by J. A. Huss
“No. What kind of secret party?” I ask. “Is this the big Palladium House reveal?”
“I think so,” she says, dropping her voice into a low whisper. And then she shrugs and flops down on my new bed. “I’m not sure. But it’s by invitation only.”
“And we have to bring a date?” I ask.
“No,” Tera says “It’s our… pairing.”
What the fuck?
“Knock, knock?” Cliff is opening the door with my luggage. It’s not much, since I went home last spring with… well, nothing but one hastily-packed backpack. I did pick up some new clothes. So I have a couple extra cases, but they’re small, so Cliff manages all three of them with ease.
“Where do you want this, Rory?”
I look around the room and nod to the closet. “Just over there is fine. Thanks, Cliff.” He sets each case down and then pauses before turning back to us. The expression on his face is one of sadness. I’ve known him long enough as just a friend to read the disappointment.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Tera says, backing away. “But be ready by eight, Ror. We can’t be late for this, OK?”
I nod, doing my best to silently assure her that I will, but my eyes are stuck on Cliff as she exits, closing the door to give us privacy. “I’m sorry,” I say.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” he says, shrugging. “Shit happens for a reason, right?”
“I suppose.” I sigh, sitting down on my bed. “Did you tell her what happened?”
“No,” Cliff says. “Not much, anyway. Just that you broke up with me and…” But his words trail off. So… all that stuff that happened afterward goes unsaid. “She knows something is wrong though. She’s gonna relentlessly bug you about it all year until you give in and spill the details.”
I nod. Not knowing what to say to that. “Are you staying for the party tonight?”
“Not invited,” Cliff says. He pauses. Looks away, then back at me. “You know, they asked me to be part of this.” He pans his hands wide, indicating this means Palladium House.
“But… you were a member of the Locke House Eating Club.”
“I know. They didn’t like that much.”
“Who?” I ask.
“Palladium.”
“What didn’t they like?”
“That I turned them down, Rory. I never wanted Tera to be part of Palladium, but she was so excited. And you got accepted too, so…” He shrugs. “I never thought it would be like this.”
“Like what?” I ask, my curiosity in overdrive now.
“I gotta get going,” he says, changing the subject. “Law school, remember?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I remember.”
That awkward silence between two people who were in a relationship, but are no longer, sets in.
“So…” Cliff says.
“Yeah,” I say back.
“OK, then,” he says. “I guess I’ll leave you to it. But Rory,” he says, lowering his voice. “Call me if you need anything, OK? And I do mean anything.”
Normally, when one hears those words from an ex-boyfriend, one might assume he’s hinting at some kind of friends-with-benefits arrangement. But Cliff and I never got past the friends part. There have never been, nor will there ever be, benefits. So that’s not what he means.
“I will,” I say, forcing a smile.
He gives me one more long look, then turns away and walks out, leaving the door open.
There’s a lot of commotion outside in the hallway and I recognize Kallie’s and Mia’s voices as they talk loudly to Cliff. This house isn’t too big and only the senior officers get to live in the house, and that’s only four people on this side of the mansion—me, Tera, the President, Kallie, and her VP, Mia. I was voted secretary this year and Tera is the treasurer, so we get senior officer privileges.
But all I want right now is my little apartment back. Hell, if I’m being honest, all I really want is my childhood bedroom back at the farm.
“One more year,” I whisper. And then, with any luck, I will move far away and live somewhere quiet and boring.
“Knock, knock!”
I look over at the door to find Kallie beaming one of those obnoxious eating-club-president smiles at me from the hallway.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course,” I say, patting the bed next to me. I’ve known Kallie since freshman year. We were Palladium Pledge Partners. You can’t be a member of Palladium Eating Club until junior year, but if you don’t make your interest known at the beginning of freshman year, your chances of getting in are slim to none. And if you had asked me back then who would end up being my BFF in college, I’d have said her. But then Tera and I just… clicked. And Kallie migrated towards Mia so she didn’t have to be third wheel.
