend to be kicked out of school, or worse, for her to go to jail. I could still hear the pounding of her feet as she ran through the building. She was going to make it.

"Too late," Abigail whispered.

I turned my head to see what she was looking at, and my heart clenched. Harold, the old security guard, was headed back out in his golf cart. It would be suspicious enough that Abigail and I were out here at two o'clock in the morning, and add in the fact that he usually just made circuits around the quad, there was almost no way Kennedy would not be noticed when she came back out of the window.

"Harold's heading this way, Kennedy!" Abigail said with a tremble. "What do we do?"

"I'm gonna need a Cold Charlie," Kennedy replied out of breath from running. "I'm almost to the window."

My mind was racing. I needed a distraction. In a few moments, Harold would pass the east side of the building, giving him a clear and unobstructed view of every window on the north side, the side that Kennedy was coming out of. I had nothing to throw, and if I did it wouldn't last nearly long enough. We could start a fight, but I really didn't want to hit Abigail, besides it would bring its own disciplinary problems. I just needed something that would draw his attention for a few minutes so that Kennedy would have time to get out of the window, and out of sight before he noticed anything.

"Abigail," I said feeling my heart skip a beat. "Just go with this."

Without any more warning, I kissed her. I tried to sell it as best as I could. At first, I could feel Abigail's protest, but her resolve quickly broke as she began to kiss me back. It was all just for show, but her lips against mine felt electric, causing my heart to kick in my chest. Before I knew what was happening, my hands were on her body, feeling every inch of her that I could reach. I had dreamed about this. Every day I saw her amazing form nearly naked, either for a moment, or sometimes much longer, as she would do her make up or search for something to wear.

I was shocked to feel it when her hands began to follow my lead. I smoothly laid her down on the bench, sliding myself between her legs. Our lips grasped at each other's, and our tongues danced between them. I couldn't resist grinding my hips into Abigail as she squeezed my ass roughly.

"Is it clear yet?" Kennedy asked.

Abigail turned her head to look, giving me access to the smooth pale skin of her neck, glowing in the moonlight. I dove in to lick and suck, teasing her flesh, and causing her to moan as she answered Kennedy.

"Yessss!" she cried out, shockingly loud in the night.

From my vantage, I couldn't see anything but Abigail. I was so caught up in our show, for a moment it became real. Abigail's hands were still roaming my body as I ground into her thinly covered pussy. I was growing hard, but as tightly secured as I was in my pants, it wasn't going anywhere.

"Yes, just like that!" Abigail purred "Keep going baby, you're almost there."