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Nessie stared across the booth at Kat, her mind swirled with the information Kat had given her. Since BIT was such a small chapter, they continued to recruit beyond the first week of school, unlike the other sororities. Nessie considered waiting until next year to go through formal recruitment again, but she had no guarantee she would get a different result.
Kat offered a sympathetic smile, but this only further deterred Nessie. She looked down at her hands.
"Come to bid day and see what you think," Kat suggested. "You'll have the chance to talk to the entire chapter. There are a lot of really nice girls in BIT, you might find someone you click with."
Their bid day doubled as the first informal recruitment event. Attending wouldn't be considered a commitment.
"I don't know," Nessie frowned. She looked back up at the girl sitting across from her. Nessie knew it was rude, but she couldn't help but judge Kat's appearance. Though she wasn't the largest girl in her sorority, she far outweighed the average Phi Mu. Her hair was down today; the purple ends split in various places. Kat's unconventional appearance was a reminder of just how different the members of this sorority truly were. It wasn't just that they deviated from the traditional sorority girl body type—they weren't the only sorority that didn't appear to recruit by body type—but the other chapters had felt authentic and normal. They were the average girl you'd expect to see hanging out together in the library.
With BIT, the girls were just...odd. Like they deliberately sought out social outcasts. Nessie wondered if that was why Kat was so determined to recruit her now. Was it really so easy to identify her as the odd one out? Nessie bitterly wondered if this chapter of misfits was the closest thing she'd ever find to a place where she belonged. It's not like she had a hope of finding anybody else like herself.
Nessie wanted so badly to find a place where she could just fit in and be treated like she was normal. She loved her family, but they still treated her differently. Not just like a child, but like she was fragile. As if they had to be careful with their strength or they may harm her. It was frustrating, but the worst part was that they were right. She was fragile—at least compared to them. And slow, and weak, and imperfect. And she would never be able to prove them wrong.
"You don't have to make a decision now. Just give us a chance." Kat glanced down at her watch. "I have to go, I need to get ready for recruitment. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."
Nessie responded with a tight-lipped smile. Kat rose from the booth and left. Nessie looked up at the counter and saw Leah inconspicuously drying a spotless glass. She looked up to meet Nessie's eye. Nessie moved to sit at one of the barstools to talk to Leah.
"How'd it go?" Leah asked nonchalantly. She kept her facial features neutral while her piercing eyes watched Nessie like a hawk.
Nessie shrugged. "Fine, I guess. She invited me to bid day Thursday."
"What are you going to do?" Leah asked.
"I'll go," Nessie replied. "I'll see if I can learn more about Kat. They haven't offered me a bid so I don't have to decide whether or not to join yet."
Leah nodded. She glanced at the door as if she were expecting someone.
Nessie returned to the wolves' house. Seth was absent as he was attending a fraternity recruitment event, but Jacob was waiting for her. She updated him on the situation before retiring to her dorm for the night.
The following day, Nessie headed to her 8 a.m. Com class. As she entered the room, she spotted Audrey the Phi Mu sitting near the front.
Grateful that she had remembered to ask Alice about the sandals, she approached Aubrey in the hopes that she'd be able to gain a little insight into where she may have gone wrong during recruitment.
"Hey Aubrey," Nessie greeted with a warm smile. "I looked into those sandals, turns out they're actually from Givenchy."
Aubrey stared at Nessie blankly, then glanced down at Nessie's feet. "Um, I think those are Converse?"
"Oh, no, I'm not wearing them now, I meant the ones I was wearing during recruitment," Nessie clarified.
A look of realization crossed Aubrey's face. "Oh, did we talk during recruitment?"
"Uh, yeah," Nessie's plan to gather information was falling apart. "You asked me about my shoes."
Aubrey shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, I talked to a lot of people. I don't remember."
"That's fine. I totally get it. I talked to a lot of people, too," Nessie felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "I'll see you around."
Nessie hurried to her seat next to her parents. Her mother gave her a sympathetic look, having overheard the entire conversation.
Nessie glanced at Aubrey across the room, consciously keeping her features neutral to avoid glaring. The anger built up inside of her. Nessie was aware her father was an audience to her thoughts, but in that moment, she didn't care.
Bitch! Nessie practically shouted in her head without uttering a sound.
Aubrey jolted in her seat, clearly taken by surprise, then looked around the room in confusion.
Edward's head snapped up and he watched Aubrey curiously. He stifled a chuckle before turning to give Nessie a disapproving dad look.
Nessie froze. Did she hear that?
Edward nodded.
