By: vormon
Mentor or not, it runs against every survival instinct in your body to remain in a stomach, even to hide from others who would eat you. You ask Shelby to release you.
She hems and haws for a bit, trying to persuade you that you're better off in her belly. When you remain adamant, she reluctantly concedes. A few unpleasant moments of retching and gagging, and your body slides out of Shelby's mouth, still slick with her fluids. Excusing herself for a moment, Shelby quickly visits the bathroom, warning you not to leave the room until she returns.
You obey, and Shelby returns shortly. "I had to brush my teeth," she explains, slightly apologetic. "That taste... ugh! Not yours, of course, you were very sweet," she adds hastily. "And I hope to taste you again someday. But regurgitating you left this sour flavor that I absolutely had to get rid of."
She doesn't seem to hold it against you that you desired freedom, which is good, although now you have to consider all the risks that this state entails. Shelby seems to be considering this problem as well; after her original outburst she's fallen silent and is looking at you, nibbling her finger thoughtfully.
"Thanks for letting me out," you say.
She nods, still biting her finger, "It's nothing. If you want to be free, as your mentor I should support that. The only question now is what to do with you. I've got class soon, it's way too dangerous to take you there. But I can't leave you here alone; you'll get bored and who knows what underhanded tactics some students will sink to for a meal. Can't take you with me... can't leave you here..." She's clearly thinking aloud. You decide not to interrupt.
A loud growl from her stomach interrupts her thoughts. Grinning at you, Shelby says "I don't see why we can't grab a bite to eat first though, as long as you stay close to me at all times." Her tone suddenly serious, she continues "Few girls will pass up an easy meal, and no offense, but that's what you are right now. Stay as close as possible and try to remain uneaten. I can keep you safe, but if an advanced student eats you even I might not be able to get you out. Understand?"
When you've said that you do, she breaks out into a smile again. "Good. You'll probably be fine, but it never hurts to be cautious. We'll do some more vore training tonight when I'm done with my classes. Right now you should probably get dressed. Showing that much skin is an invitation to be eaten."
You dress yourself as modestly as possible. Shelby dresses too, but you can't help but notice she's not following her own advice. Her skirt is short and her top shows a lot of cleavage and belly, although she's an advanced student so presumably she can get away with it. Declining to comment, you follow her out the door.
"I'll try to get my hands on a spare key for when you're a little bit more advanced." Shelby says as she locks her room, "But for now you shouldn't ever be apart from me anyway." For a moment, it seems as if she's about to take your hand, but apparently she decides that's too patronizing and instead says "Follow me closely. We're going to the dining hall by the most straightforward route possible. It never hurts to start learning your way around; last thing you want to do is get lost."
The two of you walk through the halls, Shelby glancing at you ever couple of seconds as if to reassure herself you're still there. Luckily, while you do pass a couple of people, this doesn't seem to be a peak hour. Shelby helpfully points out sights as you go, but you reckon it'll be a job just to remember the way to the cafeteria. You do encounter one instance of vore; as you pass a block of lockers you catch sight of a tall dark-skinned girl polishing off a guy, at least you assume it's a guy from his legs which are all you can see of him. Upon seeing this, Shelby subtly moves between you and the girl and hurries you along extra-quickly, not unlike a concerned mother.
"Normally I'd grab a quick bite on the way to class like her," Shelby explains once the danger is past, "But even I can't eat someone instantly, and the time I'm spending to gulp someone down is time someone else could take to gulp down you. And the food here isn't too bad; well, at any rate they know how to cater to vores. We have quantity if not quality."
It's not long before you are able to verify this statement for yourself as you enter the dining room. It's mostly empty, but the people who are eating here are for the most part really putting it away. You even notice a couple of people sporting squirming bellies, yet devouring huge plates of food anyway. Gluttonous.
Shelby leads you to the serving area. "Just grab a tray and some plates and take as much as you want. They never seem to run out." she says, expertly balancing three plates on her tray as she starts to load them up with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. You follow in her wake, taking much more modest portions.
Shelby's plates are loaded high, but she manages to easily balance them while scanning the room. "Hey Jenny!" she calls, shifting the weight slightly and managing a brief wave with one hand. Following her gaze, you see a cute brunette at a nearby table waving back to her. "Come on, we'll go sit with Jenny." she tells you.
"Hi Shelby!" Jenny says as you draw closer, "Who's your friend?" she adds, smiling at you. Seems friendly enough.
"She's my mentee," Shelby explains after putting down her huge tray. Addressing you, she says "This is Jenny, a very successful graduate of our mentoring program."
"You got a great mentor." Jenny says to you as Shelby starts attacking the mountain of food in front of her, "My mentor was a girl named Allison, and she must have been pretty good for me to still be here, but Shelby's one of the best. They all say it. So what are you? A freshman, right?"
"Yes." you say, "I had just signed up, actually, but when I went to the nurse she found me incapable of vore."
"Too bad. I remember when it happened to me." Jenny replied, "I thought I was so screwed! But what they've figured out is that a lot of times even if you can't vore at the moment, you can still be trained to do it pretty well, it just takes a lot more effort. It's kind of like the advanced classes they teach; just because you can't do it at the start doesn't mean you can't learn how by the end."
"Are you in an advanced class?" you ask. Your mentor is not really contributing to the conversation very much any more, occupied as she is with shoveling down food.
"Me? No. I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but you probably won't be either. You need to start off pretty strong to get into those classes, and they're very competitive. It's not the end of the world though; you can still do okay. I mean, I was in the mentor program, and I can still eat people." Noticing your glance at her flat stomach, she clarifies "I don't do it very often because I'm not very good, but when I first failed the test I never expected I'd be able to swallow someone who was trying to not be swallowed, you know? But for my last test, Allison and I hunted down this newer mentoring pair; she ate the advanced student and I ate the new one, and, well, I managed to eat her and digest her and everything. It seemed impossible when I first arrived, but-"
Shelby burps, interrupting Jenny. When both of you turn to look at her, she blushes slightly and says "Excuse me.". Only a few crumbs of her feast remain, although you suppose that considering she inadvertently consumed you last night it's no surprise she has a huge appetite.
"Sorry to interrupt, but my next class is an advanced class. Do you have any ideas what I should do with my protege here?" Shelby continues, "Did Allison take you to her advanced classes, or...?"
"Yeah, she did." Jenny made a face, "I hear they're thinking about setting up separate advanced classes for mentors now, though. A lot of people get gobbled up in advanced classes, especially if they don't know the first thing about vore. I was okay because Allison was top of the class; she ate her classmates for breakfast. Some of them, anyway. So they were a bit hesitant about eating me, and I squeaked by, but I don't know if it's advisable."
Shelby's finger is in her mouth again, but Jenny isn't finished.
"She could come with me, though. We could go back to your room. Nobody's probably going to try to break in, and she won't be alone even if someone does. You know I'm safe with her."
Shelby looks at you. "If only you stayed in my tummy we wouldn't have to discuss this! The decision's up to you I guess; I used to take my mentees to all my classes until one of them was eaten, so I'm not really sure what's best."
