Hell week had finally settled upon the freshmen frat stars at OCD.
The Scout Team pledges were banned from talking to any woman but their mother. Their phones had been taken up and their Twitter accounts suspended. Each night the boys got less and less sleep as their pledge master called them out into the cold and interrogated them about OCD's history and Scout Team facts until they passed out puking in the snow.
Or so Massie heard. Her own hell week was less physically demanding and more emotionally humiliating. Her cashmere sweaters and dark wash jeans had been traded out for unflattering OCD t-shirts and black yoga pants, the official hell week uniform. Her sisters had taken all of her Victoria's Secret bras and replaced them with unflattering sports bras. Each day she had to show up to school with stick-straight hair parted down the middle. She was not allowed to wear any makeup except for bright red lipstick. LBRs would pass her in the halls and snicker, but Massie and her future sisters knew that after this week, their high school popularity would be confirmed for good.
To Massie's complete surprise, however, Olivia was completing hell week with the rest of them. She and the girls had been there last week when Headmistress Burns had conducted a very public search and seizure of Olivia's locker.
"Headmistress Burns, you don't understand," Olivia had said, panicking. "Those aren't mine. They have Alicia's name on them."
"So you're the one that stole them!" Alicia had cried. "I need those for my wisdom teeth!"
"I think I've heard enough," Headmistress Burns had said before dragging Olivia down the hall to her office. She had been suspended for the rest of the week and had been forced to go to weekly sessions in the school counselor's office for the remainder of the semester.
All of that, and Leticia had said nothing.
Friday arrived, and Massie and the rest of the Tri-Theta pledges showed up to the OCD Sirens stadium as instructed by Hadley. They were still in their hell week uniforms, but this time, they had been instructed to wear no makeup at all, not even the obnoxiously bright lipstick.
"Do you think we're in trouble?" Allie-Rose Singer whispered anxiously to the other girls. Claire simply smiled.
"This is the moment, you guys," she whispered before a swarm of Tri-Theta sisters leaped out from under the bleachers and blindfolded the pledges.
-x-
When the blindfold was finally removed from Massie's eyes, she found herself crouching on the floor of a mahogany-paneled office lined with books from nearly every decade of the 20th century. She took comfort in the fact that some of her favorite authors—Rowling, Green, Fitzgerald—were looking down on her as her sisters prepared to inflict some final hell week torture.
"Ladies of Octavian Country Day School," a soft voice began. "You have been selected."
Massie raised her eyes to find Leticia Rivera, clad in nothing but a white silk robe, standing before her. Alicia was beautiful, sure, but Leticia was drop-dead gorgeous. Her eyes, a deep caramel brown, popped against her olive skin. Her silky black mane naturally formed perfect waves, and her long, feathery eyelashes just barely skimmed her rosy cheeks. Backlit by the office lamps, she gave off an angelic glow.
"You ladies have been recognized as the elite of Westchester society, and have therefore been selected to become members of Theta Theta Theta, OCD's only sorority and the oldest sorority in Westchester private school history," Leticia continued. "Shed the skin of your former lives, and join us in sisterhood."
Cookie Elson glided over to Massie and handed her a white robe. "Take off your hell week uniform," she whispered. Massie stripped down to her sports bra and underwear and shoved on the white robe as quickly as she could.
"Kneel down again, ladies," Leticia instructed, and Massie took her place back on the floor. Leticia began pouring a red liquid into a sterling silver cup. She then walked over to Massie and paused, extending the cup to Massie's lips.
"Tri-Theta needs one who is smart and bright," Leticia said. She gave Massie's right arm a gentle tug until Massie finally extended her hand. Leticia snapped a sterling silver bracelet onto Massie's thin wrist, and when it slid back down her arm, she noticed that a book-shaped charm hung from the links. "Tri-Theta needs you, Massie. Drink from the cup and confirm your commitment to our sisterhood."
Massie took a small sip of the red liquid and tried not to grimace. It was a strong red wine.
Leticia continued to move down the line of kneeling girls.
"Tri-Theta needs one who is active and strong," Leticia said. Hanging from Kristen's bracelet was a pair of silver running shoes. "Tri-Theta needs you, Kristen. Drink from the cup and confirm your commitment to our sisterhood."
Kristen drank from the cup and dabbed a few proud tears from her eyes.
