Chapter 4: Hell Week Pt.1
(Edward)
He wasn't sure how many guys surrounded them, but he did know that the measly twenty, including himself, were no match. At first, he had been a little thrown off but he could have sworn he heard Havoc's unmistakable voice at one point. It was obvious that this wasn't some random setup; just hearing Havoc's voice was enough of a confirmation. This was pledge night.
One of the bigger guys stepped forward, his face still masked under the hood. "From this night on we weed out the weak from the strong. Only the best are BTA material and the rest should prepare to beg for our mercy." He threw his hood back a smirk on his face. "I'm Breda, but around here I'm your pledge master and you will address me as pledge master."
Edward's attitude usually got him in trouble, second to his mouth, this time was no different. Ed stared back at him unfazed. Aside from being hungry, tired and a bit irritated he didn't find him intimidating.
"Name." Breda questioned him, his face only inches away.
"Ed."
"Edward what?" The pledge master commanded.
"Elric and it's not Edward it's just Ed." He wasn't fond of being addressed by his full name.
Breda narrowed his eyes and yanked at Edward's shirt sleeve; revealing the automail arm underneath. "Automail huh? So, you think you're a tough guy?" His tone left no room for objections.
A year ago, Edward would have reacted differently, he probably would have decked this guy in the face, but they had him intrigued as to what this was all about. Holding back his fist was almost as exhausting as holding back his tongue. The pledge master looked like he was waiting for either reaction, when it appeared, he wasn't going to receive any he smirked at the lot of them.
"We don't haze here…we build character." Breda grinned, "If you can't handle it, there's the door."
"You." He stopped his pacing in front of one of the pledges. "What's your name?"
"Denny."
"Denny, do you want to be a member of BTA?"
The guy looked wearily around, but his expression steeled as he spoke. "Yes."
"Yes what?"
Ed snapped his head in the direction of the new voice. How had he not noticed this guy? He was the only member wearing black robes instead of blue. A strange marking on his gloved hands caught his attention. Edward watched closely as the blond guy's larynx bobbed in his attempt to swallow. "Yes, I want to be a member of BTA." He proclaimed albeit shaky.
The black hooded stranger pushed his hood back and instantly the rest of the members followed suit. It was clear from the looks on their faces that he was the highest-ranking member in the room.
"One week." He pronounced loudly, "One week for you to show us the kind of men you are. Line up."
The pledges slowly formed a straight line in the middle of the circle; each man's face a perfect mirror of the other as they looked nervously around.
"On your hands and knees." He barked off.
A few of the guys dropped hastily, Edward leered at the man before reluctantly dropping to his hands. "Push up position, count em' off!"
The group came together slowly at first but unanimously as they continued. "…eighteen…nineteen…"
Ed let out a loud grunt as he felt a weight drop onto his back.
"Did I say stop?" Breda joined in.
Ignoring the added weight, he felt the need to show off his strength, not allowing it to deter him in the least.
The guy in the black cloak paced their ranks watching them closely, eyeing them for any sign of weakness. "Loyalty, bravery and honor. These are your truths, the very core of your being. You are no longer the pathetic nobodies floating through mediocrity. If you make it through this week you will be more than a man, you'll be a legend. "
The silence between his words was filled with the labored breathing of the pledges as they struggled to keep counting off each set of pushups. Ed could hear his metal appendage protest under the strain of prolonged usage, his current model needed work. He should have found a mechanic by now; his arm had been giving him problems and this wasn't helping. Lucky for him the pledge master looked satisfied with their performance.
"On your feet." He held an identical copy of the book on each of their backs in his hands. "This book contains the prestigious history of Beta Tau Alpha and what it means to be a brother in this fraternity. During this week if you fail to have this book on you or if you cannot answer a question about its contents you're out. It's a privilege to be a pledge of BTA. This book and you are now best friends; you will take care of it and it will take care of you. Keep it with you at all times, read it, learn it, live it. You will stay in this house for the next week, you will answer every request with yes sir and of course since you are the bottom of the food chain around here you will work for food. This is hell week ladies, either you make it or you don't."
(Winry)
It was preference night, the last night of formal recruitment before the final bid day. Each sorority had two rounds during preference in which they could invite girls. Each girl going through recruitment could end up with eight preference invites or as some found out none at all. But at the end of the day the girls going through could only go to two preference parties. At first Winry was appalled at the idea of a preference "party", she was under the impression that was supposed to be an intimate gathering, not a party. Luckily her rho chi leader Riza had been rather administrative in explaining the formalities of preference in great detail and length.
