by S. L. Stacy
“There’s nothing wrong with any of those things,” I remind her, but she’s gazing out the window again, seeing something else besides the freshly cut lawn and the pale brick wall of the fine arts building next door. She only tears her eyes away when my phone vibrates loudly on the table. I unlock the screen to find a text from Victoria:
I need everyone to come to the house at five. Only if you can. Right. I know better now than to ignore my big sister’s requests for assistance.
“What’s up?” Anna wonders.
“Not sure. Probably something related to recruitment. It starts Friday, and I prophesize that it’s not going to go so well. My sorority is half the size it was just a week ago.”
“But Gamma Lambda Phi isn’t just any sorority,” Anna recalls. “You guys have booze, boys and super powers.”
“Believe it or not, our motto isn’t ‘booze and boys.’ Seriously, we’re the smallest sorority now. There’s going to be a lot of competition. We don’t know how many of Nike’s descendants go to Thurston,” I explain, lowering my voice. “They could end up joining other houses. And thinking about all of this is just a daily reminder that I’m not…I’m not really one of them.” I throw my phone into my purse and start gathering my belongings.
Anna shrugs. “Then quit.”
“Wow, thanks for the advice, bestie.” I stand up. “I need to get to class—”
“Wait!” Anna pleads, reaching for me across the table. “You know I don’t get the whole sorority thing. But these are girls you’ve known for a few years now. I can tell they’re more than just friends. It’s like a family. You’ve been through a lot together, including everything that happened last weekend. Plus, it’s not like you’re a complete outsider. You’re a demigod, too. You belong there. I’m sure if you ask any of them, they’ll tell you that.”
“That…actually makes me feel a lot better. You’re right. Thanks.” No matter how much my sisters have tried to reassure me, I haven’t really believed I still belong at the sorority until now. Although Gamma Lambda Phi isn’t a typical Greek organization, it’s also about more than just the mission. It’s still about support and sisterhood. Even the human girls that had to leave will always be our sisters. I just wish we could tell them we were trying to protect them.
“I really wasn’t supposed to tell you all of that about the sorority. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“I swore on my brother’s life,” Anna reminds me. “Who would I tell, anyway?” I give her a knowing look, and she adds, “Who doesn’t already know. I won’t even tell Jimmy.” She gets up, and we walk out into the library.
“Jimmy kind of already knows,” I realize, thinking back to our conversation at the dance.
“You can trust us. We’re your family, too.”
Chapter 3
I climb the driveway winding up to the Greek Quad. Nine fraternity and sorority houses stand guard at the top, each a red brick building with a flat slate roof and concrete patio. Our house is instantly recognizable by the stained glass portrait of our patron goddess, Nike, gleaming in the window. She has tumbling red hair and milky white wings, and she wields a green laurel wreath in one hand, a bronze chalice carved with our Greek letters ΓΛΦ in the other.
Swiping my card key into the lock, I open the front door to a floor littered with scraps of shiny green and gold paper, glitter pens, glue sticks and safety pins. Tanya and Carly sit cross-legged on the floor, using pencils to lightly trace horseshoe shapes onto the paper. Victoria is doing stretches on the rug in front of the TV, dark streaks of perspiration staining her silver spandex shorts and tank top.
“What are you making?” I wonder, picking up one of the cutout horseshoes.
“Nametags for Friday,” Carly says, her face hidden behind a wall of caramel curls as she hunches over her creation.
“They’re laurel wreaths,” Tanya explains, handing me a finished one.
“Cute!” I exclaim and set it carefully on the coffee table to finish drying. “Can I help with anything?”
Tanya shakes her head. “The nametags are the last things. Decorations are ready to go. Kitchen is stocked. We are recruitment ready.”
“There is one thing.” Victoria’s round, amber eyes look up at me, the tip of her auburn ponytail grazing the floor as she bends at the waist to touch her toes. “You and Carly get to go to the Bid Night Dance committee meeting tonight!”
“Yay,” Carly says unenthusiastically.
