Getting inside the sorority house

Bill headed straight back to his dorm room to go over what he had just heard. A couple of intertwined scandals involving the Dean and a sorority. The proof was most likely in the Delta Delta Delta house itself. How was a guy going to get in there to reconnoiter where the diary could be? He needed some time inside…

Then it hit him. Maintenance. Things broke all the time. And the sorority house was old. Sure it had been updated over the years, but it was essentially a big old mansion. Knowing that his plan needed to be perfect, he was going to take time and make preparations before charging in there.

Over the next few days, his thoughts eventually gelled around posing as a pest control agent. He could gain access to the outside of the house to get a feel for the layout, crawl around areas inside looking for hiding places for the diary, and better yet, would a houseful of women really want to take a chance that the place was crawling with bugs? It seemed like a straightforward plan to him, and he liked it.

Pleased with this idea, he set down to figure out how to pull it off. He had one shot at this. If he screwed it up, campus security would be on his ass. Or, worse, IF the diary was real, and IF the sisters figured out who he was, they could set the administration on him. This caper, because that’s what it had become, had to be perfect.

He’d need something that would pass for a uniform, appropriate equipment to make it look like he knew what he was doing. He’d need some sort of fume mask…not a surgical mask or a Covid mask, a REAL mask for dealing with fumes. Not only would it look good, but it would help disguise his face. He’d need one of those hand held, or maybe a backpack sprayer. Possibly both. Using one of those, even if it was just filled with water, would add to the disguise he’d need some of those white, disposable coveralls, booties, and gloves. He even got creative and, getting some logos off the internet, printed up a fake work order, should anyone ask what he was doing there.

He even decided that he’d need to rent a white van to arrive and leave in. He needed something that would look like he was with a company, but wouldn’t draw a lot of attention… Sure, it was money spent, but exposing this scandal could lead to a big salary in the future. No guts, no glory, right?

Several trips to Wal-Mart and Home Depot later, he had the items he needed. The van rental cost him a chunk of change, but he only needed it for one day.

He carried the stuff out to the rented van in a large duffle bag, making several trips. He didn’t need to be seen with the incriminating evidence should this whole thing go pear shaped. And he didn’t want questions by anyone in his dorm about what he was up to. He could change in the back of the van.

He got into the driver’s seat and started to pull out when he remembered that he hadn’t put anything in his pump sprayer. Cursing, but also realizing his fortune in spotting the flaw, he had to go back into the dorm to get a few gallons of water to fill it with.

Bill climbed back into the driver’s seat and sat there for a few minutes, going over the plan before setting out, wanting to make sure everything was set. He was wary now after almost leaving without anything in his sprayer. He decided that the best thing to do was to just start spraying around the outside of the house like he was supposed to be there… just a guy trying to do his job. Plus, he could already have his mask on helping with his disguise. He slowly pulled out of the parking lot and drove across campus to the Tridelt house.

Parking was a bit of a problem. Parking in the small parking lot near the sorority house seemed like it would draw too much attention, some random van parked among regulars. He decided to park the van in front of the house, like he had every right to park there, and just hope for no ticket or for the van not to be towed once he was done.

He went to the back of the van and folded the work order up and placed it in his chest pocket. He then suited up in his white protective coverall, including a hoodie to hide his hair. He put on the filtration mask, grabbed the pump sprayer, and began spraying water around the perimeter of the house.

The house was old. It had an old cinder block foundation that extended out of the ground for a few rows, then morphed into the stately Greek house of the Tridelts. The white paint, he noticed, was peeling in a few places and probably should be reapplied soon.

Peering through the windows as he went, he could see a large room that he guessed was some sort of formal living room or a lobby. No one was currently in that room, and aside from a few pictures that maybe covered a wall safe, he didn’t see anything that could possibly be the hiding place of the diary.

He turned the outer corner of the house and was looking into a… dining room? Cafeteria was’t the right term it’s wasn’t as big or industrial as a cafeteria. A cafe, maybe? His mind wandered as he suddenly spotted two sorority girls staring right at him as he peered in the window. They got up and quickly left the dining area, making Bill nervous. Were they running to tell someone about the creepy guy in a mask, looking in windows of a sorority? Had they run off to call campus security?

