9. Rock Bottom
CHAPTER 9
ROCK BOTTOM
BAY
B y the time the fire is out, the sun is rising on the horizon, marking a new day in Star Cove.
This is probably going to be a normal Sunday for the townies and the few tourists that remain after Labor Day, but for me and the Zeta sisters it’s anything but.
“Miss Woods,” the fire fighter in charge comes to see me as I wait on the front lawn with most of my sisters. “We’re all done in there for now.”
The earlier crowd is long gone, everyone dispersed once the thrill of seeing a house on fire wore off and the night progressed.
I look at the lieutenant with hope in my eyes. “Can we go back in? Start cleaning up and?—”
“Ma’am,” there’s compassion in the firefighter’s eyes, “the top floor is pretty bad. There’s extensive damage and I can’t allow anyone in there. I’m afraid this building is going to be condemned.”
Condemned? No. No, this can’t be happening.
“How…” Tears well in my eyes as I contemplate the disaster in front of me. “So it’s all gone? All of our things?”
The man nods. “I’m afraid so. The ground floor isn’t as badly damaged as the top, but it isn’t safe to go inside. Sorry.”
The tears I’ve been fighting to hold finally start spilling, and the only thing I can do to salvage one tiny shred of dignity, is to cover my eyes with my hands.
Cole, who stayed by my side all night, wraps a comforting arm around my shoulders.
I seek refuge in the warm safety of his embrace, my face hidden by his ripped, hard chest.
“Ma’am,” the firefighter tries to console me. “I’m sure every campus building is thoroughly insured. I’m going to make sure all our reports are forwarded to the administration as quickly as possible, so you can think about rebuilding a new, better house.”
He’s right, but that doesn’t help right now. All our stuff is gone and it’ll take months at best, if not longer, to tear down the ruined Zeta house and build a new one. The seniors among us might never even see it completed.
“I don’t understand,” I say, wiping under my nose with the back of my hand as the tears keep flowing. “What could have possibly caused such a severe fire?”
The lieutenant sighs. “We have a pretty good idea. Ironically, the object that caused the fire made it out almost unscathed. The fire was electrical. We’re pretty sure it started in one of the upstairs bathrooms where someone left a hair curling wand plugged in.”
Horror twists my insides.
“A hair curling wand?” My voice is shaky.
“A pink, bedazzled one,” the firefighter reveals. “Do you want to see it?”
I don’t need to see it. It’s one of mine. One of the Bay W. hair styling tools I put my face and name on.
“But that doesn’t make sense,” I object. “Those tools are supposed to turn off automatically after a certain amount of time. ”
The man shrugs. “It could be a faulty item. It’s always better to turn your appliances off regardless of these automatic safety features.”
He’s right.
“Thank you, lieutenant,” I sigh. “Is there anything else you need from me this morning?”
The firefighter tells me that they’ll get in touch if they have more questions and to let me know the conclusion of their official report. “We’re going to seal the property and affix warnings that it’s unsafe to go inside. This is my number if there’s anything urgent you might need.” He hands me an old fashioned business card and I take it with shaky hands.
“Now I need to break the news to my sisters that we’re homeless. We need to find a place to stay.”
Cole gives my hand a comforting squeeze. “I doubt you’ll be able to stay together. With classes starting tomorrow, the campus will be pretty full.”
I realize that Cole is right. My sisters won’t be happy if they have to move into the dorms. I know I hate the prospect. Especially because this time of the year, all the single rooms will probably be taken and I’ll end up having to share an actual room.
“Sisters,” I raise my voice to get their attention and I’m surprised to notice that everyone stayed. “I have some news and I’m afraid it isn’t very good.”
I relay what the lieutenant just told me and the general reaction of the Zetas doesn’t surprise me.
