The Society

by Jodie Andrefski

  “Okay. I’ll give you a call later this week once I find out the details, okay?” I left out mentioning that it was a costume party. I figured I’d throw that in when I called him later.

  “Sounds good,” he said.

  I was still kind of surprised that he’d agreed to go. “Thanks again for being cool about it.”

  “No problem.” When he didn’t say anything more, I bit my lip and wondered again if I’d made a mistake asking him to a high school party.

  “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you later then,” I said, trying to think of a way to prolong our conversation. He didn’t give me the time.

  “Good night, Princess.” And he hung up.

  I sighed and stuck my tongue out at the phone. But at least now I’d have someone with me Saturday so I didn’t feel like the odd man out. Abby would probably be all over Jeremy in her catsuit, and I certainly wouldn’t be hanging out with the football players or cheerleaders. Hopefully Pete would think to invite some other kids, ones that didn’t go all gaga for the Friday night lights.

  Even though I’d asked Ransom to the party, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to actually go. As much as I liked hanging out with him, I’d begun to question my reasoning for doing so. How much was real interest in him, and how much of it was to play someone I wasn’t? I wasn’t sure.

  I glanced at the time. Almost eight. I really needed to get caught up on homework; I’d been pushing off a report for English and had fallen so far behind on reading for history that I wasn’t even sure what chapter we were on. I couldn’t believe how much I’d allowed the whole plan thing to mess with my grades.

  Disgusted with myself, I jutted my chin out and resolved to change that, starting tonight. I wasn’t about to lose my shot at a scholarship. Even getting back at Jessica wasn’t worth that price. Besides, there wasn’t anything left for me to do. It was out of my hands now. My website had the tasks for each of the initiates already posted under their respective log-ins for the rest of Hell week. Tomorrow’s tasks would be another two-parter, Becky and Patrick, along with the second part of what Patrick started today.

  I’d flung my book bag on the kitchen floor when we’d come home. I got up with a groan and headed out to get it. Looked like my first night as a newly licensed driver would be spent at my desk cramming. Fun times.

  I’d just begun reading a chapter on American foreign policy when my phone rang. To my surprise, Celia’s number was displayed on the screen.

  My brows knotted together as I answered. She barely gave me a chance to say hello before she began commanding me to get down to the school. Now.

  “Whoa, hold on. What for?” I tried to get a word in edgewise.

  “It’s Pete. I have no idea what’s going on, but we all have to get down there to stop him.”

  I had a feeling what might be going on, and was surprised that Pete hadn’t told Celia about being invited to rush. I was surprised that Pete was even going along with it. Maybe top grades weren’t enough to make you feel secure in getting into the college of your dreams. Maybe he felt he had to.

  “So are you coming?” Her voice snapped me back to the situation at hand.

  “Did you call Jeremy and Abby?” Celia calling me rather than Jeremy was a vivid reminder of where things stood with Jeremy and me, and broke me inside.

  “Yes, of course I did. But the more of us there, the better. Look, I have to go, he’s…” Muted shouts and laughter carried through the line.

  What in the world?

  “I gotta go. Just get here.” She disconnected the call.

  I stood up and grabbed a hoodie. So much for American foreign policy.

  Twenty

  A difficult task can be done immediately. An impossible task requires a bit more time.

  —George Santayana

  I pulled into the student parking lot and looked around, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go now. Aunt Lor hadn’t been thrilled with me going out this late, but I’d covered up by telling her I just had to go drop some class notes off at Celia’s, because she’d forgotten her book. She seemed to buy my lie.

  I hopped out of the car and walked toward the school. The windows were all dark, and I didn’t see anyone moving inside or on the steps leading to the entrance. It flitted through my mind that maybe it was some kind of trick getting me to come here. But that didn’t make sense, so I pushed the thought away, telling myself not to be stupid.

  As I reached the rise overlooking the football field, flashes of light caught my attention. I squinted, trying to see better.

