4
Into Your Arms
Baya
Alpha Chi is lit up like a haunted house against the backdrop of a veiled starry night. The ground clouds skirt the edges of the gargantuan McMansion, giving it that ethereal feel, and, suddenly, it looks as though I’m stepping into a dream.
“You sure you want to do this?” Laney reapplies her poppy red lipstick, never once taking her eyes off the overgrown estate.
“I’m positive. The sooner I can switch off the I-Wet-Dream-of-Jeanie show, the better. Besides, who wouldn’t want to live in a haunted mansion?” I pull her up the steps.
“I still think you’re making a really huge mistake. From what you said about this afternoon, you’re making some serious strides with your current roommate.”
“Yeah, well, like I said, Bryson is a nice guy. He probably just felt bad that I was the only girl on the boat who didn’t get the ‘wear your thong memo.’ Besides, I doubt a card game equals serious strides.” He never did mention that kiss—but, then again, neither did I.
Laney pulls me back by the shoulder and twists her crimson lips into me.
“You don’t believe that for a minute, and neither do I. Face it, that boy has a hard-on with your name on it. If Bryson Edwards said he wished you were the only two people on that boat, I’m betting he meant it. I don’t think he’s done a lot of articulating with the girls he’s been with. He’s more of a get right down to brass mattress tacks kind of guy.”
A spiral of heat spears through me at the idea of Bryson wanting me that way. I’ve yet to see his bedroom, but I totally envision a golden bed with a holy light emanating from above while a choir of angels sing a chorus of halleluiah.
“We’d better make this quick,” I whisper as we come upon the giant glass doors. “We’ve got a shift to pull in less than an hour.” Bryson asked if I wanted to work the Black Bear, and of course I said yes.
A crystal chandelier blossoms from the ceiling, and I peer inside before bothering to knock. Dark expansive floors bleed throughout the downstairs, and a navy carpet runs up the steps, held back with long, gilded bars. An entire crowd of girls have amassed in the great room just beyond the entry, and one of them spots us and motions us inside. They’re all dressed in black tea length dresses with their hair neatly coifed and… eerily they’re all wearing a single strand of pearls. Why do I feel like a sorority version of the clone wars is about to break out?
Laney leans in. “So if we make it, do we have to morph into an Alpha Chi-bot?”
“It’s the fashion camaraderie that links them together.” It looks more fashion jinx than link, but I keep the commentary to myself.
“I don’t know.” She shudders in her jean jacket. “Something about the blue oyster cult is really creeping me out.”
One of the walking pearls skips over in her heels, creating a grating sound over the floor. “Hi! I’m Lynn. Who’s your sponsor?” Her hair is curled under at the ears, and she’s in the requisite little black dress with discards from the ocean strung helpless around her neck. Suddenly I’m feeling a wee bit nervous because obviously I didn’t get the memo to get my pearls or my perky on—not that I own pearls, and God forbid that I own an ounce of perky.
“She’s mine!” Jules rushes over with her blonde mane perfectly twisted in stiff little ringlets.
“Oh my, gosh! You brought a friend!” She spasms over me as if Laney herself were manna from heaven. “Come, come.” She pulls us each by the hand and scuttles into the center of the room as if we were exhibit A and B.
“Who is this?” A brassy blonde steps forward, and you can tell by her resting bitch face, that ultra-cruel look in her eyes, that she’s the one in charge of this quasi-hostage situation. “And why are they breaking dress code?” She barks at Jules, inspiring her to shrink three inches.
“Relax, Aubree.” Laney rolls her eyes. “This is Baya Brighton, and you’d be lucky if she graced your presence.”
I’m impressed that Laney knows her, but, then, Laney seems to know everyone and everything about them. Not that she’s filling me in on all the dirty little deets.
The queen bee inspects me with a look of slight disgust. Her brassy hair is pulled up high, and she has on enough mascara to give her that spider lash effect. There’s a sinister feel to her, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’s driving this crazy train.
“Did you tell me I’d beluckyto have her grace my presence?” Aubree squints into Laney until her eyelashes look as if they want to crawl off her face.
Nobody moves, nobody breathes. Dear God, you would think I slaughtered their mothers the way every girl in the room looks like they want to personally murder me in my sleep.
“Well, Laney andBaya”—she growls with a heated disdain—“we have a dress code to abide by. But, since you’re obviously clueless, I’ll let it slide just this once.” She snaps a finger in the air, loud and crisp as if she broke a bone in the process. “All new recruits line up against the back!” Her voice echoes through the room, vibrating the chandelier sconces until they sizzle against the wall. “Welcome to the hall of truth. Here at Alpha Chi we believe that authenticity and integrity are of the upmost value. We never hesitate telling a sister exactly how we feel because the truth is what separates a sister from a friend. For instance”—she glances at the bevy of girls behind her, and the entire lot of them shrink in fear, well, not really but you could see it in their eyes—“when Lynn here got her hair chopped off at a place that specializes in ten dollar hack jobs, I let her know that little follicular fuck-up was going to cost her a place at the next four social events with our matchups at Sigma Theta Tau.”
A gasp circles the room while Lynn closes her eyes a moment as if reliving the horror.
“And, when you, Jen”—she flicks a finger at a shorter girl with a mole the size of a dime just under her left eye—“tried to join the a cappella group after I graciously informed you that you sing like shit….” A smile that borders on a snarl graces her face. “Well, why don’tyoutell everyone what happened next?”
“I didn’t make it.” The girl with the mole gives a hard sniff.
“What’s that?” Aubree barks it out like a command.
