04. The chapter with Allie's moving

Rose

Last weekend's party had good results for Allie, who charmed the sorority president she so idolized with her incredible charisma. Audrey Dixon was the evolution of her high school friends, she was perfect and idolized by everyone, and gave me the impression that she would do anything to keep up appearances.

It was that realization that caused me to gently decline the offer to participate in the hellish fortnight of initiation into the sorority, much to the surprise of Allie, who was ecstatic at the opportunity.

" Rose, are you sure about this? Joining a good sorority is a lifetime benefit," Allie asked on Thursday, after the day's classes were over, while we were packing her bags for her to move into the Sigma Sigma Kapa house.

" Allie, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not in the mood to give up my dorm place and humiliate myself to dozens of girls who consider themselves superior. I'm fine here," I denied, causing Liam to laugh.

Initially, everyone had gone to help her pack her belongings, but in the end, he just sprawled on my bed while we did the heavy lifting.

" Don't even try to explain it, my little learner of Van Gogh, it's a family tradition. All the Waldorfs are proud Gray Foxes and join the top sororities and fraternities," he reported, "Except for Robert, my cousin, who rebelled and went to Denver.”

Allie paid no attention to her cousin, folding her clothes neatly before putting them in her large pink suitcase.

" You are from the same family, I must assume that you followed tradition, but I don't see you in any fraternity.”

" I am my own Fraternity, my future Margaret Keane. Besides, her mother is my father's sister, and she has taken on the Waldorf traditions. The Van Derr Wall doesn't have a specific tradition," he explained.

" Are you your own fraternity? " I sneered.

"And here we go," whispered Sky to Theo.

In one swift movement, Liam reached for my wrist, pulling me onto the bed. I fell on top of him, my eyes widening in surprise, but before I could react, he spun us around, pinning me with his body.

" Exactly, no fraternity would be good enough for my genius, so I'd end up overshadowed if I joined mediocre people," he declared, his face only inches from mine, causing me to smell the sharp stench of the cigarettes he loved to smoke.

" Liam, get off her," Allie scolded him.

" Oh yeah, I forgot how amazing you are," I decided to play along.

Liam let go of me, raising his body, remaining on his knees, trapping my legs with his weight. 

" Exactly, so I created the Teth Azu Mahalo, the most exclusive fraternity there is, and those two are dying to be part of it, but I don't know if they're amazing enough yet," he explained enthusiastically, pointing at Theo and Sky.

" Those aren't even Greek letters, Liam," Sky corrected.

I propped myself up on my elbows, raising my torso to face him better.

" Do you see why they haven't been accepted yet?”

" What else can you tell me about your fraternity, Van Derr Waal?”

" Oh, come on, Rose, don't wind up," Theo scolded me, but I was enjoying the overall situation.

That question was enough to make a gleam appear in the boy's eyes, and he jumped out of bed, going to my desk and grabbing a piece of paper and a freshly sharpened 4B pencil.

" We have everything, Rose. The most amazing people, free passes to any party on campus, the Status of Misunderstood Geniuses, and custom T-shirts with the best symbol on them," he declared, scribbling on a piece of paper.

I stood up, crawling to the edge of the bed, watching his work. Liam was drawing a skeleton riding a flaming unicorn.

" That would make a good tattoo," I complimented his drawing.

I couldn't deny that he was great at what he did, passion emanated from his eyes with every line, and even though it was just a sketch, it was better than most people could do with a lot of effort.

" That's it, you passed the test. You'll get your shirt tomorrow," he winked at me.

" Oh my goodness, thank you so much. My dream has always been to join an imaginary fraternity.”

" You can joke about it, but the connections made in fraternities are important for the rest of our lives, you should take them more seriously," Allie grunted, closing her purse.

I understood how important this was to her, but it didn't mean that I had to have the same goals.

" Allie, I went to college to qualify professionally and enjoy the best years of my life without having to deal with stupid sorority rules, so I'm not really interested, but I'm not turning down any party invitations," I warned.

" In that case you're in luck, Saturday there's a party at Sigma Alpha's headquarters and I'm taking you to enjoy an afternoon by the amazing pool there," Liam warned.

" Aren't you guys going? " I stared at Theo and Sky.

This was a surprise, it seemed that this group was inseparable. At least every time I met up with them, they were all together.

" They're leaving me," Liam muttered.

" We have other commitments," she explained.

" I got a date with a girl who could only go out with her brother, so... " Theo explained.

" We're going to play mini golf," Sky sighed.

I couldn't help but smile at this explanation, from the look on Liam's face he didn't approve of the plan, but if he wasn't willing to act when it was clear that Skyller had a crush on him, then he couldn't complain about her going on other dates.

" He's going to pay for everything," Sky confided.

" My father did the same thing to my mother last week," I sat up in bed, stretching.

Allie, who was just finishing her belongings in our bathroom, returned, looking particularly curious about the subject.

" Are your parents divorced and going on double dates?” 

" No, they have never been involved, not romantically anyway," I shrugged.