“One more year,” Kallie says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “So sad, right?”
Shit. I really need to keep my mutterings to myself from now on. So many ears in this place. “Yeah,” I say, smiling at her. Kallie is a ginger. But not the orange-y kind of ginger. The deep, auburn kind that barely qualifies. She’s tall, thin and exudes sex appeal in every way. And she has the most striking green eyes to boot.
I’m no wallflower. I look just like my bombshell of a mother. But Kallie’s sex appeal puts mine to shame. She is designer labels and diamond rings. She owns two-hundred-dollar push-up bras and she actually wears lingerie to bed. Like… every night. When she told me that back in freshman year I didn’t believe her. But then she showed me her dorm-room dresser. Yup. Drawers and drawers filled with lingerie. She had to move out of the dorms sophomore year. She needed more closet space.
“Don’t be sad, Rory. We’re gonna be friends for life. That’s the whole point of joining the Palladium family, right?”
“Right,” I say. “I know that.” Believe me, I know that. It’s the whole reason I came back.
“Anyway,” Kallie says. “I just wanted to stop by to drop off your invitation.” She thrusts an envelope at me. It’s silver and has my name on it in pretty script writing. “The party tonight is formal. I wasn’t sure how much Tera told you about it, so I just wanted to make that clear.” And then she glances over at my empty closet and boxes of unpacked stuff with a worried look other face. “Do you have something silver to wear? All us girls went out shopping last week to get our dresses. But, of course,” she says, slight clip to her words, “you weren’t here.”
“I know,” I say. “It was a weird summer.”
“I’ve heard,” she says, her smile turning into a frown of sympathy. “But you’ll have to fill me in on the details. Tera didn’t give up too much information.”
“I didn’t tell her. And if you don’t mind, I’m not going to talk about it anymore. So it’ll have to remain a mystery.”
“Don’t do that, Rory. Don’t shut us out. We are your sisters now. We’re going to be here for you for the rest of your life. All of us. So don’t bottle up your problems. Let us help you.” She rubs my shoulder to illustrate her level of concern.
“I know, Kallie. But this is about love. And no one can help you get over something like that.”
“Wrong,” Mia says from my open doorway—I really need to keep that thing closed. “We have the perfect answer for love troubles, don’t we, Kal?” Mia is exotic-looking. You can’t tell what race she is just by looking at her. She appears Asian at times, with her striking almost almond-shaped eyes. But she’s very fair. And curvy. And her long wavy hair is light brown and her eyes are a blue-green hazel.
“That’s right,” Kallie says.
“Open your invitation,” Mia squeals. “I’m dying to see who you got.”
“Who I got?” I say.
“Your date,” Kallie says. “The answer to all your problems.”
“I got Jeremy Warren,” Mia says. “And OMG, he’s so fucking hot. I cannot wait to be paired up tonight.”
“Not to mention rich,” Kallie says with a smirk.
“Look who’s talking,” Mia shoots bac
k. “You got Edward Van Visser. That man’s family has more money than God.”
Kallie shrugs, but her satisfied smile betrays her feigned indifference.
I look down at the silver envelope in my hand. My name is engraved, not printed. And my fingertips can’t help themselves. I trace it, feeling the shallow dip of the letters.
“Hurry!” Mia says. “I can’t take the anticipation!”
I turn it over. The paper is thick. Expensive. The kind of envelope you’d use for a very formal wedding. And it’s been sealed with a circular embossed silver sticker that has the words ‘Palladium House Eating Club’ engraved around the spiked star-burst edges.
I peel it back, take out the card, and read.
Dearest Aurora,
Welcome to the first exciting night of your new life. From this day forward you will never be alone. From this day forward you will be surrounded by your Palladium family. From this day forward you belong to us and we belong to you.
Join your new family in celebration and meet your new partner, Franklin Fulbright, at eight PM in the Palladium House main dining room.
