Bankrupt Ch. 03

"My name is Amanda Doyle, and I am a slave."

My words sparked are round of polite greetings from the circle of strangers in front of me. Their words felt hollow, but were sincere enough. Unlike most people these days, there was no undercurrent of contempt. Understandable, since every one of them was just as enslaved as me.

Today was my first meeting of the school's "Support For Unemancipated Students" group. It met the second Tuesday of every month, and my attendance was mandatory for the rest of the school year.

There were forty or so of us altogether, and even a quick glance showed a clear division in the room. Even at first glance, there was a clear division in the room. Looking out, I could see at least three distinct groups in the room.

The largest of the three was remarkable only for its unremarkability. They looked like perfectly normal students, no different from any other college student you might. I could have passed them in the hall, and I would have never known they were chipped. In fact, I think I did recognize one or two from class, and had no idea that had been slaves all along.

The second group wasn't so fortunate. Their clothing was so obviously old and secondhand, given only the absolute essentials needed to get by. Their owners were in it for the money, I guessed, gambling that their purchase would earn enough to make up for their expensive education.

Shortsighted idiots, as far as I was concerned. The chips could do a lot, but they weren't omnipotent. No matter how hard they worked, a happy, healthy student was going to be more successful than one living in squalor. Even if money was all they cared about, a few creature comforts would go a long way toward recouping their investment. Given how much they had already paid, a few extra dollars for clothes and food would have paid dividends later.

The third group was all too sickeningly familiar. In them I saw everything I had been living since that first awful morning. I could see it in their dress, their demeanor, they were just like me. The others were dressed normally, or even modestly, but not us. We were dressed to show off the one thing our owners prized most: our bodies. More than a few of us bore obvious signs of enslavement, collars or cuffs, or whatnot. I still wore mine, even if Victor had allowed me to forgo the leash for now. I wasn't the only one.

They were an eclectic bunch, whose clothing was as unique and eccentric as anything I had seen. Take that guy in the front row, for example. He wore an absolutely ridiculous looking silk shirt whose open V front was cut almost to the bottom. His pants were so tight that I couldn't help but commiserate. I may not have had balls myself, but his larger than average bulge was so constrained it made me wince. He was in ridiculously good shape, though. If I'd have met him back when I was free, I'd have probably chuckled at his ridiculous outfit, but only after checking out his abs. I've seen tables less solid than those things. A shame I didn't really feel much anymore when I looked at guys.

Besides Victor, that is.

The girl next to him was also like us. Her outfit wasn't quite as slutty as mine, but still left little to the imagination. Her long, skintight leggings may not have revealed as much as the short skirts I normally wore, but they left little to the imagination. Speaking of well toned abs, her midriff was totally and completely bare, and it was impressive.

There weren't that many of us, we were the smallest of the three groups, but we sure stood out in a crowd.

If I'd expected some kind of mutual commiseration, I was sorely disappointed. Five minutes in, and it was clear that this group existed to reinforce the system. After the initial meet and greet, we sat down for a long, dull speaker that talked at seemingly unending lengths about "contentious service". I would have zoned out completely, but something in the way he described obedient servitude really got me worked up. I bit my lip and tried to deny it, but the thought of obedience was really making me horny.

I shifted in my chair, wondering if I could excuse myself for a couple minutes of alone time without getting in trouble.

"Hot, isn't it?"

I looked over to see a girl dressed like a cat slip into the formerly empty chair next to me. Her outfit was ridiculous, a patterned, skintight full body jumpsuit with a long tail trailing off the back. It should have been uncomfortable to sit with, but she managed to slip into the chair without it getting tangled up underneath. Practice, I suppose. She wore a set of cat ears atop her head, and if I looked closely in the darkened room, I swore I saw whiskers painted on her face.

"Go ahead, it's ok," she whispered. "No one's going to notice."

She couldn't possibly mean- but then I looked down and saw that her own hands had slipped down to her lap.

"I can't," I hissed, just a bit too loud, "It's too weird."

"Why do you think they turn down the lights?"