There she was, in a dress and heels, a walking contradiction to her normal coveralls. It felt distinctly uncharacteristic and humbling to sit around waiting for the preference invites to be passed out, each second giving way to unanswered worries. Riza appeared at last, her hands full of invites she slowly passed out. Winry closed her eyes, what if there were none for her? Stupid thought Winry. If there are no invites then there are no obligations and you can forget the whole thing.
Unfortunately, there were two envelopes extended towards her and now instead of running away Winry needed to make a decision. Tonight, she would get an intimate look at Alpha Zeta and Kappa Delta. A small voice piped up that maybe she would share an experience her mother once had. There was no question about it, Kappa Delta fit her better than any sorority on campus. The girls were down to earth, driven, kind and just being around them made her feel like home. Nervously she fidgeted with the hem of her dress as they sat waiting for the start of the first preference party. She was standing outside Alpha Zetas doors; about to enter a world her mom had once called home, a sisterhood she had once called her own. Choosing Kappa Delta meant turning her back on a living link to her mother, a connection to something she thought had been lost. She could follow in her mother's footsteps and carry out her legacy. That's what she was supposed to do, right?
Before she had a chance to mull over the heart tugging decision in front of her, the doors were opened and she was awed into silence. The girls were led into the center of a large circle one after another. The AZ members surrounded them, each member dressed in form fitting black dresses. Winry stood awkwardly amongst the other potential members as the Alpha Zeta's began to sing a hauntingly familiar song, a song she remembered. Her throat tightened as the words filtered through her nerves. Winry felt her heart at her feet, her mother used to sing it to her as a child.
Through the dim lighting they turned as a voice broke the silence that had fallen when the song ended. Noa's face was illuminated by the candle in her hands. "Tonight, we have invited you to our preference party. We have invited you to join us for a brief glimpse into our sisterhood, into our ritual. While not all of you will become our sisters, we still say EVOLENO, EFILENO. We strive for greatness, we don't settle for ordinary, we push for extraordinary."
Winry felt mildly uncomfortable and wondered if this was normal on any level. How long was each preference supposed to last anyways?
One by one each girl passed the candle repeating the same phrase. "Beauty, power, success."
The mantra continued until at last it arrived in Noa's hands once again. Stepping forward she stood in front of each girl, pausing to stare into the eyes of each potential member as she repeated the phrase delivering one word for each girl. "Success." She spoke to Winry, winking slightly before taking a step towards the next girl. The rest of the ceremony was filled with different blurbs about the power of beauty and the prestige of Alpha Zeta. Before they ushered the group of girls from the room each potential new member was taken aside by a member to talk one last time. Sure enough Winry found Noa heading her way, lacing her arm through hers.
"Let's have a little chat." She spoke confidently as she walked her over to a deserted corner. "So, are you excited to be an Alpha Zeta?"
Huh? The sororities were not supposed to give out real bids to girls until after both preference parties. "But we don't get our bids until tomorrow morning?"
Noa gave a twittering laugh. "Oh please, don't be so naive. You're a legacy Winry, a sure thing. You don't need to worry." She frowned at one of the girls nearby, "God her dress is horrid."
Horrid? The dress was a little plain, but it wasn't horrible. Her heart sank, what could her mother have seen in this? Winry wasn't sure what she expected it to be like, but it was different in ways that made her distinctly uncomfortable. Nowhere in their singing, speeches and fake smiles did she feel anything close to sisterhood. She had never had sisters, but Winry couldn't imagine it felt like that. She fidgeted nervously, waiting for the time when she would finally be free from their penetrating stares.
"Well that girl is definitely not getting a bid." Noa remarked casually, not bothering to make sure she kept her voice down. She turned back to Winry after one last distasteful frown in the girl's direction, "What was I saying?"
She had half a mind to walk out the doors of the building and never come back. Noa wasn't just a mean girl in the sorority; she was the president of Alpha Zeta. Wasn't she supposed to be the role model? It was terribly disappointing to find out that the stereotype was alive and well. Her hands twitched and Winry wished she had brought her wrench, might make this moment easier to handle. Mercifully there were only a few more painstaking minutes to endure before she was finally led from the room. Discouraged and disillusioned she tried to keep the soft lull of her mother's voice from invading her thoughts. It didn't matter what sorority her mother had been in; Alpha Zeta was not a place she wanted to be. As she walked towards the room for Kappa Delta's preference Rose snagged her arm.
