Linda gestured at several of the Delta Rho girls. "...and then you guys swing around in front of Laney, close together, so you're sort of a wall between Laney and the audience, while Emily ties her hands behind her..."

Laney interrupted. "Can we try that now, sweetie? Em needs to practice that."

Amy looked around the empty auditorium, which would be used for Laney's hanging. The rehearsal seemed to be going on forever. Laney liked the play, but the stage directions in some spots were very sketchy. They had spent all day working out details. The only thing that seemed to keep tempers from fraying had been Laney's sunny excitement about every nuance of the performance.

Linda looked at Laney's sister. "Have you got that rope?"

Emily looked startled. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot I had that with me." She reached into her shoulder bag, of the sort most of the female students used for carrying books, and pulled out a length of silky rope in a coil. Laney, already standing with her back to Emily, held her arms away from her sides slightly to allow her sister to loop the rope around her waist.

Linda frowned as she watched. "I'm thinking even if Emily gets really good with that, it's going to take too long. Not just tying it, but having to slip it down under the waistband of your skirt and all that. Nothing else is happening while she's doing that, and the audience isn't seeing anything going on. It kind of takes all the momentum out of the pacing."

Amy propped one elbow on her other forearm and rested her chin on her balled fist, also frowning, deep in thought. "We can't just tie her hands offstage?" All of the standard Hanging Girl scripts had the girl's hands already tied behind her when she first entered.

Laney shook her head. "There's not really a good way to do that. I'm onstage when they decide to hang me. Taking me off and waiting until Em can tie my hands and then coming back just leaves a dead stage in the meantime."

The frowning silence that followed was broken by Megan saying, "What about pre-tying her?"

Linda blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Like this." She walked behind Laney, as Emily backed away to give her room. Emily had already tied the rope around Laney's waist, leaving one long end hanging down from the knot in front for a crotch rope. Megan fed the end down inside the skirt's waistband, pulled it back between Laney's legs, up through the back side of the waistband and the rope loop, and tied a small loop in the end of it. "She can have it like this the whole time, under her clothes, and nobody can see it. There'd be handcuffs tied here," she indicated the loop she'd made in the end, "...and when the time comes, Emily can pull out the back of the blouse, and the handcuffs are right there, and it'll just take a couple of seconds to lock Laney's wrists in them."

Laney's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That'd work!"

Amy asked, "So you're okay with handcuffs holding your wrists instead of rope?"

Laney laughed. "Sure! As long as I've got a crotch rope."

Linda objected, "The handcuffs would clink together all the way through the earlier scenes. People'd hear that."

Amy had caught Laney's excitement. "Just tape the two halves to each other, then they won't make noise. Use masking tape or something, and Emily can easily rip that and free up the cuffs."

Linda was nodding eagerly. "Okay, yeah." She turned to Gina and quirked a little smile at her. "You've got handcuffs, don't you? We didn't bring any."

Gina gasped and goggled at her. "How did you...?"

Amy choked back a laugh. The marks on Gina's wrists were barely visible, but familiar. "Never try to keep personal secrets from a Hanging Girl."

Gina scratched at her cheek, trying to hide her blush. "In my room. I'll go get them." She took off towards the exit.

Linda called after her, "Get tape too!"

Laney was grinning. "After we get that fixed up, let's take the whole thing from the top."

THAT NIGHT

Amy gave the half-asleep Linda one more kiss, and got up on her knees on the mattress she and Megan had dragged in from the adjacent room. On the room's own bed, Laney and Megan had quieted some time ago, and now breathed softly in sleep. The moonlight entering from the room's window gave Megan's blonde hair a silvery glow.

Amy gently tapped Megan's head, Laney's legs squeezing it on either side, and whispered, "My turn, sweetie."

Megan stirred and stretched, and gave Laney's pussy one last kiss, as Laney rolled away from her and smiled up at Amy. Amy backed away politely as Megan crawled off the bed and down to the mattress below, to join Linda. She turned back to Laney, and crawled into bed next to her. Kissing her lightly, Amy asked, "Sixty-Nine?"

