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Fallon

B rent was quiet after our excursion. I mean, I didn’t expect him to come running back the day after looking for me or his jacket. Everyone knew what kind of guy he was–and I didn’t exactly put out for him. Maybe he called it a loss with his jacket. Whatever the case, it sat on a hanger in my room the past few days waiting to be picked up by its rightful owner.

This wretched jacket was part of my daily routine for a few days. I’d take a shower and come out to stare at it. The first two days I thought it would disappear from existence as if we never went out together, but it was still there. Staring back at me.

Kelly burst into my room to see me staring at the jacket. What’s privacy ? “Are you still looking at that thing like it’s an alien invader?”

I sighed. “Yes, I am.”

“It’s not going anywhere, you know. Also, those stupid sorority plans you had...”

I stood straight up. “Yep! We’re going. Fuck that jacket and it’s owner.”

“I don’t know why I even came in here to remind you.” she huffed.

“Because you love me and feel bad for me.”

With one last glance at the leather jacket, we were off to Greek Row.

“What do you want to do for Thanksgiving this year?” Kelly asked while she drove us out of the neighborhood to look for the right sorority house on campus.

“We could take a trip somewhere? A beach?”

Her eyes lit up. “What about Greece? I hear the men there are hot. Oh! Italy?”

Last year Kelly and I went to her aunt’s house to forgo seeing her dad, but the family drama followed us there–it was cataclysmic drama with her parents. I didn’t have anyone I wanted to visit since my mom was gone–my family all wanted a piece of the Montgomery Group pie. It seemed that my mom was prudent in keeping her distance from them.

And since she left me with everything, I did the same.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the holidays with your new boy toy?” I poked fun at her, knowing she probably didn’t want to put a label on anything.

“Uh, no. We aren’t that serious and, bitch, I am not leaving you alone for the holidays. Out of the question.”

I laughed at her faux stern look. “What if I gave you permission?”

“I said no.” She whacked my shoulder. “Anyone who comes into my life knows that you are my family and come first in all things.”

Trying to imagine her telling that to a husband, I couldn’t help but laugh more. “If you get married, you can’t put me above your husband, Kel.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out at me. “Watch me! Our podcast will live on even when we are old and gray!”

There was humor there, but also space to mourn for our future selves. Not being roommates–doing everything together–would eventually end. Everything came to an end at some point in time.

“Also,” she added, “when did you become such a nihilist? Is that jacket giving you bad vibes or something? You know what, that’s it. I’m going to burn sage across the house.”

“Isn’t sage for bad spirits? I’m not sure it will, you know,” I waved my hands in the air, “disperse bad vibes.”

She pointed a finger at me. “One more word about bad vibes and I’ll do it!”

We came into view of a few houses having rushing info sessions and I wanted to tour at least a few of them. Look at all my options and whatnot. I’m sure my mom would encourage me to try these things out like she did with everything else in my life.

...If I could handle that much pink. Kelly may have been onto something when she gave me pushback on the idea. The amount of pink I saw surely ran the paint company dry.

Hesitantly, I looked back to Kelly as we stepped out of the car. “Do you remember which houses we were supposed to avoid? The two that the one girl was talking about?”

She looked at me like I asked her an advanced calculus question. “Babe, they all sound the exact same to me. Alpha, beta, kappa, gamma, blah blah. I don’t think I could remember if you held a gun to my head.”

Hopefully we don’t run into any unfriendlies, then.

The first house we approached was pink, naturally. It had a Texas-looking theme about the party and probably some southern bombshells inside.

And a bombshell, I was not.

We entered anyway, deciding to make the best of the day we planned. A girl ran out. “Hi, y’all!” She had a really overdone southern accent. “Welcome to Kappa Phi Delta, we are here to help you scout out houses to rush! Oh, don’t you two look so cute.”

I mustered a small smile and a wave. It was awkward. “We’re just browsing today. I’m not completely sure if I’ll rush this year.”

“Oh, honey! You are welcome here in whatever year you are in.” She came a little closer and lowered her voice. “Just between you and me, avoid Beta Kappa Phi and Theta Nu. The former being worse than the latter.”

“I think another girl who invited us to rush week told us the same,” I whispered back.