Nessie looked down at her desk, instantly self-conscious. She had known gifts could get stronger with time, but she never considered the possibility of inadvertently transmitting her thoughts without physical contact. Nessie's gift had always been a part of her, as natural as breathing. The fact that she was able to project her thoughts by accident was bewildering. Edward explained what happened to Bella in a voice too low for anyone else to hear.
The professor entered the room. Nessie thought the smell of cancer had gotten worse. She tried not to think about him, or anybody in case her thoughts escaped her head.
After class, Edward pulled her aside. "I think it would be best if you skipped the rest of your classes for today."
What? Why? Nessie thought.
"We don't know the strength of your ability. You should come home with us so we can assess your limits to avoid further mishaps. It's healthy to ditch class now and then."
Nessie begrudgingly conceded. She followed her parents to their car and settled into the back seat.
Bella immediately began voicing her concerns, expressing doubts about attending the university.
"Mom, it's fine," Nessie insisted. "I've never had any issue before, I'm sure it was just a fluke."
Nonetheless, Bella remained unconvinced. They arrived at the Cullen's house on the outskirts of town. This house was far less secluded than the house outside of Forks. As a result, Esme opted for a more modern design that blended in with the nearby McMansions, though this house could never be classified as such. Its chic, symmetrical appearance showcased Esme's architectural talent, with each feature seamlessly flowing into the next.
Only Emmett and Jasper were home when they arrived. Emmett howled with laughter as Edward recounted the morning's events.
The vampires pushed her to explore the limits of her gift. She discovered that she couldn't accidentally project all her thoughts as she did when she was touching someone's face. Instead, she had to be focused on a single person and she had to make a conscious decision, similar to talking aloud.
A couple hours into training, Jasper left to attend their shared seminar.
"I'll let you know if you miss anything," Jasper promised as he climbed on his motorcycle.
By this point, Nessie was confident that she fully understood her newfound ability, but her parents insisted she practice for the rest of the day and into the next, only breaking for Nessie to sleep. Eventually, she put her foot down.
"Mom, I'll be fine," Nessie nagged. "I've already missed two days of class. I have to attend bid day."
Bella frowned. "Maybe it would be best if you skipped—"
"Absolutely not," Nessie insisted. "I already promised Seth."
They argued back and forth for a bit, but Bella relented when Edward and Emmett both sided with Nessie. Bella volunteered to drive Nessie back to school. Edward held out the keys to the Volvo, but Bella ignored him. He shot her a pained expression as she grabbed a flathead screwdriver before heading out the door.
In a rare display of unity, Jacob and Rosalie joined forces to find the oldest, most dilapidated truck they could find and gifted it to Bella for her 20th birthday. They restored it to minimal functionality to maximize Edward's irritation.
Nessie climbed into the passenger seat of the old Ford as Bella jumped into the driver's seat. She grabbed the ignition, which was dangling by a cable beside the steering wheel, and inserted the screwdriver into the keyhole. She twisted it like a key and the truck sputtered to life.
The drive back to school was much slower than the ride in the Volvo, but Bella smirked at all of the stares the obnoxious rust bucket received.
Nessie asked Bella to drop her off at the wolves' house to avoid being seen in the lemon. Bella obliged. Nessie quickly made her way inside while Bella drove off.
"Hey," Jacob said as she entered. "Seth told me you skipped class. Is everything alright?"
Nessie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't worry about that. My parents were being overly cautious. It's nothing."
"What happened?" Jacob's concern only increased. Nessie instantly regretted her words as she realized Jacob would take their side.
Nessie locked eyes with Jacob and focused her thoughts on him. I learned a new party trick, she thought.
Jacob jumped startled by the sudden intrusion into his thoughts. "That's new."
"What?" Seth asked.
Jacob explained.
"That's awesome," Seth exclaimed.
Thanks, Nessie responded.
Seth jumped.
Leah watched Nessie warily. Leah had long since made it clear that she did not appreciate Nessie's images being shared with her via physical contact. Nessie knew better than to ever use her newfound abilities on Leah.
Both Leah and Jacob left for their respective jobs.
"What time are you going to the sorority?" Seth inquired.
"Around 5," Nessie said. "The girls who received bids will be running to the house from the quad."
"Why aren't you joining them?" Seth asked.
Nessie shrugged. "I dropped out of formal recruitment. I don't want to be the only one without a bid." Truthfully, Nessie was still bummed about how things played out. She didn't want to be there as all of the other girls excitedly opened the envelopes to discover which house they would be running home to.
"Uh, you might want to check your email," Seth said, a hint of guilt in his voice.
Nessie looked at him in confusion. She hadn't checked her email since the day prior.