Laney shook her head slightly. "Just did that with Megan. Let's face each other, and see what happens."

Amy beamed at her. "Glad to." She moved closer to Laney and put her arms around her, kissing her.

Behind and below Amy, she could hear the sounds of Megan and Linda snuggling together, shifting to get comfortable. Minutes later, they seemed to be asleep.

Amy suddenly had to choke back a giggle, and whispered, "I guess things went well with Gina and Heather." Laney had had her private sex sessions with each of them after dinner. She'd be doing Sharon and Lindsay tomorrow evening. "Gina came into the rec room after, looking kind of dazed and flushed."

Laney giggled, and whispered back. "She was really sweet. It's funny, she's so confident with the other girls, but in bed she was... I don't know, kind of shy. At first, anyway. I got her warmed up pretty quickly." She giggled again.

Amy smiled. "I don't think it's shyness. They seem kind of in awe of us. You especially. You're the star."

Laney nodded. "I went to a couple of hangings last year. That's how everybody always is around Hanging Girls. You don't get as much of a feeling for that at the Academy parties, because people there are used to being with us. But when you get with people who've never seen a Hanging Girl before... Well, you know how you felt with Miranda, right?"

Amy took a deep breath. "Oh, definitely! But... so everybody's feeling that way about us, now?" It was hard for her to get her mind around the concept of anyone seeing her the way she'd seen Miranda.

Laney grinned. "You're not even getting the full force. Wait till it's your own hanging!"

Amy shivered with the familiar sudden tingling, especially in her neck and between her legs, whenever her daydreams turned in that direction. "I think about it every day. I'd ask you how it feels, but I understand if you can't put it in words."

Laney shrugged slightly. "You're right, I really can't. Just thinking how..." She paused, in thought. "Everything I've worked for in the last three years is coming down to this. But there's more to it. Like I'm... floating above the clouds. It's like... it's like..."

Amy grinned and put a finger across Laney's lips. "Stop trying. You'll blow a fuse or something. I'll get there in another year, and then I'll know. Right now, all I want..." She stopped and thought about how to say it. "We've made love so many times, they start to run together a little. I want this one to stand out. Our last time. I want to always, always remember it."

Laney sighed. "You are always so sweet." She paused, and looked intently into Amy's eyes. "I love you."

Amy was touched to see a small tear slip down Laney's cheek onto the bed. Her throat tightened as she responded, "I love you."

She felt Laney's arms tighten around her and pull their upper bodies tightly together, their breasts squashed against each other's, felt Laney's leg slide in between hers, Laney's thigh rubbing her pussy... and Laney's lips meeting hers, softly at first, then harder, more urgently, Laney's tongue reaching into her mouth. And suddenly, all those previous times did come into sharp focus, the feel of Laney's skin, her lips, their movements together, all of the feelings that had washed through her every time she and Laney had made love. They were all present with her now, all of them wonderful, all of them right, and all of them bound together now in an unbreakable knot held together by this one last physical demonstration of their love for each other. Amy knew she would always remember this time, and all of the times.

THE NEXT EVENING

Laney, her four owners, and her three fellow Hanging Girls had distributed themselves around Gina's room, some on the bed, some on the floor, Amy and Megan together on the windowsill. Emily had gone home to her husband after the rehearsal had broken up. Rehearsals had gone well, and Laney had pronounced herself satisfied that she was ready for the show and her hanging. The talk had drifted to comparisons between the university and the Academy.

The Delta Rho girls were shaking their heads in amazement. Heather said, "I just had no idea you guys took such hard classes. I guess I imagined you'd just practice hanging all the time."

Linda grinned. "Well, we do a lot of that, of course. You can't learn it without doing it, but the classes tell us more about how our bodies work so we can do it the best way possible."

Laney, holding Linda's hand as they sat together on the floor facing the bed, leaned towards Lindsay beside her. Her mouth up against Lindsay's ear, Laney gently licked the girl's earlobe and her neck just behind it, smiling when Lindsay suddenly closed her eyes and shivered violently. Laney whispered, "Let's spend some time together. Can we go to your room?"