"So how was it?" She exclaimed, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
It was like watching a balloon deflate as she recounted her experience. Rose looked mildly confused before her face twitched in suspicion, "How can you talk about them so badly, wasn't your mom an AZ?"
Winry wasn't sure how to answer that, had her mom been just like Noa? Would she have been horrified to see her daughter working on automail, the type of girl who got dirty, the type of girl who thought beauty wasn't everything? She didn't want to believe her mother had ever been that shallow.
"You're right. I just don't think I get this whole sorority thing yet." She spouted off, not wanting to debate something that was hurting her. The comfort of knowing her mother would be proud of her was fading fast. She was starting to feel as if going through sorority recruitment was one the worst decisions she had ever made.
"Winry, are you alright?" Riza asked abruptly.
The truthful concern in her eyes brought up the emotion that had been lurking around, the overwhelming urge to put as much space between this reality and the initial dream she had started to hold onto. "I can't do it."
The normally stern looking girl sighed softly before patting the seat next to her. Reluctantly Winry sat down, not sure what her rho chi could say that would make her stay.
"I thought the same thing." She smiled in her direction before facing front again. "I like rules, I like loyalty and fairness. I thought sororities were all alike, but the truth is that there is always an exception to every rule. Don't give up just yet."
Winry sighed, already knowing in her mind what she was going to do. Under Riza's watchful eye she knew making a run for it wouldn't do, she had to go to the last round before throwing in the towel. She had gone this far, it would be a shame to walk away now.
Her nerves flared up again as she stood outside the Kappa Delta room, would they prove to be just as disappointing?
When the doors opened, she found herself once again awed by the scene in front of her. Instead of being surrounded the girls brought them into their circle, accepting them amongst their ranks as if they were already members. Winry had to admit the president of Kappa Delta was still rather intimidating. Olivier stepped forward, the candle in her hands reminding Winry of AZ, but the comparisons ended as soon as the words began to leave the presidents mouth.
"We ask that you join our sisterhood circle, a place that has no beginning and thus no end. It symbolizes the bonds between our sisters and the never-ending love we share for the one thing that has brought us all together."
Girls began to step forward then, each speaking before stepping back into the circle. She identified Rebecca as one of the first, the ongoing monologue flowing from one girl to the next.
"I will always be there."
"When you need me."
"If times are hard."
"If times are happy."
"I will help pick you up when you fall."
"I will remind you that you deserve better, that you are good enough."
"KD is where I was meant to be."
"You help me see the good in everything."
"You prove that beauty is most powerful when it comes from within."
"It's showing me how to make a difference."
"It's teaching me how to walk so I can run."
"It's learning that everyone makes mistakes."
"It's learning to forgive."
"It's learning to be brave when I'm scared."
Olivier had a radiant smile which strangely made her appear kinder. "But most of all it is learning to take those small steps into our future with our heads held high, the world in our hands and a sisterhood of support on which we stand."
Of course, there was singing but Winry didn't feel the haunting familiarity of a voice lost. All she heard was the symphony of sound, a chorus of voices all coming together, singing with a passion of heart for their sisterhood. When at last Winry thought it was over she saw an older looking member take the candle from the president's hands. Looking a little unsure she clutched at the candle, her eyes looking a little watery.
"As a senior I know this will be my last preference, but my journey has seemed so short." Her voice quivered a little as she continued; the candle flickering in her hands softly illuminated the tears trickling down her cheeks. "These girls are the reason I made it through college, Kappa Delta is the reason I found them. But no matter the year I see that I am not the only one moved by what these girls have done and what they will do. I walked in unsure and hesitant, now I leave with confidence in not only myself but the sisterhood I will always carry with me. While I might travel far, I will always hold you near. To you girls new to our circle we want to share with you the courage of heart, the fulfillment of knowledge, and the trusting loyalty of sisterhood. Tonight, you make a decision that will forever change your life, I can only say that my decision brought me to Kappa Delta and I have never been happier."
Winry could feel the emotion around the room as girls bit back sobs, the true meaning of their sisterhood radiating around her. Maybe preference changed her mind or maybe she had known from the start.
(Rose)
Sorority recruitment was the best decision she had ever made. The second round of preference was ten times better than the first. Rose chatted animatedly with a girl named Kelly and her twin sister Regina. The three found a common distaste for the rather embarrassingly fake Prada heels one of the girls behind them was sporting.