"I talked to Kat during class," Seth continued. "They want to offer you a snap bid." He pulled a bent envelope out of his back pocket and extended it to her.
"What's this?" asked Nessie as she took the envelope.
"It's a bid, but if you want it, you have to accept it before bid day begins," Seth explained. "BIT didn't make quota so they're practically giving these away to anyone who will take them."
Nessie stared at the envelope and tried to contain her mixed emotions. "Seth, I don't know…"
"It's up to you," Seth said. "But if you want it, you should call Kat soon. You have to accept before bid day starts."
Nessie shook her head. "I appreciate the help, but I don't think I'm ready to commit just yet."
Seth nodded. "That's fine, it's your call."
Nessie sighed with relief. She knew how desperate the newly imprinted wolves could be to make a good impression on their girls. She was glad that Seth wasn't relying on her.
Seth walked alongside Nessie to the sorority house. Bid or no bid, she still had no desire to run to the house. They passed Sigma Kappa first. The entire chapter was outside, buzzing with excitement. A large banner hung from the pillars of their house declaring SK was the Happiest Place on Earth. The girls were all dressed in matching t-shirts with a picture of a castle. Many were wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Nessie gathered that their bid day must have some kind of Disney theme. Several of the girls were holding signs in the shape of Mickey with a feminine name across each of them.
Across the street, AXiD was having a baseball-themed bid day. Their matching t-shirts resembled baseball jerseys and their banner read "Run Home to Alpha Xi Delta".
As they approached BIT, Nessie looked farther down the street at Phi Mu, who were sporting some kind of space-themed bid day. Several of the girls were wearing galaxy pants and others had blue and purple tutus covered in glitter.
Nessie noticed that Seth didn't even seem to see the other houses. His eyes were locked on BIT. He scanned the small crowd, searching for Kat.
The Betas had chosen mustaches to be the topic of their bid day. Their matching t-shirts were solid white with a black mustache across the chest. Most of the girls were either wearing fake mustaches or they had drawn on a mustache with Sharpie. A few had their mustache drawn on the side of their index finger.
In addition to having significantly fewer members, the Betas weren't abuzz like the other houses. Nessie spotted Kat exiting the house wearing a fuzzy fake mustache. Her eyes lit up as she spotted Nessie approaching.
"You came!" Kat beamed. She rushed forward and wrapped Nessie in a hug. Seth's arms twitched upwards like he was momentarily expecting the hug to be for him. Nessie froze at the physical contact. Her arms locked down at her side.
"Yeah, good to see you again, Kat," Nessie responded awkwardly.
Kat dropped her arms and took a step back. She handed Nessie a stick with a paper mustache on top Her name was written across the mustache in bright silver paint.
"Seth!" Kat greeted him. "Thanks for passing along the bid, I don't know what I would've done without you."
"No problem," Seth answered. He made no move to leave.
"I didn't accept the snap bid," Nessie told her.
"Yeah, I heard," Kat said. "That's your call, but I would've gotten a lot of grief from our recruitment chair if I didn't get it to you in time." Kat rolled her eyes.
Nessie turned to Seth. "I'll catch up with you this evening," Nessie hinted. "See you later."
"Right," Seth said as he realized he wasn't welcome at the sorority event. "Bye Nessie, bye Kat."
Seth headed back the way he came. When Nessie turned back to the house, she realized that most of the Beta's were staring. Several looked at Nessie excitedly, while others had their gaze locked on Seth.
"Who was that?" a girl with a Sharpie mustache asked Kat.
"That's Seth, he's in our ethics class," Kat answered.
"Damn," she exclaimed.
"Nessie, this is Sabrina, she's my Big," Kat introduced.
Nessie wasn't sure what a big was, but she couldn't help but notice the irony of the label. Her physique could only be described as lanky, though she didn't have the height that normally accompanied the body type. Her shirt was too large and hung loose on her bony frame. Her erratic pale blond hair only came down to her cheeks and it stuck out in random directions.
"I'll grab you a bid day shirt, what size are you?" Sabrina asked.
Nessie hesitated before answering. Her rapid growth was slowing, but it hadn't quite finished. She opted to err on the side of caution and chose a size larger than what currently fit.
Nessie began to hear cheering in the distance. Everyone turned their attention in the direction of the quad.
The Phi Mu's were the first to start cheering as they spotted their sisters running their way. Nessie recognized her Rho Chi, Elena, leading the pack wearing the sorority's letters.
Nessie was confused when the Betas began cheering. She only saw two more groups of girls headed to Greek Row, none of which bore BIT's letters.