Lindsay, suddenly speechless, her eyes wide, her face instantly flushed, breathing deeply, could only nod. Laney let go of Linda's hand, gave Lindsay another gentle kiss on the ear, and took Lindsay's hand while rising gracefully from the floor. Lindsay, her other hand held to her face in a futile attempt to hide her blush, looked at her sorority sisters. Gina and Heather, who had been with Laney the day before, grinned and nodded, choking back giggles. Laney led Lindsay out of the room, interlacing her fingers with Lindsay's and looking at her as if Lindsay were her long-lost love.

Gina and Heather looked at the door after it closed, sighing deeply. Sharon laughed. "Is she that good?"

Gina grinned and shrugged. "You'll find out."

Amy smiled. "See, that's another thing we learn at the Academy."

In the silence following that, with Gina and Heather wrapped up in their memories, and Sharon with her anticipation, Megan suddenly asked, "Have you guys thought about what you're going to do with her head?"

Amy looked at her roommate, puzzled, but knew better than to ask what was on her mind. With Megan it was never long before you found out.

Gina frowned in similar puzzlement. "We'll keep it, of course."

Megan nodded. "She belongs to you, of course, and you can do anything you want with her head, after you've eaten the rest of her. But what would you think of possibly giving her head to her sister?"

Heather gave Megan an irritated look. "Why would we do that? We paid for her."

Megan held up both hands in a placating gesture. "I know, I know. I won't argue with you. But there's some things you maybe haven't thought of."

Gina's lower lip was thrust out, a little belligerently. "Such as?"

Megan spoke softly, not in any way insistently, just thoughtfully. "Well, I mean, which one of you gets her? You're seniors, and pretty soon you'll leave here, go your separate ways in separate lives. Probably even in separate cities. Only one of you can have her at one time. Maybe you could ship her back and forth, but..."

Megan brought Amy's hand up into her lap and stroked it with her other, shifting slightly closer and rubbing her shoulder against Amy's, as if emphasizing how close she felt to her roommate. "I can see you guys are all really good friends. But this could get to be a source of tension between you. Friends never expect to get in fights, but you know they do, and pretty often it's over exactly this kind of thing. I know you'd never want that.

"Look, I'm just saying, the four of you, after tomorrow, are going to have a memory you can share the rest of your lives. That memory will be special, and it will always bind you together. That's what you want, right? Not something that could tear you apart."

Sharon looked at the other two uncertainly. "We still could... well, donate her to Delta Rho." She looked back at Megan. "I'm sorry, Emily's very nice and all that, but we've got a whole house full of sisters here, and they mean more to us than some stranger."

Megan nodded. "That's fine too. I understand that feeling of closeness to all of the other girls in the sorority. We feel it for all our classmates. But..." She smiled. "Speaking of paying for Laney, you know, the other girls didn't. You guys did. You're already doing so much for them. I mean, what other sorority here has ever put on a Hanging Girl show? And in a few years they're all going to graduate too. Everybody you know here is going to go off eventually and leave Laney behind. Pretty soon, it'll all be strangers here."

Gina said hesitantly, "Still, even if we don't know them, they'll all be our sisters..."

Megan smiled. "So you know how it is with sisters. Laney has a bunch of younger sisters. They've always looked up to her. Imagine how they'd feel, being able to see her head on the mantelpiece every day, inspiring them, reminding them how much she accomplished. And reminding them what she did for Delta Rho, and what Delta Rho did for them in return." Megan's eyes were aglow in a way Amy couldn't remember seeing before. "And when they reach the age to come to the university, they'll feel so much gratitude to Delta Rho. You want to leave Laney to your future Delta Rho sisters? That's exactly what you'd be doing if you give her to her family."

The three girls were silent for a time, then began exchanging looks among themselves again. Gina, looking back and forth for agreement and getting tiny nods, spoke for the rest. "We can check with Lindsay later, but if she says okay... Okay, we'll go ahead and give Emily the head." She looked back and forth again to make sure she hadn't misinterpreted the nods. "Right?" The others nodded once more.

Amy stared at Megan, and finally raised Megan's hand and kissed it. She couldn't think of anything to say.