"There's no way that-"

But then I looked. It was hard to tell, in the dim light, but she was correct. Not everyone was touching themselves. In fact, most weren't, but we weren't the only ones getting turned on by the talk.

Even so...

"I don't know..."

"Here, let me help you."

"Wait, I-"

But her hands had already slipped over mine, guiding them between my legs. A moment's hesitation, and then my fingers pushed into my slick opening. I looked around, sure that the others would catch me, but no one even noticed. For the most part, all eyes were on the speaker, staring in rapt attention as if his dull lecture was the most mindblowing thing in the world.

"Way more interesting this way, isn't it?" she said as her fingers pushed aside the tight lycra covering her crotch.

My head swiveled about, sure that at any moment people would turn in shock. But if I was hoping to make a scene, I was in for a disappointment.

I still couldn't believe I was doing this. That I had even considered frigging myself off in a crowded room was a sign of how much I had already changed. Actually going through with it would have been unthinkable once, and yet here I was.

Worse still was what got me off now. I wasn't just playing myself in public, I was playing with myself as a speaker lectured me about how to be a better slave. That should have been a thing of horror, but it was way too hot for any outrage. With each pulling stroke of my pussy, I thought about all the humiliations Victor had forced upon me, both great and petty, and gasped as they drove me to new heights of pleasure.

I hated this, just as I hated him, but I could not deny that being Victor's obedient sex pet brought an erotic charge beyond anything I had ever felt. Just being in the same room with him was enough to put me on edge, and actually carrying out his will, no matter how degrading, was like a thousand teasing caresses spread across my body.

At some point, her hand returned to my lap, and mine to hers. Together, we pleasured one another to blissful thoughts of absolute servitude. The speaker ended and lights came back. I hurried to clean up the puddle on my chair, having long since started carrying a towel for just such an occasion.

"Wow," I said, still a bit in shock. "I can't believe that just happened."

She laughed.

"Why do you think I come here every month?"

"Dunno, I didn't have any choice."

"Well I do, but I still show up. Wanna bet that you'll do the same?"

"Bet what? They already took everything from me."

"We'll think of something," she said with a sly grin.

"No bet," I told her.

"Darn."

"I'm Amanda," I said, reaching out. Least I could do was a handshake and introduction, considering that I'd already fingered her.

"I know," she said.

"Oh right, the whole meet the newbie thing at the start."

"That'd be it," she laughed.

He hand wrapped around mind, and I tried not to think about the slight damp on it. Mine probably wasn't any better.

"My name's Katherine," she said, "Kat, to my friends."

I looked her outfit up and down. In open light, it was even more outlandish than I'd realized. Her bodysuit was patterned in overlapping stripes that covered her entire body, save for a white patch around her belly, but were styled in such a way as to accentuate her breasts and hips. Her face did indeed have whiskers painted on the cheeks. Not just that, but her nose was painted as well. Even her eyes were changed, with colored lenses that made them look more catlike.

"Is your name seriously-"

"Yes, it really is," she said flatly. "Nevermind that I was class president and valedictorian. The sole reason I could afford a good college was because a spoiled rich girl wanted a sexy kitty, and my name happened to sound like 'Cat'."

"That's..."

"Sad? I know."

"I was going to go with awful," I told her.

"I'm used to it."

"Don't take this the wrong way," I said, "but that's the first time I've heard a single word of criticism today. Everyone else seems to buy into this whole messed up system."

"Hey, I call em like I see em. I adore my mistress, and I'd do absolutely anything for her. But holy crap is that girl spoiled."

"Right..."

I thought of my own "master", and all of his myriad flaws. Spoiled was there, but it was just the beginning. Maybe Kat's situation wasn't so bad. Though from the way she was dressed, I think "spoiled" might be an understatement.

"Come on, let's meet the others."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the back of the room, where a fairly decent refreshment table was laid out. Most of the Neglecteds were off on the far end scoping out the punch and sweets, but Kat led us down by the fruit and veggies, where we found the bare chested guy I'd seen earlier munching on a celery stalk.

