"What do you mean you can't pay your dues?" Melissa's eyes are hot with anger.
I shrug, wincing as my Big, the assigned mentor that all new pledges get when they join a sorority, huffs around in anger in her room. She has her long, dark curls pulled back into a ponytail and is wearing a Zeta crewneck with her terrycloth sleep shorts.
"Someone T-boned my car and I had to spend the money to get it fixed." I say, tugging at the hem of my cropped jean shorts. "Do you think Stella will understand?" I ask hopefully.
"No, Mandy, I don't think Stella is going to
fucking
understand!" Melissa snaps at me.
I groan, sinking into a ball on the fuzzy rug in the middle of her room. "What am I going to do?" I grumble.
Melissa sighs, rubbing her temples. "Just...let me talk to her. We will figure something out...you just might not like it."
She stalks out of the room, leaving me curled up in a ball on the floor.
I had finally gotten into Zeta, my dream sorority. I was only a freshman, and it was my first time rushing. My roommate Abbie had tried to talk me out of it, saying she had heard weird rumours about Zeta parties from a few juniors on the lacrosse team that she
somehow
already knew. But I'd heard about how Zeta was the top sorority on campus, the girls that every frat was clamouring to party with, so I knew that I had to get in.
All the saving that I had done throughout the summer, in the slim
tiny
off-chance that I would get in, evaporated so quickly when that stupid van crashed into my car. I couldn't just leave the passenger seat damaged, I had to get it fixed so I could still drive to my part-time job off campus. The whole week had been completely ridiculous. And now my sorority dreams are vanishing before my eyes.
I hear the click of the door, signalling that Melissa is coming back in. As she opens the door, I realise that I am willing to do anything to stay in Zeta. Anything.
"Get up." Melissa says. She walks over to the paddle hanging over her desk. "I really didn't think I'd have to use this so early in the year." She says with a bewildered tone.
My eyes narrow at the hefty wooden paddle in her hand.
What is she going to do with that?
"Come on," she beckons, "Emergency meeting."
Now I am
really
wondering what the hell she is going to do with that paddle. But if it means I can stay in Zeta, I'm willing to go with the flow. I follow Melissa out the door and down the hallway. The other girls in the house are streaming out of their rooms, and we all make our way down into the basement. This is where we usually conduct the "rituals" that we pledges need to do to be inducted into Zeta. But there is no ritual scheduled for tonight.
Stella, our Zeta president, stands on a table in the basement, towering over the other girls from the house gathered. Her hair is pulled back into a long blonde ponytail and her glacial blue eyes spot me immediately. With a grin, she beckons me and Melissa to the front.
"Sisters!" Stella calls out, and a hush falls over the room, "It seems we have a problem with one of our pledges."
I swallow, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on me.
"Apparently, Mandy here isn't going to be able to pay her dues." Stella calls out in a mocking tone. Murmurs ripple around the basement.
I open my mouth to say something, and Melissa elbows me in the ribs, shutting me up.
"Now, Pledge, did you apply for scholarship? For any financial assistance?" Stella asks with a lilt in her voice.
I shake my head.
"For the room please!" She says with bravado.
"No." I say, a little louder than intended.
"But you'd like to stay in Zeta?" Stella asks sweetly.
"Oh yes, please. I'll do anything." I say earnestly.
"Do you hear that sisters?" Stella addresses the room, "She'll do
anything!
" Muffled giggles around the room make me start to re-consider my blatant admission.
"Well pledge, lucky for you we have a roster of fundraising opportunities lined up with some of the frats this month." Stella says, looking at me. She then turns back to the small crowd of Zetas.
"Now normally, we let the pledge class pick who will be the main attraction of each fundraiser. But maybe we can make things easier and let Mandy here fill in a few slots to pay her dues." Stella looks around the room, letting a pause hang in the air. "All votes to let the pledge
earn
her dues?"
I look behind me to see most of the hands in the room raised in the air. Well, that was simple. Hopefully the fundraisers aren't too much work.