Chapter 10 - An evening with Pledge Kathleen
The 19 women, with President Alexandra setting the pace and calling cadence, ran in towards the university in military formation. She sang in a manner very familiar to anyone who had ever undergone military training, with her 18 followers clapping and chanting after her:
"Left...right...left-right-left!"
"Left...right...left-right-left!"
"Runnin' that mornin' Four-Beta left!"
"Runnin' that mornin' Four-Beta left!"
"Left...right...left-right-left!"
"Left...right...left-right-left!"
"Runnin' that mornin' Four-Beta left!"
"Runnin' that mornin' Four-Beta left!"
"I don't wanna be no drunken fat-bitch!"
"I don't wanna be no drunken fat-bitch!"
"I don't wanna party 'till I puck!"
"I don't wanna party 'till I puck!"
"Drunk...Drunk...Drunk-Drunk-Drunk-Drunk!"
"Drunk...Drunk...Drunk-Drunk-Drunk-Drunk!"
"Sick, pathetic, disgusting drunk!"
"Sick, pathetic, disgusting drunk!..."
As Lisa sang with the others, she wasn't sure what to make of the run. She remembered occasionally hearing the Four-Betas running and chanting the previous fall, and now here she was, doing it herself. It was obvious that in every detail, especially exercising, the Four-Betas took themselves very seriously. She thought the military-style chanting was a bit much, but knew that the Four Betas saw themselves as distinct and far superior to the other sororities.
The Four-Betas' loathing of the campus drinking culture came out clearly in their daily run, and in part they were singing to taunt the members of the other sororities. The other sororities, in turn, referred to the Four-Betas as "the sex bitches". In every way possible the Four-Betas tried to set themselves apart, and the military exercising was only one part of how the sorority members saw themselves, their group, and their place in the university.
The women continued their trek through the old part of the university towards the stadium. They ran through an open gate and made four circles around the track. Then, Alexandra separated the pledges from the other members and ordered the newcomers onto the field to stretch. The sophomores began running up and down the stairs of the bleachers, but the president knew that the pledges were not properly conditioned and having them run on the stairs was still several weeks away.
Cherine and Bernadette looked up with dismay as their sweaty companions wore themselves out running up and down the bleachers. How on earth would they ever become fit enough to be able to do that? Lisa and Kathleen, on the other hand, looked at the running women with envy, eagerly awaiting the day they would be strong enough to keep up with the sophomores.
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The women ran back to the sorority, having put in two full miles plus the stair training for the sophomores. They were drenched in sweat as they approached the sorority and finally slowed to a walk. They filed into the back yard, stripped off their wet uniforms, and finished with a round of stretching. Afterwards they took turns rinsing off at the patio shower and jumped into the pool. The pledges joined the others, since the water helped relax everyone's legs after the run.
Tracy showed up, already cleaned up and dressed for the day.
"Pledges, out of the pool! Let's move it!"
The pledges quickly scrambled out of the water and knelt in line.
"Roll up these mats and pick up the uniforms! Put the clothes in the wash and clean up for breakfast!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The pledges quickly rolled up the mats and picked up 19 sweaty uniforms. The only items they left in place were the running shoes, which would be retrieved by the owners. Once the uniforms were in the washer and they had showered off, the pledges knelt in the sitting room waiting for permission to eat. Lisa and Kathleen in particular were famished, given that they had not eaten since lunchtime the day before. Tracy came to the door and ordered the pledges to the table on the back porch, once again landing a hard slap on the bare bottom of each as she went by. Apparently she enjoyed doing that, because every time the pledges filed past her each one always got a slap on the bottom.
Following breakfast, the pledges knelt in the sitting room for yet another day of orientation. The first order of business was issuing full sets of summer pledge uniforms. Each newcomer received a backpack, three additional pairs of shorts, three t-shirts, four pairs of socks, and two sports bras. The shirts all were printed with the same message:
PLEDGE