The Embarrassing Initiation
Prologue
"I'm so excited for you!" squealed Chrissy, wrapping her arms around Emily's slender neck. "I know practices don't start 'til next week, but I feel like your college track career really begins tomorrow!"
Chrissy's joy for her friend was contagious, and for the first time all day, Emily felt eager, rather than wary of meeting her new teammates.
Having Chrissy there for support made all the difference. They had first gotten to know each other as rivals running for opposing high schools in the same conference. Though Chrissy was two years Emily's senior, Emily had quickly gained the edge in their rivalry. Though it must have been humbling to see her senior year marred by defeats at the hands of a sophomore, Chrissy seemed to have let go of any lingering grudges. When Emily chose to become one of three incoming freshmen on the Hofert State University women's track team, Chrissy had struck up a big sis/little sis relationship with her new teammate.
"What's so big about tomorrow?" asked Emily. "It's just sort of a get-together, isn't it? And I've already met a bunch of the girls around campus."
"It's your big official intro!" Chrissy gave her friend a playful smack on the butt. "And there may be certain things... asked of you," Chrissy's mischievous grin had Emily nervous all over again, "so just go along with it and be a good sport. Then they'll all love you."
"What do you mean, like some kind of initiation?"
Chrissy smiled and nodded.
"What do I have to do?"
"I honestly don't know. The seniors make them up for the freshmen every year."
"Did you have to do one?"
"Boy, did I!" Chrissy laughed. "Can't tell you what it was, though. Anne made me promise."
Oh God, thought Emily, if Anne was in charge of these initiations, this was not going to be easy. From what she'd observed so far, the team captain inspired a fierce loyalty in some of the veteran girls, but clearly disdained Emily and the other freshmen.
"Don't worry," Chrissy stroked the younger girl's hair, "They will definitely try to embarrass you, but nobody really gets hurt, and later we can all laugh about it. Besides, if Anne has anything really nasty planned, you know she'll save it for Jennifer. You and Kimberly are safe."
"Speaking of Kimberly, she should be back from class in a few. Sure you don't want to shop with us?"
"Love to, but I really need to hit the library," said Chrissy, moving to the door. "Besides," she added slyly, "I think I'll see plenty of you two tomorrow."
Chapter 1: Welcome Freshmen
"Should we ring the bell?" asked Kimberly. "We're a few minutes early."
Emily glanced at her phone. Kimberly was right, it was 5:55 in the afternoon.
They could hear raucous - likely drunken - laughter and yelling from the girls inside. In fact, it sounded like every house on the block was having a party. This street was definitely all student housing. This particular house was shared by three of the senior girls on the squad, including team captain Anne. It was only four blocks from the dorm that housed Emily and Kimberly, so they had chosen to walk rather than take Emily's car.
It was a nice, sunny day, so they dressed for the weather. Emily in her short shorts (she was proud of her runner's legs), and Kimberly in her flimsy summer dress had drawn the attention of every guy they had walked past on the way over - and there had been crowds of partying students in several of the front yards. That kind of attention had always unnerved Emily in high school. It still sometimes seemed crazy that boys (and even much older men) would see her as an object of desire, but as an adult woman away from home, she was allowing herself to revel in it a bit. Even Travis - the cute, brainy, but odd boy in the dorm across from theirs - couldn't help but gawk when he had bumped into them leaving the building. He had blushed so when he realized Emily had caught him staring. That was kind of cute, she thought.
"Go ahead," Emily urged her friend. Obliging, Kimberly rang the bell. A thunderous cheer rose from within.
After a few seconds, one of the senior girls opened the door. Emily had not met this one yet, but had spent enough time visiting the team's popular unofficial website that she could recognize most of the girls. This one's name was Olivia, she thought.
"It's both of them," called Olivia, to more cheers.
"Send them up to wait with the other one," instructed a pretty blonde with cold eyes, as she walked towards the girls. This was Anne.
"We've still got some setting up to do before your big introduction," Anne smiled, addressing the two freshman coeds. "Head upstairs and wait in the first room on the left. We'll come get you."
As they approached the staircase, they came into view of the twenty or so girls gathered in the big living room. The horde sent up another thunderous cheer as their new teammates passed by. A large banner bearing the words, "Welcome Freshmen" adorned the back wall of the room, and the empty liquor bottles suggested that the veterans had begun their festivities some time ago. Was their applause genuine and welcoming? Or was it meant to mock? Emily couldn't be sure. She was sure of one girl, though. Her friend Chrissy gave her an encouraging smile and a big thumbs-up as she climbed the stairs.
They entered the upstairs bedroom to find the other new addition to the team. Jennifer Brooks was a phenom. Emily and Kimberly were damn good runners; they were both blessed with unusual gifts, and trained hard to nurture those blessings. But Jennifer was in another class. You could use her name and "Olympics" in the same sentence with a straight face, and she was probably the most ballyhooed recruit in the history of the school - in any sport.
It seemed to Emily that Jennifer's immense talent - and perhaps her beautiful blonde locks and knockout looks - had made her a bit of a snob. Of course, she allowed that her own envy may have played a part in that assessment. Still, Jennifer lived in their residence hall, she knew that Emily and Kimberly worked out together regularly at the track and in the gym, and she never showed an interest in joining them, opting to train in solitude instead.