Nessie's jaw dropped when she spotted the single woman in a mustachioed shirt heading in their direction. She had on an open button-down shirt with a mustache pattern print over the bid day shirt. Nessie recognized her as the masculine-looking Rho Chi who she'd seen during recruitment. Only two new members trailed behind her, one of which was the girl with the unusual piercings. The other girl had short hair that was an awkward length like she was attempting to grow out a pixie cut. Her lanyard bounced wildly as she ran.
The woman in the button-down seemed unbothered by the small number of girls behind her. She cheered louder and more enthusiastically to make up for the lack of numbers. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses with a tiny mustache dangling from a pair of chains on the bottom brim of the sunglasses. The mustache bounced wildly as she ran.
"Holly was a camp counselor," Kat chuckled.
Holly shouted in triumph as she joined her sisters.
"Is that it?" Nessie asked Kat.
She shook her head. "The rest are probably walking."
Nessie watched as the SKs ran home. Their new pledge class was about the size of BIT's entire chapter. The AXiDs followed shortly after. Finally, Nessie spotted a group of five emerging in the distance. An obese blonde and a brunette using forearm crutches lead the remaining three new members at a slow pace. One particularly average-looking girl was wiping away tears on the cuff of her shirt. The sorority cheered in encouragement at the sight of them. Only one girl chose to run the remaining distance to the house.
"You only got five new members?" Nessie said in disbelief.
"For now," Kat said. "We're hoping to get more during informal recruitment."
Nessie started to doubt her decision to give BIT a second chance. Clearly, the vast majority of girls chose to drop over letting BIT be their only option. Maybe she would be better off sticking with her original decision to do the same.
Nessie took a deep breath and reminded herself why she was here. She'd have an eternity to try again at different colleges.
Nessie went along with the bid day festivities, posing for pictures while holding the large wooden letters. For one picture, Kat taught her how to do the sorority hand gesture, which resembled a sideways heart with the index fingers extended and intersecting in the shape of a T.
The crowd moved indoors where the chapter president introduced herself as Cynthia and gave a heartfelt speech about overcoming the odds and how she was proud to be the first Black president of BIT.
Everyone stood in a circle and played icebreaker games. The other two Rho Chis were named Amy and Charlotte. Nessie had no trouble remembering everyone's names as they introduced themselves. Dani, Janis, Ashley, Lydia, Phoenix etc. Nessie finally learned that the recruiter she spoke to was named Sage. Eventually, the circle got to Kat.
"My name is Kat, I'm a junior, but I didn't rush my freshman year so I'm a sophomore in the sorority. I'm majoring in criminal justice, I'm from Tulsa, and my fun fact is that I was named after a death metal band."
Nessie made a mental note to pass the information along to Seth.
Icebreakers gave way to food. Holly brought out a large plate of freshly grilled hot dogs. Nessie unenthusiastically filled a plate and took a seat next to Kat and a freshman named Lindsey. She had an odd facial structure, her eyes too large for her face. Kat was attempting to explain dues, but Lindsey was simply not getting it.
Nessie took a dislike to Lindsey as she continued to feign ignorance on the subject. Kat didn't seem particularly fond of her either. She finished her food quickly and escaped to the main living room. Nessie followed close behind.
Sabrina and Holly were already there, getting a head start on the bid day activity which consisted of making friendship bracelets. Nessie picked up the task quickly after brief instructions from Holly.
Nessie watched Kat to determine an appropriate pace for the activity so she wouldn't finish too quickly.
"Did I miss anything in class today?" Nessie asked Kat.
"Yeah, the professor started lecturing," Kat answered. "You can look at my notes sometime if you want. We have to read an article about the Trolley problem before the next lecture. I think Seth picked up an extra copy for you."
"I'll have to ask him about it," Nessie answered. "What exactly did he say to you about me?"
Kat shrugged, "He said you wanted to join, but you didn't want to get rejected. He seemed really excited when I told him I had a snap bid for you."
Nessie stifled a groan. She knew she couldn't back out now without disappointing Seth, but she figured if she helped set him up, he'd no longer care if she joined the sorority.
"I think he's in to you," Nessie said. Holly and Sabrina both looked up from their bracelets. She immediately regretted her words, wondering if she was being too forward.
Kat snorted, "You think?" she said sarcastically.
"That obvious?" Nessie wondered what she missed in class.
Kat nodded and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. I need to figure out how to let him down easy."
"You should give him a chance," Sabrina jumped into the conversation.
Kat shrugged. "I'm not ready for a new relationship."
Holly gave Sabrina a knowing look.