DAWN

Amy awoke, and smiled at feeling Megan pressed up against her as usual. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, feeling Megan begin to stir. Megan, her eyes still closed, tilted her head back slightly to reach Amy's lips and kiss her. "Morning."

Amy returned her kiss and stroked her hair. "Morning, hon. Laney's hanging day." The show would start at one o'clock, about seven hours from now, to give plenty of time afterward to cook Laney for dinner.

As Megan nodded and stretched, Amy went on, "First time anybody I've been really close to for years has been hanged."

Megan mumbled sleepily, "Be a lot of those pretty soon."

Amy nodded. "I know." She dropped one hand down to Megan's waist. "You thought about how you want to go?"

Megan gave a tiny head shake, rubbing her eyes open. "Maybe something different, like Linda and Laney. See what comes up."

A thought came to Amy suddenly, out of nowhere, startling her with sudden understanding. "Your sister! That's why you're looking out for Emily so much, getting them to invite her to the hanging, and even give her Laney's head. You're thinking about your own sister, aren't you?"

Megan bit her lip. "I guess so."

Amy shook her head in wonder. "Honey, you never talk about her. Kathleen, right? She'd be... eleven now?"

"Twelve. Birthday a couple of weeks ago."

Amy paused as another thought took her in another direction. "It wasn't that you wanted Emily to have Laney's head. You were talking about her younger sisters having it. That it would inspire them. Hon, are you hoping Kathleen would follow in your footsteps? Like you with your Aunt Serena?"

Megan was silent a long time, so that Amy wondered whether she'd gone back to sleep. She finally spoke, her voice uncharacteristically husky. "I want her to live her own life. I found what makes me happy. I want her to find out what makes her happy, and go do it." A tear formed in the corner of her eye. "It's not that I want her to be a Hanging Girl. I want her to want to be one. I want that to be the thing that would make her happy."

Amy wished Megan hadn't kept something so important to her a secret for so long. She stroked Megan's back. "Hon, when we go see your family next year, Kathleen can't help being impressed with how dedicated you are, and how much this means to you, and how... complete it makes you. She'll see. She'll understand. I can't imagine her not wanting to be a Hanging Girl after she sees how special the Academy is to both of us."

Megan managed a small smile. "I hope so."

The room was steadily brightening with sunlight. "Want to see if Linda and Laney are up yet?" Amy and Megan had both understood that their two friends would need privacy on their last night together. They'd ignored their separate room the night before, but had used it this time.

Megan listened a moment. "I don't think anybody's up yet."

Amy nodded. "Saturday. I guess the sorority girls will all sleep late. But maybe Laney will want a walk around the campus while it's really quiet." She got up and gathered the parts of her uniform together and got dressed, while Megan was doing the same.

Without making a sound, Amy eased open the door of their room. Nobody at all was stirring within earshot. The door opposite Amy's and Megan's room was the one Anthony was staying in. He had stood quietly in the back of the auditorium during their rehearsals, quietly taken meals in the dining room. He told them they didn't need to worry about him, he'd brought some books he could read during the down times.

Farther down the corridor on their own side was the door to Linda's and Laney's room. Amy started to knock, but decided she didn't want to wake them unnecessarily. Instead she turned the doorknob, found it to be unlocked, and very gently pushed the door open.

Linda and Laney, Amy saw, were indeed still asleep, holding each other, their legs tangled together. Linda was on the far side of the bed, and Amy saw Linda's arm draped over Laney, her forearm seeming to hold tight against Laney's back in spite of her sleep state, her other arm pinned underneath Laney, with the palm of her hand flattened against Laney's buttock.

Their heads faced each other on the pillow, and their mouths were pressed together, open, as they shared the breath that would later today be taken away from Laney forever.

Amy could feel Megan's chin on her shoulder as she looked in from behind Amy. Amy tried to nudge Megan to get her to step back, but found Megan was already retreating without being asked. Both of them backed away, and Amy closed the door.

In their own room once more, Amy reached out for Megan and realized Megan's arms were going around her already. They held each other a long time, gradually shedding the pieces of their uniforms as they curled up on the bed, wanting each other, needing each other.