I hadn't intended to tell the curious story of the two of them, but the curious expression in everyone's eyes showed me that they were waiting for the details, and we took Allie's belongings and left the room, helping her to carry everything to her new home.

" They had met in high school and were inseparable, and after so many people insisted that the two of them made a great couple, they decided to give it a try. But, according to them, it was a traumatic experience for both, so they gave it up. Some time later they discovered that they had created a lifelong bond by accident, so they made the parenting issue work out " I summarized the story of the two as I walked along.

" And are they still friends? " Sky wanted to know.

" The best. They are neighbors and take care of each other, taking advantage of the fact that I took my father's old car and moved to another city to "recover lost youth by serving as an example to another human being," as my father put it," I sneered, receiving a shocked look from Allie, while Liam laughed.

" That's horrible.”

" Why? They're not even forty, they deserve to enjoy themselves a little.” 

" Is it weird that I say I really want to meet your parents? " Liam stared at me.

I laughed at his remark, if he knew how much my parents like to play at being "overprotective, threatening parents," he wouldn't be so eager to meet them. Of course it was all just a joke, they both trusted me and my judgment. But whenever I introduced someone to them at home, they would play an almost cartoonish character, to see if they could scare the person, or if they were good enough to be around me.

" Of course not, it's completely normal for you to offer to meet the parents of a girl you met a week ago," Theo scoffed.

We reached the first flight of stairs, starting to descend in a friendly atmosphere, while Theo, who was carrying Allie's suitcase, pretended that he was not suffering from the weight.

" All right, Van Derr Waal. I'll be your company for a few hours because I'm curious about this party, but I have to leave early, I have an appointment later in the afternoon," I warned him.

My father had kept his word and deposited the money, and it didn't take long before I got an appointment at a great tattoo parlor in Waterfall, a town a few miles from Grayfox Mills. Maybe I should convince Liam to accompany me, having someone I know while some random guy draws a picture on my body seems like a good idea. 

" I was thinking of inviting Christian to go with me," Allie interrupted our interaction, drawing all the attention to herself.

" Wow, you're really liking him, aren't you? " Sky encouraged the girl to speak.

" He's a nice guy, and I think it's time we got to know each other a little better," Allie admitted.

I hadn't had any contact with Christian since our little argument in last week, and he seemed to avoid approaching me whenever we saw each other in the halls of the Dorm, but he seemed to be getting closer and closer to Allie, much to my chagrin.

" Rose didn't like the idea very much," Theo teased me.

It didn't take long for the story to spread across the campus. I knew that some people were making fun of him because of the scene I had set up, but I didn't regret it for a second.

" I don't have to like anything, she's the one who's going out with that insufferable guy," I returned.

" I don't understand all this reaction for a piece of pizza," Allie frowned.

I turned around quickly, ready to defend my point of view of the situation.

" The guy picked on me from the beginning because I didn't like broccoli, and after I had already been run over by a jerk, he took the pizza he had given me and ate it! " I exclaimed indignantly.

" Rookie mistake," Theo shook his head in disapproval.

" We have already learned that it is safer to get a bone out of a Pitbull's mouth than to try to get Rose's food," Liam whispered to his friend.

" Hey!”

" Rose, we haven't known each other for a long time, but I can already tell that you don't share food," Sky pointed out.

I thought about retorting, but she was right. When it came to food, I hated to share.

" Anyway, that wasn't the worst of it, he said that I came to college to play coloring games," I muttered.

" And you called him a drug dealer," Allie came out in defense of her almost boyfriend.

" I didn't! Because a dealer is the one who distributes drugs, and I don't know what you call the one who produces them," I returned thoughtfully.

" Producer of illicit substances? " Liam suggested.

We went down another flight of stairs, finally reaching the common area of the dorm, and headed for the exit.

" You shouldn't talk about producing drugs like that, someone might take it seriously," Sky scolded.

Her concern seemed real, making us laugh at her reaction. But soon Allie caught our attention again, looking unsure.

" So you think it's a bad idea to invite him?”

" I never said that. If you like him, go ahead. In fact, it's a good idea, if you guys go out, it'll give me a chance to throw a drink in his face next time.”

I didn't understand Allie's need to always have the approval of the people around her. If she wants to go out with him, she should have done it a long time ago!

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, Allie looked at the screen, exhaling excitement as she read the message.

" They're here, wish me luck," she said goodbye, picking up the suitcase that Theo had brought down, before leaving without even looking back.

The four of us watched her leave the villa, sighing as she got into the Savannah Hill Mercedes. 

" Do you think she will keep talking to us? " I asked no one in particular.

" Of course," Sky assured.

" Not," Theo added.

I turned to both of them with both eyebrows raised, but it was Liam who decided to explain the situation.

" Allie needs people's approval and Audrey will never allow her to have friendships outside of the sorority, if you wanted to remain friends with her, you should have accepted the offer to become sisters.”

I knew that in the end, we would go back to the way we were in High School and all the progress we had made in the last few days would be completely forgotten.