“Why us?” I whine, sprawling next to Carly and taking up a sheet of paper, a stencil and a pair of scissors.
“Because I trust you guys to represent our house well,” Victoria says, untwisting herself and standing upright. “And because I forgot about it, and no one else has answered my last minute email asking for volunteers.” Carly and I groan. “I know,” Victoria insists. “I hate making you guys go—you both already do so much for the house—but we’re required to send two reps. You’d be helping me out big time.”
“Maybe I’m busy,” I tell her. “Maybe I have class.”
Victoria puts her hands on her hips. “I know you don’t have class. Speaking of which…how was World Myths?”
“It went…fine,” I admit, shrugging.
“Fine?”
“Fine. It was just like any other class. Dr. Mars introduced Apate as our new teaching assistant, but he didn’t even say why. He never mentioned Jasper or his absence.”
“Did he seem angry? Annoyed? Sad?”
“He seemed like he could have been holding back anger.” I recall his disheveled hair and wild beard. “He looked tired and distracted.”
“He didn’t confront you?” Victoria probes. I shake my head. “This is bad. This is really bad.”
“Big, it’s a good thing he didn’t threaten her or hurt her,” Tanya pipes up as she carefully outlines the letter of her name with a green glitter pen.
“Eric is famous for his temper. He acts and reacts impulsively,” our big sister explains. “If he was holding back, it means he already has something more underhanded in mind. Apate must be helping with that.”
The memory of Apate’s maniacal laughter ricochets inside my head. “Apate doesn’t strike me as the discreet type. She’s a little…” I circle a finger next to my temple.
“She and her twin brother are two of the most powerful Olympians,” Victoria counters. “They’re capable of producing complex illusions. They can make you see, hear, taste, smell or feel anything they want. Their victims completely lose touch with reality.”
Shaking her hair out of her face, Carly straightens up and places another completed nametag on the coffee table. “So she’s powerful and completely off her rocker. That’s reassuring.”
“And hers is next on our list of asses to haul back to Olympus,” Victoria says.
“Wait, something strange did happen, after class,” I realize, and I tell them about Apate’s confrontation with Dr. Mars. “She kept begging Eric to let her brother go. Eric stabbed her hand and threatened her. ‘You are mine.’ That’s what he said to her.”
Victoria nods in understanding. “So that’s how he’s getting Apate to do his bidding. He’s holding her brother hostage. Dolos is probably the only person she would do anything for.”
“How awful,” Carly gasps.
“Don’t feel too bad for them,” Tanya reminds her.
“I can’t help but feel a little bad for Apate myself,” says Victoria. “It’s pretty well-known on Olympus that she and her siblings had a crappy childhood. Although it’s still no excuse for wasting her life wreaking havoc any chance she gets. We’ll talk about this later,” she says as several girls pad down the stairs and join us in the living room. A few more come through the front door. Liz is the last to slip inside. She winds and unwinds the tail of a cornrow around her finger, giving us a hesitant smile as she sits down on the couch.
“I think everyone who’s coming is here,” Tanya shouts to Victoria above the swell of voices. “What’s the big emergency?”
Victoria grins in Carly’s direction. “There’s no emergency. It’s a surprise. Everybody quiet down!” she yells. The room plummets into an anxious silence.
“What’s that?” Tanya wonders, tilting her head as if that will help her hear better. There’s a low, rumbling chorus of male voices in the distance. Victoria opens the door, and the chant jumps in volume, the lyrics sharpening:
…From what I’ve been told,
There’s no other girl
Like the one in green and gold!
There’s no other girl for me
Like a Gamma Lambda Phi!
Dropping her craft, Carly is the first one up and out, the rest of us pouring through the front door behind her. The brothers of Sigma Iota have lined up on our lawn, sporting black suits and red bowties, hands clasped behind their backs as they sing. Carly’s boyfriend Alec steps forward, smiling and clutching a rectangular black velvet box. Tears sprinkle Carly’s cheeks as he strides up to her.
