Page 5 of You've Got a Place Here, Too
“That’s real. You know, the Alpha Beta chapter here is mad dope! Have you met any of ’em? Maybe you could get active with the Deltas here, so you don’t have to lose that.”
“I don’t know, it kinda seems like a lot. I’m already working on the music major, and now the Jubilee audition…I don’t wanna do too much, you know?”
“There’s one person I know of who’s Greek and in Jubilee. And she happens to also be a Delta. Her name is Amani. Maybe you should talk to her. See what her experience is like.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said, biting my lip.
“Why not? What are you afraid of?”
Being a disappointment, for starters,I thought.After all that was sacrificed for me to be here.“I just can’t afford for this to fail,” I eventually mouthed, just above a whisper.
“You’re not gonna fail, Rose. I won’t let you.”
My heart fluttered at the sweet sound of the name I shared with Granny in his mouth. “You won’t let me,” I said, placing my hands on my hips playfully. “Why not? What’s in it for you?”
Jrue met my gaze and stared into my eyes for several seconds without speaking a word. My heart was barely beating, and I could feel every inch of my body heat up like he’d lit a flame beneath me. I tried to focus, but all I could think about was letting the blazing-hot fire consume me.
“For one,” Jrue eventually said, “it makes me happy to introduce new people to Jubilee.”
I smirked, still working on resuming my natural breath. “And two?”
Jrue stood and reached out his hand to help me up. I grabbed it and felt the same electricity from the library, except now the spark was fuller, more alive.
“For two, I could think of worse ways to spend my time than helping a new classmate find her way. Which reminds me. Have you been to the Memorial Chapel yet? It’s pretty much my favorite place on campus. They use it for concerts, graduation, stuff like that. Word is, Langston Hughes read poetry there back in the day. And there’s this organ there, worth millions, one of the best you can find anywhere in the U.S.”
“What are you, like, Mr. Fisk?”
“You got jokes.” Jrue laughed. “I’m just saying, I can take you, if you want. Might be cool to see more of campus. And”—he paused—“there’s a big stepshow tonight, and I think we should go. I can introduce you to Amani and the other Deltas, and you can see if it’s a fit. That cool?”
I bit my lip and nodded. If nothing else, it would be fun to see more of Fisk. And Jrue.
“So, back to this fashion show,” Jrue said curiously. “Was this a catwalk situation or…”
I pushed him playfully as we headed out into the fresh air. “Just start the tour, Mr. Fisk.”
My first stepshow at UofM was just twelve days after I crossed Delta. I went straight from pledging to probate to step practice—staying up all night and getting whipped into shape by our stepmaster, my new line sister, who had choreographed a couple dances in high school “for fun” but had no other qualifications for the job beside that she had rhythm, and we did not. She was able to work the miracle, somehow, and that first stepshow—which took place at 9:13p.m.on the library steps across from the Diag—was attended by everybody Black on campus and was talked about for weeks after our last sungYou cannot sliiiide, in my sor-or-ity!
I hummed the melody in my head and held tight to that cherished memory as I approached my first Fisk stepshow, wearing my UofM line jacket and hoping I wouldn’t get laughed back to my dorm. Before I could get too deep off in my head, I spotted Jrue, waving at me from across the lawn and standing beside a girl I vaguely remembered from rehearsal. She was slightly taller than Jrue, light-skinned with deep burgundy micro braids, and wearing her own line jacket over a white tank top, oversized camo pants, and red heels. A classic Delta look.
“Hey,” I said once I reached Jrue and he introduced the vaguely familiar girl as Amani. A boisterous cluster of Deltas practiced their moves and rehearsed chants behind them.
“This is your soror, Myra,” Jrue said to Amani, who in turn repeated the announcement to our sorors, getting everyone’s attention and pointing in my direction. They smiled politely and, after the standard Delta greeting, went back to their practice.
“Nice to meet you,” I said shyly.
“Amani, I been telling Myra about how you’re the only personthat does both Delta and Jubilee. Maybe you could tell her more about what that’s like?”
“I mean, I can but I don’t know if it’s gonna help,” Amani said with a chuckle. “Doing both Delta and Jubilee Singers isa lot.There’s a reason why folks frown at the idea. Being a Jubilee Singer is like being an athlete or being in a frat or sorority on any other campus. It’s celebrity status, and everybody, even the Greeks, knows that Jubilee Singers comes before anything else.”
“Wait a minute now, the Jubilee Singers might be the A-list celebrities on campus,” Jrue cut in, “but the D9 Greeks are still B-list. And who doesn’t love an entertaining B-list celebrity?”
“True.” Amani laughed as she rehearsed her steps. “And I’m not tryna discourage you, just warning you. If you decide you wanna do both, make sure you figure out your balance.”
“How did you find yours?” I asked, watching Amani flawlessly master her moves.
She chuckled. “I’m still figuring it out, but my favorite part of being a Fiskite is the feeling of purpose it gives me, like, by coming here, I can be so much more. Like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Something about that makes everything else fall into place.”
The words felt nostalgic. I smiled peacefully as one of the Alphas greeted the crowd with a lively yell that got everybody’s attention. “Are all the orgs stepping tonight?” I asked.
