This Is War - Chapter 20 - Society Wars
“Rise and shine!” said a sing-songy voice.
I opened my eyes just in time to see a girl yank open the curtains. The morning sun hit me right in the eyes.
I put my hands up to block it. “What the hell? Who are you?!”
She turned around. “It’s me. Frankie.”
I squinted to make sure it was really Frankie and not some serial killer. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m your handmaid for the day, milady.” She gave an exaggerated curtsey.
“Handmaid?” Everyone in the Society had such weird jobs. First Cole was a liftman, then a card shark, and now he was a camp counselor. And Frankie had gone from a real estate agent to Ocelot’s assistant to now being my handmaid. Whatever the hell that meant.
“Yeah. You’re the princess of the red team. Of course you have a handmaid.” She said it as if it made all the sense in the world.
“Right…”
Frankie plopped a breakfast platter in front of me. “Eat up.”
Maybe having a handmaid isn’t so bad after all. I scarfed down the eggs and bacon while Frankie heated up a straightening iron and organized her makeup bag.
“So what are my duties as princess?” I asked. I had a feeling that I was about to find out why Cole had been able to get me into the princess suite on such late notice.
“Just look hot and do whatever you can to motive your team.”
Oh no. “By like…having sex with them?”
Frankie shrugged. “You can certainly do that if you want. But I’d probably advise against it. One girl tried that last month and her team lost horribly. All the guys were exhausted after their pre-game gangbang.”
I gulped. “But I don’t have to do that, do I?”
“Nope.”
“And I don’t have to do anything else weird either?”
Frankie shook her head.
Thank God. I’d eaten too many eggs to participate in an orgy. Just the thought made my stomach churn. Which reminded me of Incident #4. And Dr. Lyons face when I’d regurgitated my dinner all over him. Never again. Why had I just eaten so much?
“Here, put this on and we can start your makeup.” She tossed me a lacy red robe and pulled out a chair by the vanity.
While she did my hair and makeup, I couldn’t help but be taken back to the good old days when Rosalie and I would stay up late doing each other’s hair. Or really…Rosalie would stay up late doing my hair. She could always do the coolest braids.
And if I was a good enough detective this weekend, maybe I could experience that again.
What better place to start than by interrogating Frankie?
Afterall…her real estate roleplay seemed to be a part of the initiation process for female members.
With any luck, she would have gone through that same song and dance with Rosalie.
“How long have you been doing this?” I asked.
“Oh geez…pretty much as long as I can remember.”
“Huh? You’ve been in the Society as long as you can remember?”
She laughed. “Oh, I thought you meant makeup. I’ve only been in the Society for two years. Or I guess two and a half now. It’s crazy how time flies.”
Damn. So she didn’t know Rosalie. But it did at least give me some information. It meant that Frankie wasn’t the killer. Or kidnapper. Or whatever the crime had been. So maybe she could help.
“It seems like no one has been a member for much longer than a year or two,” I said.
Frankie nodded. “Yeah, there are a few long-time members like Ryder, but most find love and settle down.”
For real? Tanner always told me that the Society was about finding love, but I never really believed him. That wasn’t what was important here, though. “Do you know any other long-timers?”
“Hmm…do you know Sebastian?”
I shook my head.
“What about Callum?”
“Nope.”
That continued for a while. She’d say a name, and then I’d shake my head and try desperately to commit the name to memory. Eventually it seemed like she had exhausted her list, but then she snapped her fingers.
“I can’t believe I forgot! Angel and Diablo are long-timers. Surely you haven’t forgotten them,” she said with a saucy wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I certainly have not.” I would never forget the image of the two brothers standing there completely naked in that bathroom.
Or the way they’d flirted with me in the green room.
Or how I’d touched both their cocks while trying to make Tanner jealous.
And I’d dreamed of so much more. Usually I’d picture what would have happened if I’d let them double-team me in the shower when we first met.
I pressed my legs together. “Do you know how long they’ve been members? ”
Frankie pushed her mouth to one side. “Five years? Six Years?”
Six years! That meant they might have known Rosalie. Finally, a clue!
Frankie got back to work on my hair and makeup. Thirty minutes later, I looked hot as hell.
Frankie had given me eye makeup straight out of an episode of Euphoria.
And she’d pulled my black hair into a high ponytail.