"Thank god we don't give out bids until preference is over." Regina remarked shamelessly. "I would die if someone like that was wearing our letters."
Rose laughed together with the two of them enjoying the feeling of belonging. She wanted to be an AZ more than ever. Her thoughts drifted back to her roommate, the poor girl was hopeless when it came to this stuff. Good thing she was a legacy, she would at least be guaranteed a bid.
The sense of fitting in made her feel whole again, made the fruitless nights with random guys drift far away. If she was an Alpha Zeta, she could feel proud of herself again, she could stop drinking away past mistakes. It blew her mind that Winry was still mulling over her decision like it was hard.
"You sure about this?" She asked Winry as they walked back to their dorm together.
The blond girl remained silent for a moment before running a hand through her long locks, exhaling softly. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"Really? Even your mom was an Alpha Zee."
Looking pensive her roommate frowned for a second, "I don't remember a lot about my mom but if being a sister of Alpha Zeta was that important to her, she would understand why this decision is important to me. Kappa Delta just feels like home and I think that's what I need right now."
Maybe having her roommate pick a different sorority than her wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Rose could stand out here without any competition. It was about having a good time and enjoying every moment. They had a lifetime of making boring decisions and worrying about the future. Rose picked a place that would make her college experience one she would never forget. She ignored the voice that reminded her of the events she had recently tried in vain to forget. This wouldn't be anything like that.
(Edward)
Wiping his brow, he grumbled something about disgusting, no good bastards under his breath before plunging his sponge back into the now tinted water. The once soapy solution was now an unpleasant shade of grayish brown. Dumping the dirty water down the drain Ed paused to admire the shiny floors. Not too damn bad!
"Hey pledge!"
Ed grimaced, his muscles feeling fatigue from the long hours of cleaning. His hopes that the brother calling out to him was actually referring to another one of the twenty pledges died fast as he heard his nickname ring loud and clear.
"Fullmetal!"
He ground his teeth to hold in a sarcastic remark before answering, any other response would take away the dinner that had been sitting in front of them for hours. "Yes sir?"
"You can eat now."
Ed looked up at the brother's face, the black glasses giving him an older and sophisticated look that didn't quite match up with the pledge master who was currently shoveling food into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in years. While the feast that had been slowly infiltrating the house with its delectable smell had been taunting, Edward hesitated. Weird, he NEVER paused when it came to food. Unfortunately, his experience thus far made him falter because something about this didn't sit right. He might have hauled ass to finish cleaning the floors, but the other pledges had yet to walk through. As hungry as he was, he didn't feel right eating before the other pledges did.
"It can wait. Denny's still cleaning the bathroom, isn't he?"
The BTA brother shifted from one foot to the other, his eyes narrowed. "You're going to help him? Why not just eat, you did earn it."
"Yeah well, we're supposed to be brothers, right? The food is probably already cold anyways, doesn't really make that much of a difference whether I get some now or later." He hoped the older brother read into his sarcasm and didn't think too far into it. He didn't want guys to think he was a goody two shoes for wanting to help his pledge brothers out.
"Denny's done, he's actually helping some of the other guys out back."
Ed took one last longing look at the food before heading out back. He would have to help because he wasn't going to go back on his word.
(Roy)
"Think they're all gonna last?" Roy asked smartly as he laid on the chase lounge watching the pledges prune the bushes and pull weeds. The place had been in bad shape for a while; the last pledge class had been months ago.
"Yes."
Pushing the sunglasses down his nose he watched as two girls walked by on the sidewalk. He admired their figures, quirking a grin as they waved shyly at him before turning to each other giggling madly. Yeah, this was the life. "What makes you think so?" He asked thoughtfully.
His best friend smiled, "Not one of them fell for it. None of them have eaten."
Of course, the real test wasn't to see if they could clean. It was a setup, a test to see if these guys would work together or if they would let their gluttony and greed get the best of them. But if Maes said not one of them fell for it, then this might just get a little more interesting. "I'm assuming Breda has already disposed of what little food there was." He added sarcastically.
Maes adjusted his glasses on his face looking a little upset at the prospect of having to find food. "Looks like we are going to have to fend for ourselves, Gracia is busy with recruitment I can't ask her to cook us anything else."
Roy knew better than to comment on the subject of Gracia, he had learned freshman year that even speaking her name could prompt him into hours of devout worshipping of his divine Gracia. She was a great girl, he had no problem with his best friend dating her…he just didn't want to hear the mushy details of every waking moment in their lives.
