Ginger and her friends knew this was a Hail Mary pass- a desperate move inspired by a desperate situation. Others had made other suggestions but nothing so far had worked. In fact, the only ideas left to try on their brainstorming board included “sexy alien invasion”, “sexy witches”, and this. Shockingly, at this point a sexy seance seemed the most practical.

The young women were all dressed up in their gothy finest. They sat in a circle surrounding some candles and some incense. Something with flutes was playing in the background.

They brought their offerings and placed them in the center. Birkenstocks. Trans Queer Narratives: A Multicultural Study. Tegan and Sara albums. Some kombucha.

Ginger was voluntold by her roommate Kat that she was going to be their seance medium for the summoning tonight. Kat had been hypnotizing her all semester as part of a psychology project and so she had strong confidence that she could bring Ginger into a deep enough trance to be a worthy earthly vessel for the endeavor. Ginger wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about being possessed, but she had jumped at a chance to have Kat guide her into trance again. Kat was a touchy hypnotist, all light brushes and gentle rocking. She loved being touched by her.

Plus, her own situation was desperate. Ginger had had a crush on Kat since freshman year and she still hadn’t asked her out. Sometimes she felt like she couldn’t last another day without telling her roommate how she felt. Something needed to change.

After a bit of wine and chatter, the friends turned to their mission. There was silence. Everyone closed their eyes and joined hands. Ginger began the ceremony, letting her voice be loud and ringing:

“OH GREAT SPIRIT OF SAPPHO! WE SUMMON YOU HERE! PLEASE GRANT US AN AUDIENCE WITH YOU TONIGHT!”

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Sappho, hanging out in the afterlife, heard herself being called. She took a bite of an olive and a last sip of wine (she loved dining at the Y) and magicked herself down to Earth.
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The group of friends felt a sudden chill.

A candle blew out.

A gasp went through the room.

Ginger continued:

“OH SAPPHO! IF YOU ARE HERE, KNOCK ONCE!”

There was a moment’s pause. Then a loud KNOCK.

“OH SAPPHO! WE WISH TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU THIS NIGHT! WILL YOU TAKE THIS EARTHY VESSEL TO USE AND SPEAK WITH US THROUGH HER BODY?”

Sappho looked at the summoning girl. “Yeah, why not?” she thought. She wasn’t doing anything else right now. Also, it had been a while since she had been surrounded by cute young women, and THAT was definitely worth her time.

Another KNOCK.

Before Ginger could think, Kat’s hand grabbed hers and pushed it down- a reliable hypnotic cue. She dropped quickly and then drifted and floated as Kat stroked her arms and hair sending her deeper and deeper into trance. As Ginger began to feel smaller and smaller, another presence became larger and larger in her mind and body.

Sappho opened her eyes. She was being held and lightly stroked by a dark skinned woman. It felt nice. It had been so long since she had a physical body to be touched like this. She checked in with the self she was inhabiting and found that she was also enjoying these touches.

Someone needed her help, though, and Sappho was honor bound to help young women everywhere find their way. She reluctantly sat up and stretched out her neck. The women in the circle were looking at her hesitantly.

“Sappho, is that you?” she was asked.

Sappho nodded and adjusted her posture so she could seem more authoritative. “You have summoned me and I have arrived. What kind of guidance can I offer?”

The women in the circle seemed nervous. They looked at each other as if daring the others to go first. Finally the woman beside her (Kat, the voice inside said) began hesitantly.

“Oh...great Sappho. You have...umm...honored us with your presence. We...want...wewanttoknowhowtoflirtwithgirls.”

Sappho had no idea what she had just heard. She wondered if this was a cultural barrier thing. “Say that again?” she asked.

The woman began again, more confidently now that she had already said it once.

“We would like for you to teach us how to flirt with girls.”

The other women nodded, eagerly.

Sappho looked around the room. The Asian woman in the corner was stealing glances at the girl next to her. The one with dark hair was brushing knuckles against and almost holding hands with her neighbor. The one with the shaved pixie cut kept meeting someone’s eye across the circle and then quickly looking down.

Right.

“OK, first lesson,” Sappho started. “As a queer girl, you have to learn how to make the first move...”