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I watched the eight of them laugh and joke around— even though I had no idea who most of them were back then—until one by one, they dispersed. Finn and one of his brothers first, with their girlfriends. Then the other brother was pulled away by Alexis. Brady slipped away without anyone seeming to notice, heading out the patio doors and scaling down the side of the building.
I'm not sure why he didn't use the front door to leave, but I'm not about to ask him now.
When it was just Max left standing, all his friends having gone their separate ways, that's when I approached. He was the man I needed to impress after all. He would make the ultimate decision on whether or not I was invited to become a member of Kappa Omega Lambda. Which is why I made small talk, boosted his ego a little, and that's when he gave me my first warning.
"You want to be a Kappa brother?"
Hell yes, I do! I want to scream it, but I need to play this cool. I don't want to sound too eager.
"Yeah. I like the house, the brothers. Everyone seems legit."
Legit? Really? That's the word I went with.
"We are," Max says, topping off his beer before turning and motioning for me to follow him. "This house has been through a rough couple of years. My predecessor didn't care too much about the values we stand for. He wanted to throw parties and spend the last of his college days living his best life."
Looking around at all the people crammed into the house, it's hard to believe that's not what Max is doing as well.
"This will be the second biggest party of the year, Halloween being our biggest draw. All our other parties are exclusive, invite only. We've partnered with the Zeta house this year, and our goal is to give back. We have a few charities in mind that will benefit from our hard work."
"Sounds good."
"Why am I telling you this?" he asks, coming to a stop at the top of the stairs leading to the basement level of the house. It's been closed off for the party, more than likely to keep people from destroying the parts of the house that members live in. There are seven rooms upstairs and nine downstairs. Both areas are off limits tonight.
"Um..."
"I want you to understand that this is not our normal. This is not what it means to be a part of this house. We're about brotherhood and giving back. We all have individual goals, but as a house, our goal is not to be drunk every Friday night. We don't want to be known as the party house. I'm telling you this because if that's what you're looking for, if that's why you want to join a fraternity, you're not in the right place."
That's not why I'm here. In fact, I could pledge the Sigma house since I'm a legacy, but I chose not to. Despite encouragement from my father. I knew I wasn't in the right place the second I stepped foot through their doors.
"My father was a Sigma," I tell him, hoping he gets the message.
"Mine was a Kappa. That's why I'm here. To carry on his legacy."
"I'm here to distance myself from mine. The Sigma house is—"
"I know. It's like a drug den. People only go there when they need a fix."
"That's not exactly something I'm interested in. And it wasn't like that when my dad was a member. To say he's disappointed I'm not rushing Sigma is going to be an understatement."
"You haven't told him yet?"
"Nah. I was planning on waiting until I'd already pledged a different house."
Max connects the dots quickly, moving the chain aside that's supposed to keep people from going downstairs, and motioning for me to head down. When I reach the bottom, I'm surprised to find an enormous living room. You can see a woman helped decorate despite the foosball table and huge LSU Hawks posters hanging on the walls.
Max moves across the room, stopping in front of a set of double doors. When he opens them, I immediately know what he's showing me. The Sigma house has a similar space, only the door was open and there was a threesome going on when I walked by.
"This is our meeting room. Only members are allowed in here," he says as I step across the threshold. "This is a sacred space. We treat it as such."
"Why are you allowing me in here?"
"Because you're going to pledge to be a Kappa brother, and we're going to accept you into our fold. And as such, you'll become a little brother to one of the members. That person will take you under their wing, show you the way, mold you into a brother. They'll be the person you go to as you learn to navigate college and fraternity life. The one person you can count on."
"And that person will be?"
I know the answer before he says it. This entire conversation has been leading up to this moment. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner.
"I knew you were a Sigma legacy before I invited you down here. I also knew that you had potential to be a great Kappa and create a legacy of your own. The best person to help you do that is me." I don't reply because I honestly don't know how. I feel like I should thank him. For giving me the chance. For believing in me. For not kicking me out when he learned I was the legacy of another house. Instead, I nod in acceptance. "I only have one rule for my little brother, for all the brothers in this house, that I need you to agree to."
