“What are you talking about, Mom?” I can see her eyes rolling from here.
“Never mind. I’ll see you as soon as I can get there.”
So much for resigning from the Advisory Board—effective immediately.
SIXTY-FIVE
CALI
Time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace once I left Mama Carla’s apartment. It was like I was trapped inside a bad dream moving in slow-motion. I could hardly eat my dinner. All the talk about Lilith Shitmore has my nerves bouncing around like I’m playing musical chairs. One minute I’m confident, then seconds later I’m bereft over losing Miss Pearl and the fate of my beloved sorority.
Now, sitting here in the chapter room, I’m reminded of how real this whole thing is. Our security guy is guarding the door. No joke; he really is out there. And he has a gun in his holster. I thought Selma was kidding, but apparently not. It was kind of funny to watch the looks on everyone’s faces when they walked past him, and then hear all the rumblings as to why he’s down here.
A glance at my phone shows six thirty. Mrs. Woodcock is on her way. It’s outright amazing to me that a mom would drop what she’s doing and drive all the way down to Oxford at a moment’s notice. Ellie and I are saving her a seat right next to us. The new members are required to sit in the back of the chapter room during meetings and from there it graduates to the front, according to year.
When the last girl has taken her seat, Selma stands before all of us on theslightly raised stage in the front of the room. As soon as she stands up a hush falls over the large crowd and everyone gives our president their undivided attention. As I look at Selma, wearing her Alpha Delt jersey and holding a microphone in her hand, I daydream about one day becoming president myself.
“So I’m sure you’ve all heard bits and pieces of what happened today with Miss Pearl,” she begins. “I want to give you all the details so there’s no misunderstanding this whatsoever.” She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, glances up at the ceiling, then breathes deeply.
Mrs. Woodcock opens the chapter room door and Ellie waves her over. She slides in next to us, then waves at Selma, who smiles and waves back.
“In a nutshell,” Selma continues, “Miss Pearl went to Lilith Whitmore on two separate occasions to apply for our House Director position. I’m sure everyone has heard by now that Mama Carla is leaving to be with her daughter and grandchildren, right?” She scans the crowd, looking for nods. “Okay, just checking.”
“If you don’t already know, Lilith Whitmore is our House Corp President. That means she’s the Alpha Delt alum in charge of everything that has to do with the operation of this House, including the hiring and firing of the House Director.” She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “Our Alpha Delt bylaws state that the House Director is required to have a college degree. And because Miss Pearl doesn’t have one, Lilith Whitmore told her she’s not eligible for the job.”
Groans are heard from many of the girls. About sixty people raise their hands.
“Oh gosh, I’m sure y’all have lots of questions, but please wait till I’m finished. There’ll be plenty of time for that.” She takes a step back and rests her butt against the long table behind her. “Most everyone knows this, but in case you don’t, this whole thing is much more complicated because Annie Laurie Whitmore is one of our new pledge sisters, and Lilith is her mom.”
Now everyone is perfectly silent. But necks are craning around the room looking for Annie Laurie.
“I gave Annie Laurie the option of attending tonight, but we mutually decided it was better that she sit this one out.”
Since Ellie and I are seated in the back with our pledge sisters I can see several of the older girls whispering to one another.
“I’m betting most of you are wondering if we can bend the college-degree rule for Miss Pearl? The answer is yes and no. First, we’d have to change the bylaws, and second, Lilith Whitmore is the one who’d have to approve it. So as you can see, we are in a bit of a mess.”
A loud chorus of voices fills the room.
“Hang on. Listen up,” Selma says, raising her voice over the chatter. Once everyone quiets back down, she continues. “The really hard part here is Miss Pearl feels like Lilith Whitmore made her decision based on race.”
A cacophony of moans and groans fills the room again, this time even louder, and I’m afraid chaos will ensue.
“Wait, y’all, please listen,” she says into the mic with a commanding voice. “Please keep your voices down. This is hard enough.” Now she waits till everyone is dead quiet. “Since Miss Pearl has been here twenty-five years and pretty much runs the joint, she feels like she should have the job. And to be honest, so do I. But it’s not my decision. So I’ve called us all here to get a general consensus of what everyone thinks.”
Most every girl in the room is frantically raising her hand.
Selma grabs the sides of her head and makes a crazy face. “Yikes. Okay, one at a time, please.” She looks out at the crowd of over four hundred and points to a girl I don’t know on the front row. “Yes, Priestley, what’s your question?”
Selma hands Priestley another microphone from the table. “Is Lilith Whitmore the only one making the decision? Aren’t there other alums on the Board who have a vote?”
“Yes. We have two boards. House Corp Board and Advisory Board. This situation falls under the House Corp Board, but the other eight ladies who serve on it live all over the state. They only meet once a year. To be perfectly honest, Mrs. Whitmore pretty much does what she wants, and doesn’t ask for anyone’s permission. Unfortunately for us, she seems hell-bent on keeping the college-degree rule the way it is.”
Selma points at another girl I don’t know. “Virginia.”
Priestley passes Virginia the microphone and she stands up. She turns around so all of us new members in the back can see her face. “For all you pledges that haven’t met me yet, I’m Virginia Kay. I’m a senior this year. To me”—she takes a deep breath and places a hand on her heart—“Miss Pearl seems likethe housemother anyway. I love Mama Carla, don’t get me wrong, but Miss Pearl does just as much as she does around here. She’s classy and smart and from what I understand, she has a year of college already. She’s going back to get her degree.”
“That’s actually what I was going to tell y’all next,” Selma says. “So thanks for mentioning that, Virginia.”
