Page 6 of Deadly Sacrifice

I save their booth for last, and I’m surprised by my rising nerves. My palms are sweaty and my knees feel all wobbly as I approach. Good Lord, Prudence, get a grip. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that there are plenty of other opportunities available to me if this doesn’t work. It’s really not a big deal, and I don’t expect them to accept me anyway, so I should really just—

My rampant thoughts are cut short when a tall brunette smiles at me, waving me over. I steel my spine and finish the short few steps to the Alpha Chi Omega booth. The brunette sticks her hand out to shake mine, and I oblige after subtly wiping it dry on my thigh.

“Hi! Welcome to Blackwood University, and more importantly, to Greek rush!” she squeals, her brown eyes alight with far too much excitement. Meanwhile, my boobs are sweating like I’m a sinner in fucking church, and my hair is frizzy from the humid heat. “I’m Heather. It’s so nice to meet you!”

“I’m, uh, Prudence. How’d you know I was a freshman?” I ask, trying not to linger on my name. My mom wanted something unique, but that just meant getting made fun of my entire childhood.

Heather shrugs, her shoulders brushing against her sleek bob. “You have that look. But don’t worry, the jitters will fade. Especially if you find the right group of people to help ease you into college life.” She smiles wide, pointing out a few of the other girls behind her at the booth, talking with other people. Leaning in, she whispers conspiratorially, “And girl, you have just found them.”

We chat for a while, and although Heather seems a bit over the top for my taste, she’s nice enough. I think I’m partially deaf, though, because she pretty much shouts in excitement every other sentence.

After a while, the crowd starts to clear, and I take it as my cue to head out. Heather walks around the booth and tosses her arms around me for a tight hug that squishes her obviously fake tits right up against my chest. “Don’t make any plans for tomorrow and don’t waste your time with any other sororities. You’ll be invited to spend the day rushing for us,” she tells me as she pulls away, holding onto my hands like we’re besties.

Even though I’m way out of my comfort zone — really, I have been since the moment I stepped on campus — I smile back and do a little excited jump with her. I may not be as into this as she is, but she doesn’t need to know that. After I pry myself out of her grip, I wave a polite goodbye and then hurry back to my dorm so I can get out of these hot ass clothes.

***

Sure enough, the next morning, I wake up to my nasally roommate poking my arm.

“Hey, get up,” Samantha breathes, shoving her retainer back in her mouth. “Someone is at the door for you.”

“Awesome,” I rasp sarcastically. I rub my bleary eyes while she crawls back into her bed, and then I push myself up and open the door. Heather is waiting for me, dressed in a pink miniskirt and a white halter top. Her hair is flawless, as is her natural makeup. Meanwhile, I’m in baggy sweats, a chunk of my hair is still wet from my drool, and I have morning breath.

Why did I want to do the college thing again?

Oh right, for my mom. Fuck me, I’m having regrets now, though.

“Good morning!” Heather greets loudly, and Samantha whispers a few choice words from behind me. “I thought after our amazing connection yesterday, I would come grab you personally and take you to the Alpha Chi Omega house. It’s just a quick walk, but nobody likes to show up alone, you know?” She pauses to take a breath and frowns, finally scanning my appearance, and then tilts her head to the side. “I thought I told you to keep your day free so you could participate in rush with us?”

I do my very best to hold in my sigh, turning back to look at the clock on my nightstand. It’s not even eight yet. Facing Heather again, I say, “Yeah, no, you did. I just didn’t realize my day would start at the ass crack of dawn. Give me a sec. I’ll get ready.”

Heather nods easily, a bright smile back in place as I shut the door on her. Releasing that heavy sigh, I rush through throwing on clothes and taming back my hair, and then I toss a stick of spearmint gum in my mouth. I don’t have time to apply any makeup, so I smack my cheeks a couple of times to give them a natural blush. Good enough.

When I open the door, Heather is frantically texting away on her phone. She locks it and snaps her head up when I come out into the hallway. “Ready?” she asks warily as she takes me in. I’m wearing black tights underneath another loose, long-sleeved dress. It’s pretty much all I’ve got for something like Greek rush.

I nod and breathe out, “As I’ll ever be. Let’s go.”

I get an earful the entire walk over there, only to spend all day long having the same conversation with a different girl every half hour. It’s not my idea of a well-spent weekend, but I find a couple of girls that aren’t as obnoxiously loud as the rest of them, and I decide it’s all going to be fine.

It has to be.

5

Prudence

I’m not surprised when I get a fancy letter taped to my dorm room door Monday morning. Heather told me the sorority would be up late Sunday night, choosing which girls from rush made the cut and which ones they had to turn down. They only have so many spots each year, and apparently, the process is super selective.

My entire weekend is a blur of Greek rush. Squealing girls, overly fancy outfits, disappointingly small snacks, and mostly lackluster conversation. But I survived it, and now I’m holding my very own invitation to join Alpha Chi Omega.

I smile as I clutch the thick cardstock to my chest. One more thing checked off my list. Mom would be proud. Or, well, she’d be horrified if she knew the lengths I was going to here, but still, I’d like to think by the end of this, she’ll be glad.

This is the kind of college that actually has Greek row with big ass houses for each of the sororities and fraternities. The back of my formal invitation card states that move-ins will take place this weekend, so I have all week to pack up the shit I literally just finished unpacking in my dorm. Lucky me. Not that I have much, so it’s not going to be an issue.

I’m happy that Heather liked me, that she most likely vouched for me during their voting process. I’m doing this all for my mom. College and Greek life and everything else. But if my life had gone differently, I honestly don’t think I’d have chosen this path for myself. I never saw myself going to some fancy college and being overly social in some weird sisterhood. If I had things my way, I probably would have skipped college and found work with some kind of nonprofit. That’s really where my passions lie… but Mom needed me, so I reworked my entire life plan for her.

I’m caught in a state of determination, gratefulness, and dread. It’s a double-edged sword, and I’m cutting my feet open trying to balance it all.

***

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