16. Simone
Simone
It’s too early for any human to be up. So, of course, the first place we head this morning is the coffee shop on campus.
Lani is a bubble of energy already—before the caffeine has even hit, and Lydia is her normal hermit self, drowning her tiredness in an oversized hoodie, head down, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.
I’m somewhere in between their energy levels—I’d rather be in bed, but I’m still ready to take on the day.
“Okay,” I say with a little more energy now that I have a cup of coffee in me. “We need some girl time! It’s freshman year, y’all. We need to be living it up.”
Lydia slowly lifts her head. “Says Ms. Sorority girl herself. You seem to be the only one living it up so far. You’re gonna be too busy for us soon, so we definitely need to find ways to get you to grace us with your presence as much as possible.”
I roll my eyes at her and smile. “Every free second of mine is yours. Plus, most Greek events are open to everyone. So I will be dragging you two along to everything.”
“Sounds pretentious,” Lani jokes.
I slap her arm that’s propped up on the table, holding her latte. “It’s not, I promise. But there’s also football.”
Lydia points at me and smiles. “Watching hot guys tackling each other for two hours. I’m down.”
“There’s a game this weekend. Let’s go.”
“I’m in,” Lani says.
“Me too,” Lydia agrees.
“Then it’s a girls’ date!”
“Ugh, I have long classes today,” Lani groans. “What are y’all doing later today? I’m gonna need to decompress.”
“I’ll be stuck at the Gamma house sadly,” I tell her. “Philanthropy day tomorrow that we have to prep for. Mandatory for all pledges and actives.”
“The kidnapping of my best friend has already started,” Lydia pouts, throwing her head back.
I blow her an apologetic kiss. “I love you, though.”
“Mhmm. Prove it by only loving me then.”
I laugh at her. “I have too much love for you to hoard, ma’am.”
Lydia plays offended, pointing at Lani. “You can share it with Lani too…is that not enough for you?”
“You two are more than enough, trust me,” I tell her. “But the sorority is so much fun, and it’s going to open a lot of doors for us. I’m really just taking one for the team here.”
Lydia playfully rolls her eyes. “I guess I’ll allow it then.”
Lani looks down at her phone and then jumps up. “Crap, I’m gonna be late. I’ll see y’all back in the dorm—love ya!”
“Love you, too!” Lydia and I both shout as she hurries out of the cafe.
* * *
By the time classes are over, I’m running on fumes. My schedule was nonstop today.
8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Intro to Political Science
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
College Writing & Composition I
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Introduction to Sociology
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
U.S. History
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Public Speaking / Communication 101
Safe to say—I’m worn out. But I suck it up, grab an energy drink, and head to the Gamma house for our philanthropy meeting.
You can smell the house before even walking in the door.
It’s funny how drastically different some of the frat houses are from the sorority houses.
I guess they really do sometimes live up to the textbook image of frat boys and sorority girls.
The frat houses are scented nicely with beer, cologne, and takeout, while the sorority houses smell like fresh laundry and a hundred scented candles.
I pull the door open and walk inside. A couple of girls trail behind me, and we all find our way over to the largest common area in the house, where everyone is already starting to pile in and find a spot to sit or stand.
I squeeze in beside a couple of girls I’ve met and say hey right as Madison—our house president—and Joy—VP—walk to the front of the room and grab our attention.
“Alright, everyone,” Madison starts in a high-pitched but authoritative voice, clapping her hands once.
The chatter dies instantly. “Tomorrow’s philanthropy day.
That means we’ll be working side by side with the other sororities and fraternities on campus to raise money for our shared causes.
We want to show the university, the board, and every single student that Gamma women are more than just parties and matching outfits. ”
Joy nods beside her. “This is our chance to show that we can lead, organize, and handle chaos gracefully. So, please, let’s keep the drama to a minimum and make sure we represent Gamma well.”
There’s a murmur of agreement around the packed room.
“Now,” Madison continues, picking up a small stack of envelopes, “you’ve all been assigned booths. These are final. No switching, no complaining, no asking for a do-over. I mean it. You’ll be working with members of the Sigma Chi fraternity, so please behave like civilized human beings.”
Joy smirks at that, and a few girls laugh.
“Come up when your name’s called,” Madison says, flipping open her clipboard. “Grab your envelope, see what booth you have, and go start prepping.”
One by one, girls go up, giggling when they see who they’re paired with.
A few squeals here and there. Freshmen girls who are already trying to climb the social ladder with upperclass frat boys.
I almost roll my eyes at the sight. Sometimes I feel really lucky to be taken and not have to deal with the hookup culture and dating pool around here.
“Simone Edwards,” Madison says finally.
I walk up, take the envelope from her hand, and mumble a “thanks,” opening it as I step aside.
Booth: Dunk-a-Sig Charity Booth
Partner: Mason Sinclair
I exhale. It’s half a laugh, half an annoyed groan. “Of course.”
Joy glances up from her papers. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah,” I say, forcing a smile. “Everything’s perfect.”
Joy nods. “Good. You’ll all start prepping today. Decorations, supplies, setup lists, shifts. Get it done before you leave.”
I walk off, staring at the name again.
Mason Sinclair.
How I ended up getting paired up with the one guy who already hates me is beyond me.
What is my luck becoming?
I take my envelope and head to where all the girls have started, grabbing supplies, working on signs, and prepping for their booths.
We spend all night painting our signs, picking decorations to match our booth themes, and talking more than being productive.
It’s actually more fun than I expected. All the girls are great, and it’s nice to have some downtime to get to know them a little better. It distracts me from having to think about being stuck with Mason all day tomorrow.
At least he’ll be the one getting dunked in the tank—that’ll be entertaining. Maybe it’ll keep us from having to talk much.