ChapterOne
Brinly
I chose to attend Bayside Northwest University for one reason and one reason only—to piss off my mother.
It’s safe to say my choice did the trick. She wanted me to go to Princeton, her alma mater, where I would have been surrounded by all the progeny of her peers and other business magnates, influenced by their upper class, East Coast wealth and prestige. But I wanted something all my own.
All my life, I’d been known as the daughter of Muriel Davis, Queen of Shipping. As in, she runs one of the most successful international shipping companies in the world.
I consider this as I wait for the rest of my cohorts from Sigma Kappa Alpha—the sorority I pledged as a freshman last year—to arrive. Our sorority president this year, Stacy Barren, scheduled this meeting to discuss the upcoming charity fundraiser we’re organizing this year for Halloween.
If it’s anything like last year’s event, we’ll have a blast and raise a ton of money for those in need.
“You’re always early to everything, aren’t you? You put all the rest of us to shame.”
I turn around in my seat to find my friend, Maddie, walking into the dining room of the house where we hold our regular meetings. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she looks like she just came back from a run. The jogging shorts and sports bra are another clue as to her previous whereabouts.
Shrugging a shoulder, I smirk and, in a deep throaty voice, I say, “My mother raised me with the motto, ‘If you can’t be the first one there, there’s no point in going.’”
Maddie snort-laughs. “Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for me to even be in college. I’m always late for my classes. Anyway, I gotta run upstairs and take a quick shower. Will you save me this seat?”
I tap on my lips with my finger to demonstrate my agreement is questionable. “Hmm…only if you make another batch of those delicious almond butter cookies. Those were so good.”
She nods, flashing a gigantic smile. “You drive a hard bargain, sista, but you got it.”
I watch her charge up the stairway leading to the second and third floor bedrooms, her brown ponytail flicking back and forth until she disappears. We are roommates this year, and before that we spent a lot of time hanging out and studying together at the library every Thursday night when we can. She’s a biology major and I’m studying to become a teacher.
Teaching is something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d be home alone a lot when my mother was on business trips and I’d find ways to entertain myself, which included lining up all my dolls in a classroom setting. Then I’d pretend to be their teacher, imparting my limited eight-year-old knowledge on a whole slew of subjects.
As an only child, I had to use my imagination and learned to be comfortable playing on my own. My mother was busy running a Fortune 500 company and had no time to raise a young child. When shewashome, she spent very little, if any, quality time with me. My nannies, and then my school teachers became my role models and parental substitutes along the way.
Especially Ms. Campbell my high school English and Composition teacher, who was the one who gave me the courage to break out of my introverted ways and become a literacy mentor after school. I found the opportunities to work one-on-one with younger kids was something I truly enjoyed, as well as taking up creative writing.
All those things factored into my decision to go to school at BNU and major in English and teaching.
Now here I am, as far away from my mother as possible without leaving the country, living far from my former solitary life. I smile at several of my sorority sisters who begin to file in, finding their empty seats and chatting with one another in enthusiastically friendly manners. I’m just about to say hello to Lexi, one of my close sisters, when my phone buzzes in my hand.
Assuming it’s my mom checking in on whether I’ll be home for fall break, I glance down briefly at the text and am surprised to find it’s a message from Brant Leeds. He’s the senior who manages the student tutoring center where I signed up to become an English tutor.
I took on the role as another way for me to break out of my shell and gain real-life experience in my pursuit of teaching. I may only be in my sophomore year, but tutoring other students in my spare time will give me the additional hours and credits I need to build a decent resume for graduate school.
Brant: Do you have time to add another student to your schedule? Got one who just registered. It’s past the deadline, but it came from a senior faculty member. So if you’re willing and able…
I hastily type my response, doing it now rather than after the meeting so I don’t get sidetracked or forget to respond later.
Me: Sure, no problem. I have Tuesday and Thursday nights free. Send me all deets. TY.
It makes me happy that Brant thinks enough of my skills to add another student to my rotation. I smile and set my phone to vibrate and stuff it into my book bag just as Stacy calls the meeting to order. Maddie rushes back in, smelling of scented coconut body wash and shampoo, and takes her seat in the nick of time.
“Good afternoon and welcome Sigma Kappa Alpha sisters.”
A rambunctious and hearty greeting response—which includes three sharp hand claps, a stomp of our feet, and then a loud whoop ofS.K.A.—is returned from the twenty or so girls in the room.
“Thanks for coming today to this last-minute session. Our sorority secretary, January Smith, will make sure the notes are posted on the portal later today, but if any of your sisters are unable to attend, please make sure to pass along this information.” Stacy nods toward January, sitting in the front row, her head bent over her laptop.
Stacy continues with smooth efficiency. “As many of you know, each year we host a fundraising event to collect money for a local charity in the area. This year, instead of doing the typical kegger, auction, or talent show, we’ve decided to host a haunted house for Halloween.”
A collective titter of excitement echoes through the room. I sit up straighter in my chair, eager to learn more about the plans for the event. I’ve always loved Halloween, but often didn’t get the chance to go trick-or-treating because we lived in a large mansion in Connecticut where the nearest home was a mile from our property.