The best part was the outfit, though. My red t-shirt had the same Emerald Oasis logo that had been on Cole’s shirt, but it was super tight and tied on the side to leave my midriff exposed.
And my high-waisted booty shorts made my waist look impossibly small and my butt impossibly big.
Usually I would have been horrified to have a little butt cheek hanging out the bottom, but in this case, it worked.
Besides, what happened at summer camp stayed at summer camp.
And it was certainly better than the minuscule bikini Tanner had packed for me. I wonder what he’s up to this morning…
I threw on a pair of sneakers and we were ready to roll.
I’d been worried that I would be cold in this outfit, but those fears dissipated the second I stepped off the elevator. It was unseasonably warm for late September - the perfect day for a good old-fashioned summer camp competition.
Both teams were waiting by the lake. Cole was making a show of stretching his very muscular quads while the red team - my team - was doing a group stretch. Damn, they take this seriously. But I didn’t see Tanner anywhere.
What really got my attention, though, was the guy standing on a raised platform between the two teams. I’d never seen a referee with such voluminous hair. Or with such a well-tailored uniform.
I immediately started sweating when I saw who it was.
Ocelot.
He was in charge of Club Onyx or something. I think they called him the imperator, whatever that meant.
More importantly, he was a deranged pervert.
The last time I’d seen him, he’d tried to get me to choose a guy to fuck on stage in front of like a thousand people. And now he was standing on another stage…
Oh God, oh God, oh God.
“Please tell me Ocelot isn’t about to make me fuck someone on that stage,” I said to Frankie.
“Nope. Or at least, I don’t think that’s one of today’s events.”
“What?!”
“I’m like 99% sure Ocelot won’t start with something crazy. He’s all about the drama, so he’ll want the competition to build to a crescendo. Anyway, it’s time for you to join him on stage for the opening ceremonies.” She pushed me towards the stage.
That wasn’t super reassuring.
But I was in sneakers and Ocelot was in black and white striped loafers, so if things went south, I could always make a run for it.
I went up on stage and…
“Chastity?!”
She smiled at me from across the stage. I suddenly felt less confident about my hotness, because she was absolutely slaying the same outfit as me.
But she was dressed all in blue. And she’d torn her top up so that one shoulder was out.
And the bottom of her breasts. I didn’t know how she did it, but she made underboob look classy as hell.
She ran over and honked my boobs. “You look so freaking hot. #LegsForDays. Tanner and Cole must be losing their minds.”
Oh God. I tried to pretend like the entire camp hadn’t just seen her honk my boobs. That Single Girl Rule really needed to be amended to make complimentary boob honks a private activity.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you had your sky box thing.”
“Psssh, a sky box sounds great. But literally getting to be a princess for a weekend? I was made for this.”
“Campers!” yelled Ocelot into his megaphone. “Welcome to this summer’s final edition of Society Wars. Today we have the red team, led by Princess Raven…”
The red team all cheered wildly for me. I had been so distracted by Chastity appearing that I hadn’t really processed the fact that I was standing in front of at least a hundred people. My extreme stage fright immediately kicked in.
Why are there so many people on each team?!
“And the blue team, led by Princess Chastity!”
Instead of standing there like a deer in the headlights, Chastity waved and jumped up and down like a high school cheerleader.
Her enthusiasm whipped the blue team into a frenzy.
Or maybe they were just cheering because her boobs were bouncing so much.
Either way, the guys on her team loved it. Including Cole.
Stupid boy.
“The rules are simple,” continued Ocelot.
“Throughout the day, both teams will compete in 23 events. The winning team for each event will earn one point, except for the finale, which is worth five. Whichever team has the most points at the end will be declared champions of Society Wars. Any questions, Princesses?”
Chastity shook her head. I had a million questions, but my stage fright forced me to keep my mouth shut.
“Okay. Shake hands, and then we’ll begin.”
“Good luck!” said Chastity. She pulled me into a hug and lowered her voice. “You’re gonna need it after you ditched me last night. Single Girl Rule #2: Girls’ night is every Friday. No exceptions.”
“I had to,” I whispered back. “To find Rosalie.”
“No exceptions!”
“But…”
She laughed. “I’m just messing with you. You said that Cole is gonna take you on a date if you lose, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re in luck. Because I think it might be impossible for me to lose at anything. #Blessed.”