"Get Breda, I think it's time for garbage disposal."
Maes made a face before breaking out in laughter. "I remember making you do that."
Stepping out into the backyard Roy grinned widely, the place was immaculate. Looking around he spied the pledges relaxing in the shade. Hell is they didn't look completely spent, the exhaustion clearly written on their faces. He almost felt sympathetic, but he remembered his hell week and this seemed incredibly mild in comparison. The sky was already turning dark as he looked around the grounds.
"Congrats pledges. You've just made it through day one of hell week."
A few of the pledges rubbed their temples while others looked on weakly.
"Now, I believe we did promise you could earn your stay and you certainly have. So, on behalf of the brothers we would like to invite you to what we during hell week like to call garbage disposal." Roy glanced out of the corner of his eye at the pledge with long blond hair, not missing the calculating look. He was definitely someone to keep an eye out for, he wasn't about to let some punk join the organization he had worked hard to help build up.
Breda walked out, obviously still nursing a full stomach. "Good, we need to clean out the fridge."
Glancing at his watch Roy smirked at the twenty confused looking pledges. "You have two hours to dispose of everything in the fridge. Only there's one catch."
Maes grimaced looking only sorry that he had to be the one to tell them. "You have to try everything at least once before throwing it out."
One of their newest members, Mason stepped forward to pat a pledge on the back, "Don't worry the boys haven't stocked that fridge in a month…though I can't imagine they threw out anything since then either."
The pledges turned a little paler as they stared uncertainly at each other.
Roy checked his watch again, "You have till 9pm."
(Leto)
Leto watched as Noa withered under him, her eyes shut in pleasure. The sight was usually something he enjoyed, but he was feeling off today. When it was over, he didn't bother pretending to cuddle before he began to pull his pants back on.
"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice laced with fake sweetness, she was pissed.
Leto wanted to tell her that he was bored but that felt cruel. "I got business."
Her eyes narrowed a little, the pale skin wrinkling around her brow. "At 1am?"
This was the reason he liked freshman girls, they didn't ask questions and they didn't stay long in the morning. His thoughts strayed back to the feisty brown-haired girl with pink streaks in her hair. The resemblance between her and Noa was startling, but she had a different kind of spunk to her. She didn't call, she didn't whine and she certainly hadn't asked questions as annoying as this one.
Pulling a shirt over his head decided he was annoyed enough to tell her the truth. "Listen Noa, it's been fun, but l don't do this whole relationship thing."
He almost regretted his words at the splash of anger on her face, it made him wish he could have squeezed in one more time before calling it a night. Anger made her stand offish, unapproachable, it made her more of a challenge and he liked that.
"You're a liar. We've been going out for a year and you say this now?"
Had it really been a year? It was hard to imagine that their meetups had spanned that length of time; especially when he thought of all the signatures on his wall back at the Delta Tau house. Not to mention the fact that nearly half the signatures on his wall alone were from girls in her sorority. Maybe some people were better with secrets than others. He finished slipping on his shoes and began to walk out of her room.
"What are you doing?" She hissed loudly at him as he opened the door to the hallway.
"Leaving." He offered simply.
Her eyes flashed, "You can't just dump me in the middle of the night!"
Leto had a good laugh at that one. "I just did."
The walk home was rather pleasant, his thoughts flashed back to the girl with pink streaks in her hair. She had signed her name as Rose but the girl was so drunk, he couldn't be sure she even remembered her name at that point. He whistled at some of the Alpha Zeta girls walking down the street immediately warming to the short skirts and receptive eyes.
He couldn't help himself, "What are you ladies doing out so late?"
As they approached, he couldn't control the immediate lust that surged through him, twins? He had been cooped up with Noa for too long, how had he let a set of twins escape his sight?
"Just finished getting our bid day stuff together."
Leto smiled. Aside from welcome week, bid day was his favorite part of college. All the new freshman girls joining sororities; so eager to impress. Good thing he had left the planning of the annual bid day party in his vice president's hands. It was tradition that the DT men hosted a welcoming bash for all the new members of AZ.
"Any new girls I might know?" He mused thoughtfully.
One of the twins handed him the stack of photos, making it easy for him to imagine what the next night might have in store. His hand paused on one picture, his grin widening. This was too good. Staring back at him from the photo was the very girl he had been imagining. "Looks like this year is going to be your best yet."