  Down on the field, yellow-white dots danced in the air around the fifty yard line. Flashlights. I walked closer to the edge of the twenty foot rise of grass which lead down to the football field, and stared. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.

  Two people—their build suggested they were guys—were throwing pieces of wood in a pile in the center of the field. It looked like they were building a bonfire. I cursed myself for not having the foresight to bring a flashlight too, and made my way down the slope to get closer.

  “What are you doing? Pete, stop and think about this. If you get caught, you could get suspended.” I recognized Celia’s frantic voice as coming from the shadowy figure that stepped towards the two guys. I could now make out that the one closest to her was Pete.

  “Celia, just go home, please. I have to do this, and now isn’t the time to talk about it.”

  “What the hell is she doing here anyway?” I knew that voice too. Andrew Reichert. He played with Pete on the football team, and was in a few of my classes. I’d always thought him to be a bit of an ass. Like his cousin, Blane.

  A hand touched my shoulder. I screamed and whirled around, nearly punching the person in the face as I flung my arms out wildly in front of me.

  “Sam! It’s me!”

  My heart rate slowed back down at the sight of Jeremy standing about six inches away. His hair was tousled, like he may have been lying down before Celia commanded us all to show up to help with Pete. He took a step closer and reached out, almost like he was going to take my hand, but then drew back, seeming to think better of it. I stamped down my disappointment.

  “Sorry if I scared you. I saw you headed down here and followed you,” he said.

  I shook my head. “It’s okay. What’s going on?” I jerked my chin toward the field. “Celia didn’t say much when she called, just to get here ASAP.”

  He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  My relief to see Jeremy was short lived, because seconds later, Abby appeared too.

  She glanced from me to Jeremy. “Hey.” It was clear her greeting wasn’t meant for me.

  “Hey,” Jeremy replied, and an awkward silence fell.

  Jeremy broke the silence first. “Well, let’s go see what they’re up to.”

  I nodded and we all headed toward the group on the field. By now, someone had lit the small pile of branches on fire. Smoke carried through the night sky, and the smell reminded me of the fireplace in our living room my family had growing up. Crackles and pops sounded as tiny sparks danced in the inky darkness.

  Celia spotted us and marched over. “Tell him this is stupid,” she demanded.

  Pete and Andrew stood next to the fire and began to take off their clothing. My eyes widened as Pete tossed his T-shirt into the flames. Andrew tugged off his sweatpants and they went in as well.

  Jeremy whistled, while Abby snorted. I stood there, mouth agape, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Celia yelled again for Pete to knock it off and put his damn clothes back on.

  It didn’t work. Within minutes, they were both stripped down to their boxers. Glow-in-the-dark paint lined their chests, forming squiggles and broad stripes.

  I looked to Jeremy. His shocked expression mirrored my own.

  Celia pointed and stamped her foot. “Do something,” she snapped at Jeremy. “He won’t listen to me.”

  Jeremy shr
ugged. “What do you want me to do?”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared in stony silence for a few minutes before speaking again. “This is crazy. I was over at his house, and about an hour ago he got a text from someone. The next thing I know, he says he has to leave. Said he had something important to do and that he was going to pick him up.” She jerked her head toward Andrew. “So Andrew shows up with tubes of glow-in-the-dark paint and they disappear into the bathroom for like five minutes, and then they take off. He tells me he’ll be back soon.”

  She frowned. “I wasn’t just going to wait at Pete’s house by myself, so I left too. I was driving behind them and got curious when they turned into the school, so I followed them down here to see this.” She rolled her eyes.

  I shook my head, trying not to laugh as the guys began dancing in weird, jerky motions circling the fire, ignoring us. Their knees drew up and down, some insane march, and they flailed their arms around.