He decided that he needed to get what he came for and get out of there. But to do that, he also needed to head off any calls to security or… he suddenly flashed to having a bunch of large frat bros from the fraternity they hung out with showing up and beating him up…

He swallowed hard and went up to the front door of the sorority and rang the bell. He was beginning to sweat in the coveralls…. Or was it just nerves? He rang the bell again and after another few minutes, a middle aged woman… a definitely attractive MILF… Bill assumed it was the house mother… answered the door. She was dressed in expensive, but rather tight fitting clothes designed to show off her figure And she had a gorgeous figure! He blonde hair cascaded around her perfectly made up face. She had on heels and some expensive looming jewelry. She oozed wealth, and Bill wondered for a moment why she had taken the gig as house mother. He then realized that the moment was stretching into awkward pause territory.

She looked him up and down as he nervously waited, the pause extending. She finally broke the tension with what Bill thought was a sour expression and a disdainful, “Yes?”

“Acme pest control, Ma’am,” he said through the mask. “I’m here to spray for pests.”

The house mother frowned. “I’m sorry. I missed that. Could you please repeat that?”

“Acme pest control, Ma’am…”

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying in that mask, “ she said, an annoyed tone creeping into her voice. She waved a manicure finger to indicate his face. “Take it off and talk to me like a civilized person!”

Bill paused. Taking off the mask wasn’t part of the plan. But on the other hand, if he didn’t, he couldn’t get any feel for the sorority house interior. He swallowed hard and unhooked the mask, let it dangle from his left ear, hoping it would still obscure his face partially.

“Sorry, Ma’am. As I was saying, I’m from Acme pest control. I’m here to spray for pests.”

There was a brief pause before the woman spoke again. “But the pest control company was just here last week…”

Thinking on his feet, Bill replied, “We got a complaint, Ma’am.” He reached into his coverall and fished the fake work order out. He unfolded it and handed it to her. She took it into a well manicured hand.

The house mother glanced at it, then sighed. “Must have been Carly. She’s afraid of houseflies. Come in and get done what you have to do. The sooner you have those chemicals out of here, the better. I assume this extra treatment is covered by our agreement?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Bill said. “There’s no charge for this extra visit.”

She pondered things for a second, nodded slightly, and then stepped aside from the door and ushered Bill into the house. He caught a whiff of… well, to him, a heavenly scent that screamed sexy women… before he snapped out of his reverie and refastened his mask.

“I NEED TO ACCESS THE BASEMENT!” Bill shouted through the mask, trying to make sure the MILF understood him. “AND THE ATTIC, IF THERE IS ONE?”

“Certainly…” she recoiled a bit and asked, “I don’t need to be near you when you…” she again waved her finger over his whole body with a slightly nervous look on her perfectly made up face.

“NO MA’AM! IN FACT I’D PREFER IT IF YOU WEREN’T AROUND.”

“Wonderful,” she replied. “The basement is this way.” She turned on her high heels and walked Bill through the house, over to an old, heavily painted door off of the sitting room he had seen through the window earlier. “Down here.”

She unlocked a door and opened it, then flipped on a light switch with a very loud, “CLICK.” The stairs leading downwards were old, rickety, and led into a dimly lit basement that looked like something out of a horror movie.

“I’ll just wait here,”the MILF said, ushering Bill through the doorway. “Do I need to close this or….” The MILF asked nervously.

Not knowing what awful things lurked below, Bill hesitated to find himself enclosed down there. “YOU CAN LEAVE IT OPEN,” he told her loudly. “THIS WON’T TAKE LONG!”

She nodded and took several steps back as Bill descended into the basement. It was nothing like a horror movie once he got down there. The basement was clean, but old. The lights were a few naked light bulbs that dangled from receptacles on the exposed joists. There were some storage racks with boxes on them, probably holiday decorations, he guessed, a boiler, a furnace…

And holy shit! A big, free standing safe, backed up against one wall, near the boiler.