I glance beside me at Tanya. She stares past Carly and Alec at the chorus of brothers, her lips slightly parted. I elbow her in the ribcage. “Pay attention! This is so adorable!”
“Um, Siobhan?” She points to someone at the end of the back row. “That looks like Max.”
“It can’t be. Max wouldn’t…” I follow her gaze and feel my chest tighten. Max’s bright blue eyes are locked on me as he sings along. He wears his brown hair in purposeful disarray and still has a few scabbed over scratches on his face from the incident at our formal.
“I didn’t know Max was pledging Sigma Iota,” Tanya says.
“I didn’t, either.” I break eye contact with him as they finish the song, returning my attention to Carly and Alec.
Alec removes something gold and fragile from the box. “I love you, Carly. You’re the only girl for me. I want you to have this as a symbol of our love, and my promise to you that I’ll love you forever if…if you’ll have me.”
Jumping up and down, Carly squeals and claps her hands. “Oh, Alec! Of course! I love you, too!” She turns around and scoops her hair away from her neck. Alec gently lays the lavalier around her throat and clasps it. Then he pulls her into his arms, sealing the promise with an earnest kiss. The rest of us join in their delight, cheering and snapping our fingers.
“No,” gasps a voice somewhere behind me. I turn around and see Liz’s brown eyes fill with panic. “No, wait!” She shoves me and Tanya out of her way as she lunges toward the happy couple. Carly looks around in confusion. Her face falls when she sees Liz stampeding toward her.
“Take it off!” Liz warns her, reaching as if to yank the chain from Carly’s neck. “Take it—”
“Stay away from me!” Carly erupts, ducking to avoid her. Liz stops short in front of Alec. “What the fudge is wrong with you, Liz? First Siobhan—now me? Stop being so jealous!”
“No, I…” Liz shrinks away from our accusing stares. “I’m not jealous—I swear. It’s just that—”
“You just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you? My moment.” Carly’s voice cracks, her tears of joy turning bitter. “Just leave me alone.” She flees into the house, but not before I catch the sunlight refracting off the pendant at her throat. Usually a fraternity member gives his girlfriend a necklace with his letters on it, not their symbol—not a gold shield set with two garnets and a black opal. Like the Sigma Iota badge. Like Apate’s necklace.
“Carly! Carly, come on!” Alec calls, chasing after her.
“I didn’t mean to…I swear…” Liz stammers as Victoria walks up to her.
“I think maybe you should hide out for a few hours,” Victoria says. “Go do some work at the library or something. Just until Carly calms down.”
Liz’s jaw tenses. “Oh, of course you’re going to take her side. I was just trying to help—”
“I’m not sure ruining the lavalier ceremony was very helpful—”
“I can’t believe this!” Liz exclaims through a hysterical laugh. “I can’t believe I came back here just so everyone could gang up on me again! I was trying to help!”
“I believe her,” I tell Victoria, running up to them. “I think we should listen to her.”
“Forget it. I’m outta here. I have to go to the library.” Stalking away, Liz tosses back over her shoulder, “Maybe you should have just kicked me out with the rest of them!”
“You don’t mean that! Take it back!” Victoria shouts. Everyone watches Liz’s angry retreat in silence. I’m pretty sure I see steam issuing from Victoria’s ears when she barks, “Show’s over! Everybody go home!” She and the others go back into the house. I start to follow them, then see Max joining the black and white stream of brothers flowing off our lawn.
“Max. Hey, Max!” I yell. He turns and smiles.
“That fell apart quickly,” he remarks, meeting me halfway to the house. “I’m sorry Carly’s upset.”
“Me, too. I’m sure she’ll be okay. So...” I pause to think of a smooth way to transition into the topic and decide there isn’t one. “I didn’t know you were interested in joining a fraternity. You should have told me. I’m really happy for you. The Sigma Iotas are a great group of guys.” Well, except for Sam. He used to be a good guy, before Eric, Jasper and Apate got to him. But Max doesn’t know anything about that.
“I never used to be,” Max admits.
