Page 9 of Reversal of Fate

Tonia shook her head. “We can’t have that. There’s a party over at one of the fraternities tomorrow night.”

“Trust me I won’t have time for it. I still have to organize all my papers and books, and… you know, stuff,” Julie said.

Besides, she wasn’t one to party much. She always felt uncomfortable at events where she didn’t know anyone. She was practically tongue-tied when she had to speak to any man under thirty, particularly if the guy was handsome on top of it. Her mother had sent her to an all-girls high school, which meant she had no experience interacting with boys. The first two years at UCLA, she’d been so immersed in her studies, trying to do well in all subjects, and had only very occasionally gone to mixed events.

Tonia waggled her index finger at Julie. “You’re not missing out on this party. Not on my watch. We’re all going. I’m just gonna have to help you unpack.”

Before Julie could stop her, Tonia walked to one of the boxes and pulled the lid open. She looked inside, then tossed Julie a what-the-fuck look. “You weren’t joking about books and papers, were you?”

Julie shrugged. “I warned you.”

“Where are all your clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry, makeup?”

Julie pointed to a medium size suitcase that she’d opened earlier. One side contained a few pairs of shoes, toiletries, and underwear, the other side was filled with comfortable summer clothes. “There.”

Tonia let out an exasperated breath. “That’s an overnight bag where I come from.” She kneeled down on the floor next to the suitcase and rummaged through it. Finally, she looked up and shook her head. “Girl, we’ve got work to do.”

Tonia got up and walked to the door.

“What are you doing? I thought you were helping me unpack,” Julie said.

“Getting reinforcements.”

Tonia popped her head out into the hallway and called out loudly, “Girls, we’ve got a fashion emergency up here in Julie’s room.”

Fashion emergency? Tonia was calling her a fashion emergency? Julie cringed internally. Right now, Kathleen’s snoring didn’t sound so bad after all.

But there was no going back now. She could already hear several girls racing up the stairs to come to her aid. Even if Julie didn’t think she needed it.