I felt out of place here. Even with the outlandish clothing, they were all so incredibly attractive, both the men and the women. Why shouldn't they be? That's what they'd been chosen for, after all. What was I doing here? I wasn't some breathtaking beauty like they were. I might dress like them, and serve like them, but only because my owner was a sadistic prick I'd been stupid enough to jilt once.

Mmmm... Victor's prick. I shook my head, trying to clear away that annoyingly persistent image. I'd seen more than enough of it to last a lifetime, and yet I still kept wanting more.

Kat introduced us.

"Brian, this is Amanda. Amanda, Brian."

I reached out to shake his hand, but instead he enveloped it gently and brought it to his lips.

"Enchanted, madame," he said. I giggled, rolling my eyes, but a part of me was touched. It had been a long time since anyone had shown me that sort of gentile respect. If the chip hadn't damped down my attraction to every man who wasn't Victor, I think I might have found the gesture something other than amusing.

"Brian likes to consider himself a charmer," Kat said.

"I'll have you know that I was quite the ladies man, once."

"Right, keep telling yourself that," Kat said. "And this is Sue. She and Brian are something of an item."

"Oh?" I said looking between the two of them in surprise.

Although both were incredibly good looking in their own way, they were something of a mismatched set. Brian had all the buff size of a full time bodybuilder, and the height to match. Sue was at least a third of a meter shorter than me, and was more than a little petite. Besides, if they were keyed like me and Kat...

"I hadn't gotten the impression that your kind - I mean, our kind were allowed to-"

"Mistress like to watch us fuck," Sue broke her silence in a blunt deadpan. She made no other acknowledgement of my presence.

"Sue used to be a raging lesbian," Kat told me, earing a glare from the smaller girl. "Wouldn't even accept the contract unless she picked the owner herself. Lucky for her she was good enough to be choosy. Unlucky that the smoking hot girl she chose turned out to be a committed bisexual with a voyeuristic streak miles wide."

She nodded fiercely, but for all that didn't move from his side. Whatever she told herself, I suspected that there was more to the relationship than she was willing to admit.

"So what about you?" Brian asked. "How are you liking your master so far?"

From the interested look he was giving me, I could tell that his desires towards the opposite sex hadn't been tapered down.

"I hate him," I said, earning more than a few shocked looks.

"How's that work?" Kat asked, "I know it can be a bit rough at first, but-"

"We knew each other. Before all this, I mean. He kept hitting on me, but even then I couldn't stand him. When I had to sell myself, I thought I knew what I was getting into, but I never imagined that it would be him."

"Poor you," Kat said sardonically, "I bet that didn't stop you from cumming your brains out the first time, did it?"

I blushed, but she was right.

"Grow up, Kat," Brian scolded her. "Remember how my first night went?"

"That's because you're just a giant drama queen," she said.

Brian just rolled his eyes.

"Well you were."

"What happened?" I asked.

"He made a huge ass of himself," Kat said, but then she kissed him on the cheek and I could see in Brian's expression that there were no hard feelings. Instead they treated it something like a joke, albeit one they'd all heard before.

"Growing up, I always dreamed of being an athlete," he began. "I was the big man in town, local hero, always picked first for every sports team. All my life knew that one day I was going to hit it big and be the star on every holovid. Sure, I'd have to get chipped to make it through school, but as long as you're a starter that barely matters. Just an extra push to help focus on your workouts and keep out of trouble. No sweat, really."

"So what happened?" I asked. He shrugged, an act that sent his thin shirt slipping off to the side.

"Didn't cut it. Turns out that the best in my little town still wasn't good enough for the big leagues. I was pretty down when that happened, thought my life had just ended. I'd staked everything on making it to the next level, only to fail. But then a buddy of mine had this bright idea. There's still a way to go through college, he tells me. See, I may not have been good enough to play, but I was still in really great shape. Not bad looking, if I say so myself. There are other ways I can use my body to go through school, he says. Not as good as being a player, but I'd still be loaded once I graduate and earn my fee back."

He chuckled darkly.

"Not sure what I thought was going to happen. In my head, I guess I was picturing some wealthy heiress looking for a younger boytoy. Pictured myself lounging shirtless by the poolside next to some hot middle aged woman who still rocked a smoking bikini bod. Instead I wake up and learn that I'm about to start sucking dick for a living.