"Come on," Sabrina pressed. "He's huge! You can steal his hoodies!"
Kat thought about it for a moment as if considering a tempting angle she hadn't thought about before. "I could steal his hoodies. And they wouldn't be tight."
"Yes," Sabrina encouraged. "No more tight zip-ups. You deserve a stolen oversized hoodie. You have to know your worth, girl."
"I do deserve that," Kat agreed.
Nessie took the opportunity to press for information about Kat's ex. "How long have you two been apart?"
Kat hesitated. "It's complicated."
Sabrina looked like she wanted to say more, but Kat shot her a glare that made it clear she wasn't welcome to discuss the situation any further.
Holly rolled her eyes.
"Do you have a picture of this Seth guy?" Holly asked.
"I think I can pull one up on Facebook," Nessie set her bracelet aside and pulled out her phone. She found a family photo on Seth's page and zoomed in to his face. "Here."
"Let me see," said Holly. Leaning in to get a look at Nessie's phone. "Dayum," her jaw dropped. She looked at Kat like she was crazy for turning him down.
"Does he have a sister?" she joked.
Kat rolled her eyes.
"He does, actually," Nessie zoomed out to show Leah standing next to Seth. Holly's eyes widened. She leaned in to get a look at Leah. She scrutinized the picture like she was trying to figure something out.
"Is she seeing anyone?" Holly asked.
"She and Ian are talking," Kat answered.
Holly snorted. "Go ahead and give her my number," she said to Nessie.
"Be nice," Kat chastised while she looped a purple thread over a pink one. Nessie looked at her with confusion.
"Ian has a bit of a type," Sabrina explained. "And his type usually ends up coming out as a lesbian after hooking up with him. Exhibit A." Sabrina jerked her head towards Holly.
"Hey, that's not true," Holly said. "The second one is definitely straight. He just goes by Aiden now."
"Uh, I'm pretty sure Leah's straight," Nessie had no idea how to respond to the situation.
"How do you and Seth know each other?" Sabrina diverted.
"He's a family friend," Nessie answered. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it felt like one to her. She watched the girls to see how they responded to the question. Holly was busy staring at her own phone and Kat was focused on her friendship bracelet. Sabrina asked a few more questions about Seth, which Nessie answered willingly.
Holly looked up from her phone, "The three of us are hanging out at my place Saturday evening, do you want to join us?"
"Sure," Nessie said. She and Holly exchanged phone numbers. Holly texted her the address.
"My roommates will be there too," Holly informed her. "I live with Ian and a couple of his frat brothers."
The rest of the sorority started to file in from the dining area. Nessie made an honest effort to get to know the other freshmen. Erica, the brunette with a bowl cut, seemed oblivious to the world around her as she focused intently on her bracelet. She frequently made glances at her phone, where she had pulled up instructions to a far more complicated pattern than anyone else was bothering with.
Two of the older members, Janis and Charlotte, were tending to the freshman who had been crying, Lexi. They had succeeded in engaging her in a conversation about a TV show.
Grace, the girl who ran the final leg to the house, was ranting about Mitt Romney to Sage, who was an enthusiastic audience.
Nessie found herself taking a liking to the girl with the piercings, Zoe. Lindsey came over and sat with Zoe and Nessie and started complaining.
"Can you believe they're expecting us to pay so much? It's outrageous," Lindsey griped.
Zoe wasn't having it. "I don't think it's too bad, especially compared to the others. At least we don't have to worry about national dues."
Lindsey seemed unsatisfied when she didn't get any validation. "I'll just get my parents to pay for it," she said dismissively.
"Good for you," Zoe rolled her eyes.
Nessie finished up her bracelet and Kat helped her tie it around her wrist. Nessie hung around a little longer, not wanting to be the first one to leave, but as soon as some of the other girls started to funnel out, she followed close behind. Nessie made her way back to her dorm, texting Seth as she walked. From the hallway, she could hear Kimmy in the room. Nessie sighed and pushed the door open. Kimmy was sitting on her bed watching a TV show. The narrator was recounting the unexplained disappearance of a mother of three in a small town in Alabama. She had a fascination for the true crime genre. Nessie found the show uninteresting considering she knew the answer to most of the so-called mysteries. Kimmy seemed unconcerned by Nessie's absence.
Nessie exchanged the necessary pleasantries with her roommate before retiring to bed for the night.
Chapter Playlist:
Cool Kids - Echosmith - Renesmee
Can't Stop the Feeling! - Justin Timberlake - Phi Mu
You've Got a Friend in Me - Randy Newman - AXiD
Count on Me - Bruno Mars - Jacob