“Don’t let the scary stories frighten you, darlin’. Lots of the houses out here look out for one another, just as the good Lord intended women do.” She ran her hand in a gentle circle on my back and gave us a wide smile. “Now, tell me all about yourselves!”

We left the very southern house about as quickly as we came with a semi-confusing series of directions to Phi Beta Lambda, the house we were originally invited to the first week of classes. Kelly looked even more weirded out by the way all the girls seemed to have this cult-like manner about them.

“I think she meant this way, but I don’t know if I could handle another, uh, rodeo.” She pointed in the direction of two other parties going on.

I shrugged. “At this point, I don’t mind just exploring and getting free food and drinks. I am somewhat terrified of coming into contact with Beta Kappa Phi. Did you hear what those girls were saying about that Sloane character?”

“That she’s a ruthless she-devil? I mean, you can’t know for sure until you meet her, but if she runs the most prestigious sorority on campus with an all-star legacy, that clearly means business.” Since when did we swap our outlooks?

“Maybe you’re right, but stop being so optimistic. It’s weird. Just like the scary stories about some girl here on campus.”

At another house, we decided to enter the party and ask around about which house it was. Inside the entrance, it was apparent with a sign reading Phi Beta Lambda. Easy enough .

This house–thank God–had far less pink everywhere and more real life colors. The girls didn’t feel like they were in weird cult uniforms and no one had the same creepy updo to their hair. The only ones holding some form of uniform were the group of eight girls running the party.

“Hey, I know you two,” a girl in a pink shirt came running up to us, waving and smiling.

It definitely felt less weird in this house. “You invited us on the first day of classes. We decided to pop by and see what you guys were all about.”

She beamed at us, taking us by our hands. “I’m Veronica! Let’s go to the main room. We’re having snacks!”

Kelly looked over at me, questioning what the heck this girl was doing dragging us along with her. I nodded back at her with a “just go with it” look.

We chatted and socialized with normal people this time around. Snacks and drinks were delicious and I was happy I didn’t have to scrounge around for dinner later. A few girls started murmuring and making shushing sounds as the door behind us slammed open. Standing there was a girl with highlighted brown hair, dressed in cream heels, a baby pink mini dress, and a sash that signified her sorority name: Beta Kappa Phi.

One of her entourage members stepped out from behind her, wearing baby pink shorts and a very sheer top. “We have an important message for the heads of every house.” She stood frozen as if that was her only job and it was awkward to see a bunch of girls in sheer tops, their boobs on full display.

Hazing, maybe ?

The only one not wearing a sheer top was the girl in the sash. I assumed she was the leader of her own little cult. Her boobs must be sacred , I laughed to myself.

Another girl came out to stand next to the first. “Beta Kappa Pi will be hosting tonight’s after party and all are invited, no matter their house, creed, or financial status.”

Kelly and I exchanged glances. “What a weird way to invite people to a party,” I whispered.

Veronica was the head of the Phi Beta Lambda, and as the head, she piped up in response. “In the spirit of rushing, thank you, Sloane, head of Beta Kappa Pi, for your kind and generous invitation.”

She waved her hands to her house members in an encouragement to speak up. In unison, they announced, “Thank you, Sloane.”

Kelly and I made quick to leave, feeling a little freaked out from the interaction. She gave me a weird look when we got home and barreled into the kitchen. “I guess I stand corrected on that Sloane girl. She seems like an absolute nutcase on a power trip.”

“I’ve seen that happen one too many times. I feel bad that those girls had to walk around with their tits on display, though. It has me questioning what the fuck sorority life is like and maybe...I don’t want to join after all. I can say at least I tried!” I sat my bag down on the entry table and pulled off my shoes, feet sore from walking in heels all day.

“Leftovers?” Kelly asked, holding up some containers from the fridge. “We have some...Asian, Italian, and good ol’ fashioned American cuisines to choose from.”

She spread them across the table, laying out plates and silverware as I sat in the chair. “I love some good cold leftovers in styrofoam. I will say, I am morbidly curious about this party.”

“Ha!” Kelly exclaimed, scooping out food onto our plates. “That’s a funny joke considering I’ve never heard those words come out of your mouth.”

“Everyone will be there. It might be good to mingle and meet some new people.”

“Wait,” she set her fork and knife down. “You want to see Brent again! Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re going to wear his jacket and hope he’s there.”