“Something must have changed your mind.”
“It did.” He raises his eyebrows and pauses, waiting for me to catch on. “You changed my mind.”
“Oh. I…see,” I stall, racking my brain for a response. “Well, I do love my sorority—”
“I know, but that’s not what I meant.” He takes a step closer to me. “That guy—the one who came between us—he was in a fraternity.”
“Who, Jimmy? He’s not—”
“Not him. The other one.”
“Jasper,” I realize. Well, duh. “Yes, Jasper was a Sigma Iota.” Only because he was trying to ingratiate himself in the Greek community so he could start building his army, but again, I can’t tell Max any of that.
“So I realized…that’s the kind of man you want,” Max says. “A fraternity man.”
“Wait. What?” Anger boils inside me. I feel my face flush. “Max, I don’t date people or become friends with people just because they’re Greek. It has nothing to do with that. You should join Sigma Iota because you want to—because you gain a great support system, a brotherhood. Don’t do it for me. You’ll only end up disappointed.”
Max shrugs off my words of caution. “You say that now, but you’ll see. We’re meant to be together. ‘There’s no other girl for me, like a Gamma Lambda Phi,’” he quotes in a singsong voice.
Shaking my head, I turn to go back to the house. “See you later, Max—”
“Wait!” He takes a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it, trying to smooth it out. “The art department’s fall show is next week. It would mean a lot to me if you stopped by.” He hands me the wrinkled flyer. A colorful border of flowers and woodland fairies surrounds the announcement for Max’s “Fairy Land” exhibit.
I refold the flyer in half and shrug. “I’ll see what I can do.” A skip in his step, Max walks back toward the Sigma Iota house, leaving me alone on the Quad, replaying the last five minutes in my head.
I thought we were done with this. I thought I had finally ripped the Band-Aid off outside the Riverfront Bar and Grill after the attack. He seemed like he had accepted we were over. I hadn’t seen or heard from him until today, but I guess that’s because he was too busy plotting how to “win” me back.
In retrospect, I wish I had honored our relationship by being honest with him in the first place instead of ignoring his calls and texts. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end—maybe this side of him was always there. My anger has ebbed, but sadness and fear roll in to take its place. Sadness over what we’ve become. Fear because I think he needs some help. He was the first person I told my secret to. He was alw
ays a little obsessive about my wings, but he accepted me.
Now the obsession has gone too far.
Chapter 4
I knock on Carly’s bedroom door. “Carly?”
“Yes,” she sniffles.
“Can I come in?”
“It’s unlocked.”
I push through the door. Carly and Victoria’s room looks like it suffers from a split personality. Victoria’s side is fastidious and Spartan; the only objects on the desk are a laptop, a short stack of textbooks and a Thurston University mug being used as a pencil holder. On the bed, a forest green comforter is pulled over the pillows, all wrinkles in the material smoothed out.
Carly’s side of the room, on the other hand, looks like a unicorn threw up on it. There is too much glitter and lace, too many shades of pink, even for me. Jareth the Goblin King smirks at me from the Labyrinth movie poster by her desk while The Breakfast Club hangs out on the wall above her bed. Carly lies on the bed, staring at the ceiling and clutching a plush stuffed unicorn to her chest. It has a grayish pink body, faded yellow horn and matted white mane and tail. I sit down at the foot of the bed.
“The dance committee meeting starts in a few minutes,” I tell her reluctantly. “You don’t have to come if you’re not up for it. I’ll make Tanya go. Or I’ll just go by myself—”
“It’s okay.” Carly sits up, setting the unicorn on the pillow. “I’ll come. It’ll help get my mind off things.”
“You shouldn’t worry about Liz. She really was trying to help.”
“She has a funny way of showing it. It’s not just her, though.” Carly fingers the necklace. “I don’t think I should have accepted this.”
“But you were so excited.”
“It’s nice to think about forever with Alec. I love him. I do. But we have problems…well, I have problems. I’m not sure how to fix them.”
“Is this about…s-e-x?” I mouth the letters.