"Tri-Theta needs one who is confident and can lead women in the direction of their dreams," Leticia said. "Tri-Theta needs you, Claire. Drink from the cup and confirm your commitment to our sisterhood."
Claire beamed as Leticia placed a bracelet with a crown charm onto her wrist. Leticia was the only other Tri-Theta with a crown charm.
Leticia continued moving down the line until she reached Olivia.
"We had a hard time deciding on a charm for you, Olivia," Leticia began. "We searched the store for hours trying to find one that represented dishonesty or betrayal. Unfortunately, they don't make charms for traitors."
Massie dared to sneak a peek at Olivia. She had gone ghostly white.
"Olivia Ryan, what are our three highest aims?" Hadley demanded from the back of the room.
"Service, spirit, and sisterhood!" Olivia cried, her voice shaking.
"Olivia Ryan, you have offended our sisterhood by performing a service in bad spirit," Hadley said.
"I wasn't selling the pills," Olivia sobbed. "I don't know how they ended up in my locker. Someone must have placed them there."
"Even if you hadn't gotten suspended, you threatened two of your pledge sisters," Hadley continued. "A lady of Tri-Theta never, ever coerces another sister or plans to come between a sister and her loved one."
Massie bowed her head. Claire had forced her to submit Olivia's IMs and threats to break Cam and Claire up to Hadley, just in case.
"Olivia Ryan, you are hereby expelled from Tri-Theta and banned from all future Legacies," Leticia declared. Cookie and Fawn lifted up a quivering Olivia and carried her sobbing out of the room.
"Now, ladies," Leticia said. "Let the real fun begin."
Massie found herself blindfolded once more.
-x-
"Final sips, ladies," Hadley barked. A straw was shoved into Massie's mouth once more, and she took a few more sips of the sickly sweet liquid inside the cup. Massie and her pledge sisters had been shoved into a car for what felt like hours now, and even though she couldn't taste the liquor, Massie knew that there was alcohol in the drink that had been passed around.
"Every sister grab a pledge baby, please," Leticia called out. A pair of firm hands grasped Massie's shoulders and guided her out of the car.
"Take off your sports bra," her guide said. She was still blindfolded, but the chill in the air told her that she was outside somewhere.
"Are there people around?" Massie whimpered.
"Just take it off," the girl snapped. Stifling a sob, Massie threw her robe to the ground and struggled out of her bra while the girl held her blindfold in place. She felt only a slight breeze on her chest before the girl pulled a dress over her head.
"Go free, Massie," the girl said before pushing her forward. Massie stumbled into another sister.
"Massie?" a familiar voice asked.
"Claire!" Massie cried. The two girls clung to each other, shivering in the cold.
"Take off your blindfolds, ladies," Leticia called out. Massie whipped off her blindfold and gasped at the scene above her.
She and her pledge class were standing in an archway covered with twinkling lights. At the end of the path were a glowing light and the faint strains of a Coldplay song.
"Go on, ladies," Leticia urged while Hadley herded up the stragglers. Claire broke free of Massie and marched forward, gasping when she finally reached the end of the path.
Massie had never seen anything like it.
The room was packed with freshmen from all over Westchester's private school scene. Boys in Brooks Brothers blazers took pulls off of handles of Fireball while girls cried over drunken texts. Twinkle lights illuminated the whole room. In the center was a circular platform that housed a DJ and the executive members of every Westchester sorority and fraternity.
"Is this the Legacy?" Massie gasped.
"No, silly," Hadley laughed. "It's Kiss Night." She gave Massie and the other pledges a final shove before stepping onto the center stage.
"You've finally made it, pledges!" Hadley cheered. Every kid in the room screamed with joy.
"Now for a few rules before Kiss Night begins," Harris Fisher began. "No fights. No vomiting. Kiss as many people as you can. Drink until your liver can't handle it any more. And for the love of God, if she says no, she means no. Now go crazy!"
Kristen immediately launched herself at the boy nearest her. Claire shot off through the crowd to find Cam. Dylan collapsed into Josh's arms. Alicia started throwing up into a potted plant. Massie, however, stayed at the center of all of the chaos, wondering what to do next.
Her answer came in the form of Derrick Harrington.
"You're the only girl I want to kiss tonight," he yelled before dipping her back and giving her the best kiss of her entire 14 years.