“The dorms ?” Candace one of the seniors squeals. “Oh my God, no. That’s why I pledged Zeta Theta Beta. I wanted to live in a nice house, with a housekeeper and?—”
I interrupted her. “I understand and I’m sorry. But the house will have to be torn down, so there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s try to organize a place for each of us to crash tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go to the housing office and see what our options are. ”
Bianca intervenes, her tone haughty as she levels me with a glare. “Way ahead of you, sister . I immediately called my Daddy when I saw the fire. He plays golf with the fire chief and he’s been kept informed about the situation in real time. He opened the office and he’s got the housing office manager to come to work on a Sunday to sort out your mess .”
This bitch.
I take offense to her accusation.
First she fucks my boyfriend in my own bed, then she tries to have me deposed as president. And now this?
“How is it my mess?” I snap. “I didn’t set the house on fire.”
Bianca’s shrill voice goes up a few octaves, to make sure every sister hears her loud and clear. “The fire report says it was one of your cheap hair tools that turned our house into an overdone marshmallow. The Dean is furious.”
I have nothing to say as I climb into my car, grateful to Cole for offering to drive to the Dean’s office; my nerves are so shaken that I know I’m not safe behind the wheel right now. The last thing I need is to add a car accident to this disaster of a night.
As predicted, the Dean is less than thrilled to see us. And with that, I mean he’s less than thrilled to see me .
As Zeta president, I feel responsible for what happened but there’s no doubt that Dean Williams is convinced that I must have personally set the fire and possibly watched the house burn like a modern version of Emperor Nero.
“Ladies,” the Dean sighs, his brown eyes sweeping the room before settling on me. “The situation is extremely serious. The school insures every building and we demand that the organizations who own or lease buildings on our campus also take insurance. So rebuilding the house will be a matter of time. However what happened last night is unacceptable and we’re lucky it didn’t result in any serious injuries or loss of life. It goes without saying that there will be an official investigation into last night’s events to determine if anyone is directly responsible for the fire. We’re looking particularly into the object that seems to be the source of the fire. Should it be confirmed that there was a manufacturing fault, the school intends to seek compensation.”
I can see it in the man’s eyes that he’s already decided this is all my fault. I of course didn’t personally build the hair styling tools, I’m merely the face of the product, but I need to get in touch with my attorney to make sure I’m not liable if the fire ends up being caused by a manufacturing fault. I need to also inform the company that makes the tools because maybe we need a recall until we can establish that these tools are safe.
“Those are all future problems though,” the Dean continues. “Our priority right now is to find alternative accommodation for the twenty-five of you and let me tell you, that hasn’t been easy. As you can imagine, the fall semester is about to begin and that means we had a full freshman class move in.”
I sigh, resigned to share a room with someone random. Maybe I could try to find a rental in town, even though with my course load I could do without the commute. And obviously I’m pretty sure all the most affordable places are gone by now. Thankfully I’m in the position to afford a couple of grand a month, even though with a possible recall on the hair tools, my income might suffer in the immediate future.
“My office,” the Dean announces, “has worked hard from the early hours of this morning and I’m pleased to inform you that we found accommodation for each of you on campus. Let me remind you that this year we’ve had an exceptional influx of enrollments. Despite the fact that Princess Heloise Leighton-Rossi has decided to defer her attendance by a year, the publicity we received from her enrollment and her brother’s before her, has propelled our institution into the top three most sought after universities in the country. Your degree from Star Cove will open all sorts of doors for you, so remember this before you complain about the accommodation allocated to you.”
The Dean dons a pair of frameless glasses, shuffling papers around his desk.
“Here it is,” he holds a sheet of paper. “Bianca, of course you’re moving back in with me and Mom?—”
“What?” I’m surprised Bianca’s scream doesn’t shatter every window on campus. “But Daddy, I don’t want to move back home. I have a social life and?—”
“What did I just say?” Dean Williams glares at his daughter. “Kylie is welcome to move in with us too, your mother is getting our guest room ready for her as we speak. Five of you are athletes and we found you accommodation in the ladies athletic department dorms. Those are Miss May, Miss Jonson, Miss Thatcher, Miss Blair and Miss Duncan-Smith. Another four have been allocated to the regular dorms. I’m afraid these are shared quarters, all the single suites and rooms are full at this point.”