  Why would the Society have them do something like this here, at night, when no one was around to see it? The answer slammed in to me. Because someone was there to see it. As with all of the other Hell week tasks, someone from the Society was sure to be hidden somewhere close by, observing them to be sure their task was completed. They probably weren’t thrilled that we’d stumbled upon it too, and were trying to stop it.

  I peeked left and right, but saw no one in the shadows beneath the bleachers. They were well hidden. I had to fight the urge to wave anyway.

  “Pete, you look like an idiot and if anyone catches you here…” She yelled again.

  “Celia, I know it’s a kind of weird, but it’s not like they’re hurting anything.” Jeremy tried to calm Celia down when it became obvious that neither painted dancing guy was going to acknowledge us.

  She stared at him. “He’s playing Lord of the Flies in his underwear on school grounds. If he gets caught—”

  “How’s he gonna get caught?” Jeremy interrupted her.

  Whoops and cheers drew our attention back to the crazy scene unfolding ten yards away.

  “I…I don’t know. But why is he even doing it?”

  Jeremy just shrugged again.

  I had a good idea, but it wasn’t my secret to share, so I said nothing. I wondered if Jeremy had his suspicions too. Probably.

  We stood in a huddle, shivering and watching while the guys ignored us and danced for about twenty more minutes. Finally, as the small fire began to dwindle down, Pete grabbed a nearby jug of water he’d obviously brought with him and threw it over the remaining embers, drowning them.

  The four of us looked at one another, trying to figure out what would happen next. The guys had thrown their clothing in the fire, and I didn’t see any bags or extra clothes lying on the ground.

  Pete and Andrew gave each other high fives, and before we could say a word, ran toward the main road, not the student lot. I stared. Clearly their task wasn’t over.

  No way. I had to hide a chuckle.

  We all took off chasing them. Celia obviously wanted Pete to stop, based on her shouts. I think the rest of us just wanted to see what was going to happen next.

  “Come on, get in my car, we can head them off,” Jeremy called. We veered to the right, where Jeremy’s car sat parked, and piled in.

  “Hurry up!” Celia instructed.

  Somehow, Abby and I landed in the backseat together. We studiously ignored each other.

  Jeremy ripped away from the curb, and we all rolled down our windows. It only took a couple of minutes to catch up to them. Thank God we were on a street with only a few houses. Pete and Andrew zigzagged back and forth on the road with their chests and backs glowing from the paint. They looked like two inebriated fireflies.

  “Pete, would you get in the damn car?” Celia shouted.Pete turned around and waved, but kept going.

  I couldn’t help but giggle.

  “It’s not funny,” Celia protested, but I could see a grin threatening to break through. Maybe she’d realized it wasn’t that big of a deal. Stupid? Sure. Dangerous? Other than the world seeing Pete’s skivvies, not really.

  A moment later, we were all suddenly laughing, we couldn’t help it. Jeremy beeped his horn and leaned out of his window a little bit to yell, “Go Titans!” Abby and I leaned out our windows and began whistling and cheering too.

  Our noise must have attracted the attention of whoever lived in the house on the left hand side of the street because the front door opened, and an older man stood silhouetted by the warm light behind him. Pete and Andrew dove into the thick bushes at the side of the road. I winced. That’d leave a mark.

  Jeremy slowed to a crawl. I twisted my neck to watch the man at the door as we drove past. He shook his head and went back inside, most likely used to the mayhem this time of year.

  We waited a minute to see if Pete and Andrew would climb back out of the brush, but they didn’t emerge. Maybe they’d cut through the woods and headed back to the school.

  “Probably some dumb football thing. Who knows?” Jeremy glanced at Celia before meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror. I again wondered if he too suspected the real reason for Pete’s antics.

  She nodded. “You’re probably right.” It was clear Celia was oblivious, which kind of surprised me given how smart she was. I guess we all sometimes miss what’s right in front of us.

  I leaned forward and put my arm around her. “C’mon, why don’t we all go grab a pizza or something, and by the time we’re done eating, I bet Pete will be headed to your house.” I smiled. “And besides, you always say Pete needs to come out of his shell a little.”

