Page 1 of Snitches and Serpents

1

ELLE

For as long as I can remember, I have had invisible steel bands wrapped around my chest. Sometimes, they’re so tight that I can barely breathe. Sometimes, it feels as if my ribs are going to crack from the pressure. But today, they’re slightly less suffocating. Because today, I finally get a chance to start a new life. And I am not going to let anyone ruin this for me.

“And over here,” Brandi says from next to me while she sweeps out an arm to indicate a building made of white marble. “Is the university library. It has a lot more textbooks and other course literature stuff than the city library downtown as you probably already…” Trailing off, she pulls her pale brows into a small frown as she glances over at me. “No, wait, you’re from out of state, right?”

I nod. “Yes.”

And thank God for that. High school was four years of near constant pressure. It was like walking a tightrope where one stumble would lead to a devastating fall that I would never recover from.

Everything had to be perfect. My grades. My extracurriculars. My appearance. My manners. My moral compass. Everything.

There was no room for errors. No room for mistakes. There could be no cracks in my perfect façade. Otherwise, it would reflect badly on my family. And that was unacceptable.

It still is. Anything less than perfect is still unacceptable. But at least here, at Bercester University, there are four entire states between me and my parents. Which means that I now finally have a little more room to breathe.

“So you have probably never been to the city library,” Brandi continues. “I can show it to you later if you want, but like I said, all the course literature and reference books you’ll need can be found in the university library.”

I nod again.

We reach another massive white marble building. There’s a set of double doors made of carved oak at the front, but both of them are closed at the moment.

“And this is the university cafeteria,” Brandi says. “You can eat breakfast and dinner back at our house, or wherever you like, but all sisters in our sorority eat lunch together every day.”

And you are expected to do so as well, is what she isn’t saying out loud, but the words still echo in the silence.

Yet again, I nod. “Of course.”

We continue across campus. While Brandi explains the formal rules, and the informal ones too, and points out different buildings, I alternate between watching the campus around me and the pair of girls ahead of us.

Nora, who, just like me, officially became a member of this sorority this morning, is no doubt getting the exact same tour and lectures as I am. As is the girl behind us. After a week of interviews and events and other ceremonies, we have now been initiated and have been granted membership status. It comes with some benefits. But it also comes with a lot of rules.

To be completely honest, I didn’t really want to join a sorority at all. But I didn’t exactly have a choice. My mom was a member of this sorority, and therefore I am expected to join it as well.

We have circled back around campus and have almost reached our sorority house when a group of people on my left draw my attention. Most buildings that belong to different sororities and fraternities are located in the same area of campus and they are all made of white stone. Just like most of Bercester University. And the people I have seen going in and out of the houses have looked like me and Brandi. Neatly dressed. Perfectly styled hair. Rich.

But the guys lounging in chairs outside the house on my left don’t fit any of those categories. One glance at their boots and worn sneakers tells me that they are not rich. Their hair is not perfectly styled. And they are barely even dressed at all.

Granted, the sun is shining down from a clear blue sky, and it’s only late August, so it is indeed a warm day. But I still didn’t expect… this.

Five guys are seated around an outdoor table on the small patio by their house. Two of them are engaged in some kind of discussion while the other three are leaning back in their chairs, eyes closed, as if they are simply soaking up the sunlight.

And none of them are wearing a shirt.

My gaze flits over their bodies.

Two of them look like they could be MMA fighters with their insanely toned and muscular bodies. The other three are skinnier, but there is still a distinct air of danger around them. All of them are also covered in tattoos.

“What fraternity is that?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.

Brandi, who had just been marching past while I had unconsciously slowed down, whips her head around when she realizes that I’m no longer right next to her. Surprise flickers in her blue eyes for a second. Then she notices what I’m staring at, and the surprise is instead replaced by some kind of emotion I can’t read. Irritation? Contempt? Fear?

“That’s not a fraternity,” she declares. After hooking her blonde hair behind her ears, she shoots one more sharp look towards the guys before she locks eyes with me. “That’s a gang.”

Surprise pulses through me, and I snap my gaze to Brandi while raising my eyebrows. “A gang? At Bercester U?”

“Yes. Well, they’re part of a gang anyway. The White Serpents. They deal in drugs, from what I understand. Mostly in the city but there is apparently also a market for it here at uni.”

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