“Mrs. Woodcock, Mrs. Woodcock!” I feel a tug on my arm and turn around to see Lizzie, the Recruitment Chair of Alpha Delt. I remember her well from the Rush Workshop. Even though she’s a senior, she looks as though she’s barely eighteen—her adorable dimples will always be her fountain of youth. The red sundress she’s wearing is similar to one of Ellie’s. “Hi, Mrs. Woodcock.” She’s panting like she ran a six-minute mile to catch up with me.
“Well, hi, Lizzie. I thought I heard my name.”
“Thank goodness I caught you.” She places her hand on her heart, as if she’s trying to slow it down. She must be desperate to talk to me.
“I’m glad you did, too. What’s going on?”
“Do you have a minute?”
Haynes is in a hurry to meet Ellie and Cali, but I look at him with anxious eyes. “Sure, we have a minute.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “This is my husband, by the way. Haynes Woodcock. And this is Lizzie, our wonderful Recruitment Chairman.”
Haynes shakes her hand. “Hello, Lizzie, pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you. You, too,” she says, then turns right back to me. “I was gonna call you this week, but I’d much rather tell you this in person.” A funny expression washes over her face and she winces, tucking her arms into her sides.
“This looks top secret to me,” Haynes says. “How about I go on to the gate to meet the girls and let y’all finish this discussion?” He pulls a stack of tickets from his pocket and hands me one.
“Great, see you in a sec.” When he walks away, I quickly turn back to Lizzie. The suspense is killing me. “What did you want to tell me?”
Her smile is wavering. “This is, like”—she starts to talk, then stops as if she’s struggling to find the right words—“so awkward, to be honest.”
I reach over to pat her arm. “It’s okay, honey. You can tell me.” My mind is already down the road to crazy.What have I done? What has Ellie done? Did I have poop on my pants in the meeting? What the heck is it?
“So, at the last Recruitment meeting, when Mrs. Whitmore introduced you, I was a little surprised because… well, like, she had never told me you were taking Anne Marie Norton’s place. Technically, a Rush Advisor is not supposed to have a daughter in the sorority. Especially not one going out for Rush.”
My hand involuntarily shoots up to my mouth, and I gasp loudly. “I had no idea.”
“We figured you didn’t.” Lizzie nervously tucks her hair behind her ears and shifts her feet.
“We’ll find someone else to take my place.”
“Actually, I spoke about that with our president, Selma James, and the other alums on the board and we all decided to make an exception. It’s too late, pluswe all think you’re awesome. You’re so nice and—” She leans over and whispers, “Promise not to tell anyone this?”
With a rapid nod, I try to reassure her.
“We love Ellie. She’s gonna get a bid to Alpha Delt.”
At least I think that’s what she says. A kid walks by and blows one of those ear-splitting noisemakers not five feet from us. Covering my ears, I lean in closer. “Did you just say Ellie would get a bid?”
“I’m ninety-nine point nine percent positive.”
“I’m so relieved.” I lightly clap my hands together, beyond happy to know the other girls like Ellie.
“I’m sure you are.” She reaches out, touches me on the shoulder. “I’d never tell you that in normal circumstances. So please, please keep it on the down low?”
I give her the Alpha Delt secret-swear—four fingers across my heart.
Lizzie smiles, gives it back. “The whole thing has been awkward this year because, technically, Mrs. Whitmore is, like, not supposed to be in Rush meetings.” Her voice speeds up as she’s talking. “She’s the House Corp President, and that’s great, but Recruitment is not her job. We keep wondering if she knows all this, but keeps doing it anyway, or if she just doesn’t understand the rules.”
Holding my palms up, I say, “I’m not sure either, but we should probably give her the benefit of the doubt. Things have changed a lot since we were in school.”
With heels lifting off the ground, she clasps her cheeks. “I know! And this is her first year as House Corp President. Maybe she thinks Recruitment is still part of her job?” She stares at me with pleading eyes, like she wants me to break all this to Lilith.
“Are you wantingmeto explain that to her?”
“Would you?” Her eyes bug out and she puts her hands together, like she’s praying.
“No! I mean, maybe. I’d have to think about it, Lizzie. Lilith is over the moon about her position. I don’t know what I’d say.”