The Dean hands the typical folders with all the details about your new dorm room to four very unenthusiastic Zetas.
“At this point,” he says with a sigh. “Campus is completely full. I’m afraid the situation off campus isn’t any better. All the apartments within walking and reasonable commuting distance from here are full. We even looked at local hotels but we’ve had no luck with those. Aside from the increased cost of renting a hotel room, a few hotels have already closed down for the low season. After the mayor clamped down on airBnB's, that leaves the Grand Hotel. And that’s closing until the new year for extensive renovations, so all my office could do was to reach out to our other fraternities and sororities. In the full spirit of the Greek tradition, those other houses have opened their doors to the embattled Zeta Theta Beta.”
Embattled ?
I swear I feel like the Barden Bellas in Pitch Perfect after the pussy incident.
Fear rears its ugly head that last night’s events might have attracted the negative scrutiny of the Dean and the smallest mistake could make us persona non grata on campus. As it is, I need to do damage control with our central chapter and make sure that they aren’t thinking about closing us down permanently.
That would be one terrible legacy.
Bay Woods: the Zeta president who burned the house down and caused the permanent closure of the Star Cove chapter.
A part of me wishes that I had taken Luca’s sister’s example and gone on a gap year rather than coming back to campus for my senior year.
If I think that two days ago I was leaving the royal yacht after an entire summer of pampering and traveling around the Mediterranean Sea, my current situation looks even worse.
But remember what I said about rock bottom and Murphy’s Law?
Here’s one life lesson for all of you.
When you think you’ve reached rock bottom, don’t complain about it. Because life has a sick sense of humor and fate will work hard to show you how what you thought was the bottom, was just a temporary low. Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, fate will give you one final push into the real bottom and laugh at your expense.
I know how this might sound overly dramatic, but stick with me and we’ll see how you feel in a few minutes.
“The Yucks?” Candace cries out. “You can’t possibly expect us to shack up with those girls, sir.”
I groan as the Dean goes on a tirade about how we’re lucky to be the recipient of the other Greek chapters’ kindness.
Tami, Liv and Viv are luckier to find shelter with the Kappa Alpha Lambda, who aren’t as prestigious as Zeta Theta Beta but are very nice.
A few more sisters will move into the Nu Omega Pi house and the Pi Omicron Psi.
“This leaves one last Zeta to re-home,” the Dean’s gaze lands on me again. “Miss Woods, we’ve found you a room in the Gamma Delta Tau house. Ladies, you’re now dismissed?—”
I know the Dean said we weren’t in the position to complain. I even agreed with him, for fuck’s sake.
“There must be a mistake,” the words leave my mouth on autopilot.
“There are no mistakes,” the Dean takes his glasses off, leveling his most severe glare in my direction. “Frankly, Miss Woods, I’m disappointed that you can’t be a role model to your sisters. When I said no complaints, I expected you of all people to get the message.”
He isn’t wrong. Even though he wasn’t quite so harsh when his own daughter complained.
“I know,” I agree, hoping to appease him. “However sir, can I respectfully point out that Gamma Delta Tau is a fraternity?”
The Dean nods. “I’m well aware of that, Miss Woods. I’m a proud member of Gamma Delta Tau.”
Right, I forgot about that.
“Then you must see how I can’t move into a house with two dozen men.”
If I thought Dean Williams would be sympathetic to my predicament, I was wrong.
“So?” he shrugs. “We have several coed dorms on campus and I don’t see a problem since I’ve been assured that you’re going to have your own room. As it is, you’re luckier than most of your sisters who will have to share a room.”
