Page 6

Continuous text notifications ding from my phone.

The girls are as excited as I am, and now that I’m a sophomore, I get to live in the Sigma house.

Oz will be in the Delta house across campus.

Gwen and I chose to be roommates for our second year, and everything is looking bright again.

I can put the events of last night far behind me and start over with a new academic year.

Mitch

We on for practice as soon as you arrive? My feet are feeling the need to be stepped on.

A smile parts my lips as I send my dance partner and Beta Kappa Eta member a reply.

Me

Ofc. Tbh I’d worry less about your feet and more about your hip work

Mitch

Ha! I’ll see you in Northview!

Dad panics a few more times until we’re all loaded in the SUV, Oz up front because “my legs are too long” and me and Mom watching an episode of Dance Queens in the back. The ride is slightly over an hour with the new highway, but Dad keeps reminding us it used to take three “back in my day.”

Instead of helping Oz, they toss his stuff on the lawn of the Delta Kappa Eta’s prairie style house where brothers are milling about and lugging in trunks or boxes. Most showcase glistening bare chests, gleaming with sweat from the summer heat.

For me, of course, my parents raid the sorority house. Dad checks out every exit and safety feature to ensure some unseen enemy won’t harm his precious princess.

“This keypad could get hacked easily. Look at this! The door doesn’t even shut properly. I’ll ask your Uncle Cal to inspect it. Maybe this place needs better security.”

“ Dad! ”

My mom rolls her eyes and shoves him into the elevator with some of my boxes. “Lion, seriously.”

Once the doors seal us all in, he huffs. “Don’t give me that. The Freidenberg Foundation grants a lot of money to this university. I’d expect our kids not to have to deal with creeps coming in at all hours.”

I think Mom will ignore him, but just as I exit onto my floor, she whispers, “We’ll have the house to ourselves now… Let’s just focus on that.”

Ew. It’s kinda funny how she always controls his raging tempers, but also gross to think about.

It takes almost an act of Adalantea to force my dad to leave.

He has to scope out the windows and all entrances.

He wants a tour of the kitchen and dining room, and rattles all the patio doors to the outdoor eating area, complaining that the stairs in front lead directly to the second story where I am.

Finally, Adal calls and tells him there’s an issue with the plumbing at The Bear Cage, their gym, and they make their departure after some tearful goodbyes. I flop back onto my bare mattress with relief for only a moment before Gwen pops in.

“Oh my god, I missed you so much!” She squeals, and I rush in for a hug with my mouth open, stunned by her new hair color.

“Gwen? Your hair is lime green!”

She smirks. “Yeah, you like?”

Nodding, I giggle an affirmation. “Yes. A lot . It actually suits you.” The streaks of bright color throughout her black hair give an edgy look to her heart-shaped face.

“I figure it will be a nice beacon for all the Deltas to come take me on Massacre Monday. Don’t you think so?” Spinning around in her tiny jeans shorts, she laughs at her own joke, but I know she’s absolutely serious.

We delve into decorating and setting up our room. “So you’re not going to even try to get away and earn us some points?”

“ Pfft! Why should I? I can’t run anyway, and who wouldn’t want the opportunity to be fucked by multiple men all at once?”

I wince. “Um, that sounds painful.”

“Only for virgins.”

My lips remained sealed, but the story of the woods remains on the tip of my tongue.

Snatching a sparkly silver throw pillow, she tosses it at my head, but I bat it away before it hits me. “You still didn’t get laid over the summer, did you? Nico didn’t come through again, huh?”

The story of what happened claws at my throat, but I swallow the confession.

She’s been my friend for over a year and heard about my unrequited pining about Nico throughout.

Always encouraging me to take a step further to show him how grown-up I am.

But admitting that I blew someone else, a random stranger, is something I’m not sure I should share.

Her dark brown eyes narrow with a warning. “Pippi…if you’re caught, it’s really going to hurt.”

I cross my arms. “I’m not getting caught.”

She purses her thick lips, shrugging a shoulder. “Suit yourself. You play the good girl game, and I’ll play mine.”

While we decorate the room, she tells me about her summer conquests back home in Lecherton.

Why a big city gal like her chose to come to a mid-size town for college, I’ll never understand, but I think her parents were strong influences, trying to tame her ways.

And the prospect of joining a sorority to be appointed and set for life only heightened their dreams for her future.

“So long as Evie leaves me alone this year, I’ll be fine,” she says.

With a snorted laugh, I shake my head, quietly amused at everyone’s issues with the outlandishly outspoken and over-the-top Evie Lynx. She’s a lot to handle, but I don’t mind her. Boy and girl crazy, for sure, which irritates Gwen when Evie calls all the attention to herself.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I think it may be her coming to raid our room to annoy my roommate. Instead, the notification banner flashes with a text, and the screen shakes in my sweaty palm as I read the message…

Unknown Number

Hopefully you kept that pretty mouth clean for me. I’ve got big plans for it this year.