  She snorted. “I’d say after tonight that won’t be a problem.”

  We all laughed.

  I remembered how the firelight had danced on Pete’s bare chest, and although he’d whooped along with Andrew, he’d looked less than into the whole thing. I again puzzled over why someone like Pete, who seemed to have everything going for him, would even want to be a part of the Society. But I guess needing to feel like you belong, needing to have that safety net for the future, entraps all of us.

  “I just hope the school doesn’t figure out it was him. I don’t want him to get in any trouble.” She worried aloud.

  “Everything will be fine,” I assured her again as we hung a left to head to grab some food.

  Days later I thought back to that evening, of all it foreshadowed. Too bad I sucked at telling the future. Except it wasn’t Pete’s life that would be screwed up…it was my own.

  Twenty-One

  What is to give light must endure burning.

  —Viktor E. Frankl

  Students hovered throughout the hallway in small groups the next morning, whispering and pointing, and for once, not at me.

  Blown-up shots of Blane and Zena caught in a rather heated kiss were taped all along the rows of red lockers in the senior hallway. The fact that I didn’t hear screaming and fighting led me to believe that Jessica and the man of the hour hadn’t arrived yet.

  I casually strolled to my locker and feigned surprise. “I didn’t know Jessica and Blane broke up,” I said to Bren, who stood about three feet away with two other cheerleaders.

  “Shut up.” She shot me a dirty look and turned away, tearing down several of the posters closest to her.

  Not like it would make much of a difference. The damage was already done.

  The whispered buzzing grew louder for about thirty seconds then turned to dead silence. The Queen had arrived.

  I recognized the tap of heels that only Jessica bothered to wear with our fugly uniforms. I peeked out from behind my locker door. She strolled arm in arm with Blane, and I knew the minute she realized something was up, because the tap-tap of her heels slowed.

  No one said a word. Some kids looked down, suddenly very interested in studying their shoes.

  “Bren, Jaz, what’s going on?” Her gaze drew to the papers plastered just feet away. She broke free of Blane and speed-walked to the first set of loc
kers.

  Jessica ripped one of the pictures down and tore it in half. Her head snapped back around to Blane. I hadn’t realized skin could turn that exact shade of purple.

  She rushed toward the other lockers that held pictures, ripping them down one after the other.

  Blane stepped toward her. “Jess, I can explain.”

  Jessica wheeled around and slapped him across the face. The posters she’d gathered dropped and flew everywhere with the quick movement of her attack.

  Blane’s cheek turned fiery red. His eyes bulged.

  Gasps and muffled laughter filled the hallway.

  Her eyes roamed the crowd, probably looking for Zena, maybe planning to smack her too. Jessica’s gaze stopped when she reached me. I stared right back, refusing to be intimidated. Her ice blue eyes narrowed the slightest bit before she turned and stalked off.

  The laughter that filled the hallway was no longer muffled. Everybody had something to say about the high drama scene they’d just witnessed. It definitely ranked up there as one of the better ones so far this year. A few guys even slapped Blane on the back and cheered him on.

  I wanted to be thrilled that all went according to plan, but something I’d seen in Jessica’s eyes made me nervous. It almost seemed as if she knew I was behind it, like she blamed me.

  The memory of Jessica telling me how my father had cheated with her mother and broken up their family flashed in my mind like a neon sign. It made me feel shitty for what I’d done. I hadn’t really thought about that, about how it would bring back very real, painful memories for her when I’d orchestrated the whole thing.

  I reminded myself that she deserved it.

  They always say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Jessica had not only been scorned, she’d been publicly humiliated, and somehow I didn’t think she’d take it lying down.

  “Our President being elected is not a current event, Ms. Shayne.”

  Mr. Cooper stood behind the wooden podium he always used for lectures. His wire-framed glasses tipped down his nose as he shook his head in exasperation.