Sincerely,
Palladium House Eating Club
“Franklin! Oh, my God!” Mia screams. “You lucky, lucky bitch!”
“Wow,” Kallie says. “He’s the House President.”
“Hmmm,” I say. I know Frank. We’ve been in lots of classes together over the years. He’s kinda cool, actually. And kinda cute too. “Shouldn’t you be paired with him?” I ask Kallie. “I mean, you’re our president. And don’t the presidential pairs normally attend Eat Meet together?”
“I cannot wait for Eat Meet this year,” Mia says. “Jeremy and I are already discussing what we’ll wear.”
Princeton has a few non-sanctioned Greek fraternities and sororities, but what we really have here are eating clubs. They are basically the same thing, but the university says they’re not.
The eating clubs are private and each of them convenes in one of the large mansions lining Prospect Street, commonly called the Street. They are all co-ed, but Palladium has two clubs housed simultaneously in the largest mansion on the Street. Palladium East is for men and Palladium West is for women, so we have a pair of presidents.
The main dining room is where we all take our meals. I have eaten here daily since I was admitted to the Club in Junior year. The meals are elaborate and Palladium employs some of the best chefs on the East Coast, so they are always delicious. But I’ve never been to the Eat Meet because it’s reserved for senior members.
It is pretty exciting. Or it would be, if my life hadn’t fallen apart over the summer.
“Anyway,” Kallie says, redirecting my attention back to her. “Edward is more my type than Frank. So… the dress. Do you have a silver dress for tonight?”
Do I have a silver dress? I want to roll my eyes. “No,” I say politely. “No, I’m afraid I don’t. Maybe I’ll just skip it.”
“Skip it?” Mia and Kallie say this at the same time, with the same level of incredulousness.
“No.” Kallie laughs. “You cannot skip Palladium Pairing, Rory. It’s simply not done. I have an extra dress you can borrow. I thought this might happen so I bought two.” She pats my knee, like I’m her child instead of her friend, and this small reassurance is all it takes to set things right. “And I got your size, so don’t worry.” And with that declaration, she stands up and says, “I’ll come by with it after I finish making my rounds.”
“Byeeeee,” Mia calls out, following her.
“Byeeeee,” I mimic, sarcastically. But softly, so they don’t hear me.
“Well.” I sigh, walking over to tap my door closed. “I guess this is it, Rory. Your new life begins now.”
That’s what the invitation in my hand says, anyway.
So I guess it’s true.
After Mia and Kallie leave I sit on my bed and ponder just how things got so fucked up this summer. It all started with Oliver. Stupid Oliver.
But did it really start with Oliver? I mean, Oliver didn’t make Five stay away for six years. Oliver didn’t have anything to do with all the things happening now. He was only looking out for my best interest. He wanted me to be happy. And isn’t that the most adorable thing a little brother could want for his biggest sister?
No. This is not Oliver’s fault.
“Knock, knock.” Tera already has the door open and is entering my room without waiting for an invitation. At least that’s still the same. “Kallie gave me your dress for tonight.” She holds up a silver garment bag and wiggles it. “Open it!” she squeals. “I need to see what it looks like right now!”
Me too, since I wasn’t the one who picked it out. But I keep my negativity quelled as I take the bag, close my door, looking for the hook to hang it on, and then unzip it.
“Holy—” Tera is stunned silent. Which isn’t easy to do.
“Wow,” I say, pulling the dress out of the bag and hanging it back up. “Just… wow.”
Tera grabs the tag hanging off a strap and covers her mouth in a gasp. “Shit!” she says, finishing the last part of her initial sentiment. “Do you see this?”
I try not to, but it’s hard to miss the comma and zeroes in that price.
“She spent over nine thousand dollars on a dress?” Tara exclaims. “Jesus. I knew Kallie had money, but… Jesus. That’s a lot of money for a dress you only wear once, right? I mean, it’s not a wedding.”
“It’s not?” I laugh, unable to stop myself. “I’m pretty sure Kallie and Mia think we’re all getting married to Palladium House tonight.”