My face turned red. “Holy shit, no! I would never do that.”

“You didn’t deny wanting to see him,” she taunted in a sing-song voice while biting into some pasta.

I rolled my eyes. “If I wanted to see him, I could march up to his house down the street and knock on the door. Besides, I’m somewhat seeing Garrett.” My head was leaned into my cupped hand and I pushed around some form of breaded meat in circles on my plate.

“I still don’t believe you didn’t sleep with him.”

“Dude,” I flicked my eyes over to her and scowled. “You interrupted him trying to kiss me. We didn’t even do that, but I don't think that matters now. He is not the type I should be getting myself involved with. The whole time, I was convinced he was going to murder me in the woods. With everything going on, I haven’t told Garrett I went on a date with Brent, but we aren’t exactly exclusive; he could be going on dates for all I know.”

My phone buzzed on the table and I was grateful to get out of the conversation with Kelly. I didn’t recognize the number, but the area code...

“Hello?” I tried to steel my voice despite my anxiety.

“Fallon, hello. It’s Mr. Evans. We need to start discussions on your transition process into acting CEO this weekend.” His voice was firm and left no room for argument.

I felt my heart sink into my butt. I knew what this meant despite knowing they’d come knocking for me eventually. When I turned eighteen, the rules were that I step into her shoes when I was twenty-one. Wishing I could hold off just a little bit longer, I sighed. “This weekend? I have schoolwork...and other...stuff.”

Great, very convincing. Very CEO.

“Yes, well, you have had plenty of time to romp and play. You will make time for a meeting with the board this weekend. Also, drop the exercise major–you’re becoming CEO. You need something relevant. I didn’t think I had to micromanage your behavior, but it seems like we will be needing an intervention this weekend.”

My mother wouldn’t have said that, unless she would. Maybe I didn’t know all facets of her like I thought I did. I knew her as a mother, not a businesswoman. “Yep. Got it.”

There was a slight pause before his voice came back through. “You will be taking on major responsibilities. Responsibilities that you are completely unprepared for whether you like it or not. Your mother has left this company to you, and by default, us. We are here to help you so please don’t act like a petulant child. This isn’t something you can say no to without harming the empire your mother built for you; you have employees and their livelihoods to worry about now.”

I tightened my grip on the phone, a tsunami-sized wave of emotion crashing over me. What a tangled mess I’ve found myself in . “Fine,” I said, firming my voice. “I will be on the call this weekend.”

“Good. I will send you the information you need to attend. And, Fallon?”

My heart stilled. “Yes?”

“Don’t do anything reckless or stupid. I know how you young people are. This is my personal number, feel free to reach out with anything you may need. See you this weekend.” The line went dead.

Kelly leaned forward after watching intently the entire time. “Who was that?”

I sighed and sank into my chair. “Montgomery Group. I’m set to start my transition early. It’s like they knew the perfect time to call me when I get sucked into some drama. Oh, also, I have to hit up my advisor because I am now a business major.”

“Welcome to the world of the wealthy, babe.” A strange look played on her face while she stared blankly at her plate. Whatever was on her mind, it seemed bothersome.

“I guess,” I said, trying to fake a chuckle.

Her head turned to look at the clock and she dropped her fork, standing up with urgency. “I just decided that we are going to that party. Come on, let’s get you dressed.”

“Uh, no. Did you not just hear about my phone call?”

She grabbed my arm and dragged me into my room, opening the closet to throw absolutely everything out of it in search of the outfit she wanted me to wear. One that would get me the most attention.

She held up a couple of things. “Oh yes. Put these on.”

A strapless taupe-colored tulle dress was shoved at me with white bowtie-backed heels. I held up the little dress and wondered what that would even cover on my body. I cringed. “Are you sure I should wear this... thing ?”

“Duh,” she moved to leave my room to dress herself. “It’s the afterparty of course.”

I shimmied into the dress and stood in front of the mirror. Fidgeting too much, I adjusted the hem of the dress about fifty times. Wearing dresses like this was foreign to me–too flashy and form-fitting. It was like I was an imposter pretending to be some other person I wasn’t–a fish out of water.

If you’re going to flop, at least do it with some sparkle , I thought. Smoothing the fabric over my hips, I took one last glance in the mirror before heading out.

“Here goes nothing,” I said to myself.