Yeah, but they don’t have to move in with their cheating ex. Of course I don’t say that. “You’re right. No problem,” I smile. “I’m sure one of them will be happy to swap with me?—”
“I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” the Dean cuts me off. “Those accommodations are final. Unless you have relatives in town or can find some other form of living arrangements, each of you will go to their allocated new quarters.”
I bite my tongue.
This is so unfair. I feel like I did back in high school, when teachers used to allocate your seat on the first day and you were stuck with their choice for the entire year.
But this isn’t about sitting in the front row during calculus, or having someone useless as a lab partner. There’s no way I can live with Topher.
What happened earlier, when he tried to force me to kiss him, is proof that he’s gonna make my life hell; which is ironic, considering I’m the one who was wronged.
“But sir, I?—”
“Miss Woods,” the Dean’s tone brooks no argument. “I am under no obligation to explain the process we followed to relocate you and your sisters, but I’ll make an exception on the account of last night’s traumatic events.”
His words might sound sympathetic, but his tone is simply annoyed.
“The dorm allocations are non negotiable, unless you’re a part of one of our women's sports teams and that’s escaped my attention?”
I shake my head. “I’m not, sir.”
“Then you aren’t eligible for a room in the athletic dorms. Regardless, the latest allocations put them at capacity, so the point is moot. As for the rest of the pairings, the choice wasn’t mine. When we reached out to all the fraternities and sororities on Greek Row, we gave them a list of the Zetas upper classmen who needed shelter. We let each house choose who they were prepared to take in.”
There’s an edge to his tone. Is he implying that no one wanted me?
The sad thing is that it isn’t hard to believe it. I might be popular on campus and within the Greek Council, but Zeta Theta Beta’s prestige comes at a price. A few other sororities have expressed jealousy over our popularity and our affiliation with Gamma Delta Tau and the hockey team by default.
I guess I’m the prime target for all that jealousy, but I’m surprised that it translates into this much animosity from the other sororities.
One thing is certain. “I—I’m sorry, sir. I appreciate your help in this emergency situation, but I can’t move into the Gamma house. I used to date the Gamma president and things didn’t end on the best of terms between us.”
It costs me a great deal to admit all that in front of the Dean and my sisters. It’s one thing to show my anger toward my ex, but I don’t want anyone to know how heartbroken I really am. The only people who have an inkling of how much Topher’s betrayal hurt are Lake and Cole.
If I thought the Dean would feel any sympathy for me however, his next words prove me wrong.
“Miss Woods,” he says with a paternal tone that sounds faker than Bianca’s Louboutin pumps. “It pains me to hear that your love life isn’t as perfect as you hoped. However, life doesn’t always work out the way we want. Sometimes we have to make compromises and very often we’ll find ourselves stuck in uncomfortable situations. Our modern society, at least in our part of the world, tends to protect our young from disappointment and defeat. But this coddling, this trend of getting a participation trophy, has to come to an end at some point. You’re going to graduate this year and after college, that kind of coddling is going to be well and truly over. It’s a dog eat dog world out there, Miss Woods. As an educator and as a father, I think that learning to face uncomfortable situations is an excellent skill to take out with you in the real world.”
“Well said, Daddy.” Bianca’s smile is full of cruel satisfaction.
The words that ‘another thing our society seems to excel at is hypocrisy’ are on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow them down. Bianca is one of the most spoiled, entitled people I’ve ever met and she wouldn’t have been allowed to pledge Zeta Theta Beta without her father’s influence.
I suspect that isn’t the only form of “coddling” the Dean offered his offspring, but pointing it out now would do more harm than good. At the end of the day, the Dean could make our life easier or very hard when it comes to rebuilding the Zeta house and if I want to salvage my legacy as president, I’ll have to stay on his good side as much as I can.
“Very well,” Dean Williams says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Since everyone is properly sheltered, I can go back to my Sunday putt game at the Country Club. I trust there won’t be any more fires to put out until Monday morning. You’re all dismissed.”