Tera squints her eyes at me. “That’s not true.”
I squint my eyes back. Because it was a joke. “Well.” I shrug. “I mean, that’s what we’re doing, right? Pledging ourselves to these people? Sisterhood and brotherhood and all that good high-and-mighty classy shit that rich people do?”
Tera just stares at me.
“Sorry,” I say, meaning it. Because I just insulted her. I just insulted everyone here. I basically just broke apart from the group and put us all in us-and-them categories.
“I thought you wanted to pledge Palladium?”
“I do,” I say. “I do. I’m sorry. I’m still not myself after last summer.”
“You need to forget about that guy, Rory. Five Aston. Do you know I looked him up this summer after all that shit happened?”
“God,” I say, sitting down on the corner of my bed. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Well, you’re going to. That’s what best friends do, OK? They contribute to your fantasy as long as it’s harmless, but they yank you back to reality when things go sideways. And that man…” Tera shakes her head. “Has some shady dealings, Rory. Capital S. Capital D. It’s better for you to stay far, far away from him. Trust me. And forget my brother, all right? I don’t care if you don’t like him that way. But you’re gonna find someone better. Someone worthy.”
“Like who?” I ask, seriously needing to know who she sees me with in the future. “Like Frank Fulbright?”
This makes Tera’s face light up. “You’re paired with Frank?”
I nod, unable to see why this makes her happy. Frank isn’t a guy Tera would ever date. He’s very smart. Everyone at Princeton is smart, but Frank is like, genius-level smart. He’s not ugly. But he’s not handsome, either. Not like Five. He’s… OK. But mostly, he’s just… rich. And well bred. I think that’s what girls here at Princeton look for first in a man. Money. And the older it is, the more they like it.
“Stop it,” Tera says, slapping my shoulder. “Stop thinking about Five. And stop comparing Frank to him. Frank and Five are nothing alike. I’ve known Frank since we were kids. Practically grew up together in boarding school. His family is nice.”
“And pretentiously rich,” I say.
“So?” Tera says. “I’m pretentiously rich. And you never had a problem with that before you ditched me last minute to fly home to see some guy who doesn’t deserve you and, to be blunt, do
esn’t want you.”
“Thanks a lot,” I say.
“And you’re not poor, Rory. Your blood might not be blue, but your parents have a lot of zeroes in their bank accounts. There’s no way you’d even get in to Palladium if that wasn’t the case.”
“Really?” I ask. “That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“What?” Tera says, feigning innocence. “Like it’s a secret. Everyone knows Palladium only takes people with bright futures. And bright futures require lots and lots of family money. You’re one of us, Rory. This,” she says, waving her arms at my room, “proves it.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be one of you?”
Tera just stares at me. “What happened last summer? I mean, aside from Five walking out on you. I got that when you texted me that day to let me know you weren’t coming out to the Hamptons. But what happened after? Why did you stay home all summer? And never call?”
“I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.”
“I was giving you space. But I expected you to get in touch when you sorted things out. And you never did. Why?”
“After all that stuff with Cliff?” I laugh. “He practically told me Five was dangerous. And you called and were almost begging me not to let Five hurt him!”
“I was overreacting,” she says. “I’m sorry. Cliff is… weird about stuff like this.”
I raise my eyebrows, wondering just how much Tera knows about what’s really happening. “Stuff like… what?” I ask.
“Never mind. Cliff is just unhappy about us being in Palladium House. He’s bitter and—”
“Wait,” I say, putting up a hand to stop her right there. “What do you mean unhappy? He told me he got accepted and he turned them down. So why would he be bitter about you getting in?”
“It’s stupid. He thinks they’re like Skull and Bones, or something.” She waves her hand in the air, like this is preposterous. “He’s always been that way. My father is like that too. Jesus, you should have heard him ranting this summer about how I should’ve joined the eating club Cliff was in. Talk about boring, right?”