"I flipped out. Went mental and started knocking shit over. I refused to go with them, told them to take the chip out, told them there was no way I would ever get with some man. They tried to calm me down, but I wasn't having any of it. Until they called him in.

He paused, reminiscing, and despite the sorrowful tone of his speech I saw him harden through his skin tight pants.

"You have to understand. Growing up, I was always the biggest, strongest kid around. The leader, the guy who takes charge. I didn't really think about it, I just took it for granted. So understand when I say that I had never been so utterly intimidated as I was when he walked in that room. From the moment I saw him, I knew that he was someone I couldn't browbeat, who I could never, in my wildest dreams, ever hope to challenge.

"He was hot, too, and wasn't that a shock. Look, I'd never had any trouble with folks who swung that way. More ladies for me, right? But it simply wasn't for me. Women were hot, women found me hot, that was the natural order of things. The end.

"But just one look at him, and boom- I had never lusted so hard after anyone.

"I sucked him off right there in the recovery room, in front of all the doctors and nurses. It was... incredible. Like nothing I had ever imagined. After he finished cumming in my mouth, he made me go up to each and every person in the room and offer myself to them. None of them took him up on it, some nonsense about medical ethics and whatnot, but it was still pretty humiliating. Hot as hell, too, but that's beside the point. After that we went back to his place, and he fucked me in the ass. I loved it."

"Then you know," I said, "You know how fucked up this all is."

He reached up and tousled my hair until a scowl put an end to that.

"You're missing the point," he told me. "I loved it, even that first time. I love everything about it. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. All those twisted notions I started with just kept me from realizing just how wonderful servitude actually was. You're lost and you're scared and you don't understand what is happening to you, but I'm trying to tell you that it's all going to be ok. We've all been there, and we got over it. Another few weeks, and you'll understand. Before you know it, you'll be glad that it happened."

Around me, the others looked in expectantly, their gazes judging, and in a way, almost pitying. I laughed nervously, and nodded my head.

"We'll see," I said, trying to inject enthusiasm that I didn't feel.

"That's the spirit," Kat said, the broad grin returning to her face. She pulled me in for a hug.

"Whatever brought you here," she said, "we're glad to have you."

There was the trap.

I liked these people, liked them in a way that I really shouldn't. Coming here today, the last thing I had expected was to make friends, but I found in these people a welcome acceptance I hadn't realized I yearned for. A few platitudes aside, my old friends had abandoned me soon after my change. Some had scorned me, and others had avoided me as if slavery was suddenly contagious. A few acted like they wanted to stay friends, but they were too afraid of what the others would think. One by one, they all went away. Except Adam, but I had done everything in my power to push him away. There was a gaping hole in my life, and these people could fill that for me.

Part of me wanted what was offered, hungry for that lost sense of belonging. Humans are social creatures, and I am no exception. It would feel good to have friends again, a group that would welcome me and accept me, even in the face of everything that had happened. These people would welcome me wholeheartedly if I let them.

Then, one encouraging step at a time, they would convince me to become Victor's plaything entirely. Mind, body, and spirit.

There was no support to be had here, not if I wanted to remain myself. They would see me reduced to Victor's unthinking love slave, and call it an act of kindness. I wanted to like them, but there was absolutely no way I could trust them.

If I wanted help, real help, then it couldn't come from them. But if I couldn't find salvation in friendship, then maybe I could find it in someone who wanted to use me.

I remembered a card I had thrown away, and a number I had memorized. I sent my message.

The old library was rarely crowded, and today was no exception. The clerk at the front desk gave my outfit a funny look, but shrugged it off and went back to her reading. The few students around were scattered across the common room tables, and most didn't bother to look up. A reminder that however dire my situation was, the world didn't revolve around it. Life went on, and classes continued to assign schoolwork. If they even knew about me, there were still other things going on with their life that didn't involve gawking.

It was a refreshing break, I suppose, from being a spectacle of mockery. Yet at the same time, it raised in me a profound sense of isolation. My life had been ruined forever, and not one of them cared. Nobody was going to save me. Nobody but myself.