His hands shook as he pretended to spray the basement. He had to play this cool, spray thoroughly, not rush out. He slowly worked his way over to the safe and checked it out as he sprayed. It was older, like maybe something from a jewelry store. It was massive, almost as tall as he was. It was heavy, and seemingly impenetrable, but he did notice that it was on wheels. It had a combination dial on it and a keyhole, probably an early version of two factor authentication, he thought.

He finished spraying the water around the basement, and tried to tamper down his excitement as he climbed the stairs. Now that he had spotted the diary’s likely hiding place, he just needed to get out of there.

He stepped through the basement door back onto the first floor of the sorority. He hoisted his sprayer at the MILF, who was still waiting there for him. “WELL, I HAVE OTHER CLIENTS…” he shouted to the MILF.

“Weren’t you going to spray the attic as well?” She asked. Bill thought he could hear a hint of suspicion on her voice.

Thinking quickly, Bill shouted through his mask, “YOU NEVER SAID IF THERE WAS AN ATTIC!” He cringed inwardly, immediately after saying it. He sounded just like someone who was trying to shift blame from themselves when caught. He reasoned the MILF wouldn’t like being talked to like that.

The MILF considered his outburst for a moment and then nodded. “You’re right, I didn’t,” she said with a honeyed tone that let Bill know he was instantly on her shit list. He had just fucked up, royally.

She smiled a saccharine smile and said, “Follow me. The door is several floors up.” She led him up three flights of stairs. Bill tried hard not to stare at the few sisters that were around as he was led upwards, worried that the MILF was going to turn on him at any instant.

The MILF stopped before another old door, fished some keys out of a pocket of her jeans, and unlocked the door. “Up you go. Get to work,” she said flatly, apparently tiring of baby sitting him.

Bill climbed the stairs. He was expecting the attic to be hot and dusty, with some cobwebs. It wasn't. It was unused, but apparently had air conditioning, as it wasn't hot up there at all.

This place was obviously accessed even less than the basement. It was mostly empty, without much stored there, and had a few small windows and… Bill walked over to a section of the attic that was cordoned off with a collapsible grating, like those used to protect storefronts. It effectively isolated a rather large section of the attic. Behind it, locked securely with a one of those "uncuttable" round padlocks padlock was an old desk, a few filing cabinets, and another small safe, about a quarter the size of the basement one.

Cursing his luck, Bill realized the diary could be locked in THAT safe, which was behind a security grill AND a locked attic door. Bill quickly thought of a gamble to get a closer look. He went back down the stairs.

“WOULD IT HE POSSIBLE TO GET INTO THE LOCKED AREA?” He shouted at the MILF. “I SHOULD TREAT THAT AREA, TOO!”

Without missing a beat, the MILF said, rather flatly, “No. There are important documents… OLD documents up there that we can’t risk being damaged by… those…” again she waved her manicured hand up and down, gesturing at him, “…chemicals you’re spraying.”

“Now, are you through?” the MILF asked him tersely. Bill was beginning to get the idea that the house mother was used to ordering the help around. Probably some well off alum who took the house mother gig to relive her glory days or something. He decided it was time to get out of there before she got too angry and called the actual pest control company to complain.

“YES MA’AM!”

“Then I will see you out,” she said. She led him back through the sorority to the front door. “Thank you,” she said.

“NOT A PROBLEM, MA’AM!”

She opened the door and Bill left. He wanted to run back to the van, but he **** himself to stroll.

He got back to his rental van, and to his surprise, he didn’t have a parking ticket. He unlocked the back doors, opened them, and stripped out of his disguise. After closing up the back, he calmly walked around to the driver’s door, opened it, and got in.

That’s when he exhaled and smiled. Two… he had, he was certain, narrowed the places where the diary could be stashed at the sorority to two places. Thinking about it as he pulled away from the curb, either could be where the diary was stashed. The basement safe had a combination and a key. The attic safe had layers of protection… and important old documents. As he drove the van back to the rental place, he couldn’t think of a reason why the diary would be in one or the other. In fact, he finally concluded, perhaps the sorority had set up the dual places, at opposite ends of the house, to make it even harder to get to the diary.

He needed more access to the attic and basement. He just had to figure out how to get it.