Page 48 of The Bro-code

“But that doesn’t make sense,” I object. “Those tools are supposed to turn off automatically after a certain amount of time.”

The man shrugs. “It could be a faulty item. It’s always better to turn your appliances off regardless of these automatic safety features.”

He’s right.

“Thank you, lieutenant,” I sigh. “Is there anything else you need from me this morning?”

The firefighter tells me that they’ll get in touch if they have more questions and to let me know the conclusion of their official report. “We’re going to seal the property and affix warnings that it’s unsafe to go inside. This is my number if there’s anything urgent you might need.” He hands me an old fashioned business card and I take it with shaky hands.

“Now I need to break the news to my sisters that we’re homeless. We need to find a place to stay.”

Cole gives my hand a comforting squeeze. “I doubt you’ll be able to stay together. With classes starting tomorrow, the campus will be pretty full.”

I realize that Cole is right. My sisters won’t be happy if they have to move into the dorms. I know I hate the prospect. Especially because this time of the year, all the single rooms will probably be taken and I’ll end up having to share an actual room.

“Sisters,” I raise my voice to get their attention and I’m surprised to notice that everyone stayed. “I have some news and I’m afraid it isn’t very good.”

I relay what the lieutenant just told me and the general reaction of the Zetas doesn’t surprise me.

“The dorms?” Candace one of the seniors squeals. “Oh my God, no. That’s why I pledged Zeta Theta Beta. I wanted to live in a nice house, with a housekeeper and?—”

I interrupted her. “I understand and I’m sorry. But the house will have to be torn down, so there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s try to organize a place for each of us to crash tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go to the housing office and see what our options are.”

Bianca intervenes, her tone haughty as she levels me with a glare. “Way ahead of you, sister. I immediately called my Daddy when I saw the fire. He plays golf with the fire chief and he’s been kept informed about the situation in real time. He opened the office and he’s got the housing office manager to come to work on a Sunday to sort out your mess.”

This bitch.

I take offense to her accusation.

First she fucks my boyfriend in my own bed, then she tries to have me deposed as president. And now this?

“How is it my mess?” I snap. “I didn’t set the house on fire.”

Bianca’s shrill voice goes up a few octaves, to make sure every sister hears her loud and clear. “The fire report says it was one of your cheap hair tools that turned our house into an overdone marshmallow. The Dean is furious.”

I have nothing to say as I climb into my car, grateful to Cole for offering to drive to the Dean’s office; my nerves are so shaken that I know I’m not safe behind the wheel right now. The last thing I need is to add a car accident to this disaster of a night.

As predicted, the Dean is less than thrilled to see us. And with that, I mean he’s less than thrilled to see me.

As Zeta president, I feel responsible for what happened but there’s no doubt that Dean Williams is convinced that I must have personally set the fire and possibly watched the house burn like a modern version of Emperor Nero.

“Ladies,” the Dean sighs, his brown eyes sweeping the room before settling on me. “The situation is extremely serious. The school insures every building and we demand that the organizations who own or lease buildings on our campus also take insurance. So rebuilding the house will be a matter of time. However what happened last night is unacceptable and we’re lucky it didn’t result in any serious injuries or loss of life. It goes without saying that there will be an official investigation into last night’s events to determine if anyone is directly responsible for the fire. We’re looking particularly into the object that seems to be the source of the fire. Should it be confirmed that there was a manufacturing fault, the school intends to seek compensation.”

I can see it in the man’s eyes that he’s already decided this is all my fault. I of course didn’t personally build the hair styling tools, I’m merely the face of the product, but I need to get in touch with my attorney to make sure I’m not liable if the fire ends up being caused by a manufacturing fault. I need to also inform the company that makes the tools because maybe we need a recall until we can establish that these tools are safe.

“Those are all future problems though,” the Dean continues. “Our priority right now is to find alternative accommodation for the twenty-five of you and let me tell you, that hasn’t been easy. As you can imagine, the fall semester is about to begin and that means we had a full freshman class move in.”

I sigh, resigned to share a room with someone random. Maybe I could try to find a rental in town, even though with my course load I could do without the commute. And obviously I’m pretty sure all the most affordable places are gone by now. Thankfully I’m in the position to afford a couple of grand a month, even though with a possible recall on the hair tools, my income might suffer in the immediate future.

“My office,” the Dean announces, “has worked hard from the early hours of this morning and I’m pleased to inform you that we found accommodation for each of you on campus. Let me remind you that this year we’ve had an exceptional influx of enrollments. Despite the fact that Princess Heloise Leighton-Rossi has decided to defer her attendance by a year, the publicity we received from her enrollment and her brother’s before her, has propelled our institution into the top three most sought after universities in the country. Your degree from Star Cove will open all sorts of doors for you, so remember this before you complain about the accommodation allocated to you.”

The Dean dons a pair of frameless glasses, shuffling papers around his desk.

“Here it is,” he holds a sheet of paper. “Bianca, of course you’re moving back in with me and Mom?—”

“What?” I’m surprised Bianca’s scream doesn’t shatter every window on campus. “But Daddy, I don’t want to move back home. I have a social life and?—”

“What did I just say?” Dean Williams glares at his daughter. “Kylie is welcome to move in with us too, your mother is getting our guest room ready for her as we speak. Five of you are athletes and we found you accommodation in the ladies athletic department dorms. Those are Miss May, Miss Jonson, Miss Thatcher, Miss Blair and Miss Duncan-Smith. Another four have been allocated to the regular dorms. I’m afraid these are shared quarters, all the single suites and rooms are full at this point.”

---