Page 26 of Snitches and Serpents

All packed up and waiting.

Standing there frozen on the threshold, I simply stare at them. My pulse pounds in my ears. This cannot be happening. Please tell me that this isn’t?—

“You’re back.”

The sound of Brandi’s voice startles me out of my rising panic. Blinking, I drag my gaze up to her face as she walks into the hallway. I glance behind her in search of Mei, who has been the kindest one here, but there is no sign of her or any of the others. Only Brandi’s unforgiving eyes meet me.

“I, uhm…” I glance between her and my suitcases before meeting her eyes again. “It was a misunderstanding. They let me go.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Brandi replies. Her tone is final. “You do not uphold our values.”

“I was set up. I?—”

“And you do not uphold our reputation,” she continues, cutting me off. “You swore that your personal… issues would not affect our sorority. But they have.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so?—”

“Which means that you are no longer a part of our sorority. We have cleaned out your room.” She motions towards my suitcases. “Please take your things and leave.”

I can’t breathe. Throwing out a hand, I brace myself on the wall as I try to draw oxygen into my lungs. My head spins.

“Where am I supposed to go?” I whisper, my voice coming out sounding just as desperate as I feel.

Brandi presses her lips together and crosses her arms before saying, “Mei was kind enough to call up to the dormitories and arrange a room for you there.”

I nod, because I don’t know what else to do. They’re kicking me out of the sorority. After less than a week. Oh God, what is my mom going to say? This was her sorority. I was supposed to continue her legacy. And instead, I have been banished in less than a week.

“Do not approach us,” Brandi continues. “At lunch or at any other time. You are no longer welcome at our table or in our home.”

With my hand still against the wall for support, I curl my fingers into a fist in an effort to suppress the mass of emotions assaulting me. Dragging in an unsteady breath, I raise my head again and meet Brandi’s eyes.

“Please.” I don’t even care that I’m begging right now. “Please, don’t do this.”

“I do empathize with you,” she says, but there is no empathy in her tone. “And I do feel sorry for you that you have gotten caught up in something unpleasant. But I refuse to let my reputation, and all of my fellow sisters’ reputation, get tarnished because of you. It’s nothing personal. It’s simply a matter of protecting ourselves and our futures.”

I swallow.

For a few seconds, we just watch each other in silence.

Then she takes my two suitcases and rolls them towards me. The sound of the tiny wheels rolling across the floorboards is deafening in the thick silence. I stare at the two suitcases as they come to a halt in front of me. There are stickers of cheerful pink and yellow flowers on them. Normally, I like the sight of them. They make me feel happy. Now, I just want to rip them off and set them on fire.

Drawing in an unsteady breath, I reach out and grab the handle of the suitcases. The breath doesn’t get past my throat, so I abandon my effort to draw it all the way into my lungs and instead simply turn around and walk away.

My suitcases scrape against the asphalt as I start in the direction of the dormitories.

I have been kicked out of my sorority and sent away like a homeless dog with fleas.

And it’s all his fault.

10

TRISTAN

Someone rings the doorbell. Aggressively. Over and over again. The furious ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong echoes through the house and silences the conversation around our kitchen table.

Standing by one of the counters in the kitchen, I pause with the ladle halfway between the pot of rice and my plate, and glance towards the front door. Then I look back at my housemates who are already seated around the table.

They all shrug, silently answering that they’re not expecting anyone.

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