Nathan hated it. The taste was abysmal, like burnt plastic with a touch of copper. The color was clear, but the taste was queer. Not queer in the way the single minded idiots huddled around him at the moment would assume and consistently accuse each other of being, but queer as in odd.
Alien. Unwelcome. If Nathan could have his way he’d destroy every last container of the beverage, take a baseball bat and smack every glass bottle and all the metal cans to tiny bits while the others watched. Yet he swallowed, wiped off his mouth with his sleeve, and asked for more, to the cheers of the animals around him. He didn’t actually want more, (what imbecile would?), but he got more, and he drank more.
The worst part? He smiled. Nathan smiled, a smile that the average dolt would mistake as genuine. He had had eleven servings of the disgusting concoction, and knew that in less than an hour the beverage would work its black magic on him.
Even his thoughts, the one thing he usually could keep from the mindless morons around him, would abandon him to the crowd. The process would be worth the humiliation and headaches though. This pointless trial was the penultimate stage in a ritual, a ritual Nathan had been preparing arduously for the past year and a month. He had endured abandonment, molestation, and humiliation, so severe intoxication seemed like a breeze in comparison.
Before the evening was done, he’d move on from his pathetic acolyte status and ascend to being included in the glorified circlejerk limited previously only to the circle of jerks around him. Not having to perform such idiotic tasks wasn’t Nathan’s aim.
He didn’t even want to see the trials he performed imposed on another person either. It was the connections. The upperclassmen forcing the bitter beverage down his throat without laying a finger on him may have had the collective IQ of a garden house, but their parents yearly income was far to the right of the mean.
These boys were the sons of men who through smarts or serendipity managed to actually influence the world in a significant enough manner. Powerful men, who had the ability to bestow money on those who possessed their favor. Nathan would never dream of going through this animalistic ritual for the blokes around him, no one sane would. He would, however, do nearly anything to construct a bridge for his future.
Finally, the supply of vodka from his designated bottle ran out as the eldest Lambda Kai brother poured the clear liquid into a red plastic cup for him to chug. Without hesitation(but with a bit of a sloppy grip), Nathan chugged down the awful liquid, ignoring the stinging the bitter drink left in his throat and the bitterness that a year ago would make him vomit out of reflex. Finally, he slammed the empty cup on the table and crushed it, to the frantic applause of all present in the dimly lit basement.
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The elder ape who had sat next to him got up and clumsily stood on a chair to try his hand at public speaking.
“Awright. Toniwght we celebwate the (he paused and hiccupped)… vawious acoomplushmens dat owere plewgde… Naytin, hadz achieveded.”
Nathan waved his right hand as much as his retarded(in every sense of the word) motor functions would allow him to.
“Naytin, youuu see, naytin iz a team playa n, n n itz only wigth, that we ceerebwate. So on the count of twee i want u to,uh, clink ur glasses togetder in honr of wamnda k-eye’s newes bwotha.” The all-male crowd let out slurred noises of approval. “weady? Won, twue, twee!”
The manchildren around Nathan clinked their mugs and shot glasses together, or at least tried to. The presenter put his big hairy arm around Nathan and whispered(well, yelled but it’s not like anyone what he said anyways) in Nathan’s ear
. “Awright, tomorrow, after da off, off, off…”
Nathan managed to force his mouth into obeying his brain for a few seconds. “Official?”, he guessed.
“sumtiing like dat. after da official sheremony I want u to do bar duty. U deserve it bwo.
” Nathan blinked his both of his watery unfocused brown eyes. Bar duty was exactly what it sounded like; the one placed in charge of bar duty would pour drinks for the party attendees. The party at Lambda Kai the next day was scheduled to be a heat party. Essentially, it was a buzz term that translated to filling the basement of the off campus house with hot water. Nathan hated heat parties more than anything. They meant that even though he abstained from the disgusting mating rituals of his “brothers” he very well may still catch an STI from one of the many whores and harlots at the greek parties who enjoyed having one night stands every other evening. His brain was fuzzy and his vision blurry, but it was critical that he not offend or ignore the request of his senior brother.
“Al…alright. Shure, ill do it.ill even bring my shcotch!” Nathan didn’t actually drink scotch or anything at all when he was alone. It was imperative that people thought he did though. After all, what kind of freak didn’t drink? Those around him had a limited mindset, they couldn’t accept anyone different from them. In order to make use of them, Nathan needed to conform to their ideal, or at least appear to be devoted to meeting his brother’s expectations. Compromising his wants for those of others felt disgusting, but once he had the means to be independent he wouldn’t have to worry about meeting standards of appearances and social expectations ever again. The elder brother shook Nathan’s hand once again and then flopped on a nearby coach. Nathan’s phone buzzed. It was a message from some random girl he didn’t care about.
The message read:
“Lonly 2nite, missin u.
” For once in his life, Nathan was glad to receive a text from this girl. It gave him an acceptable out. Nathan cleared his throat
“Alrgit guis. I, uh, I gotta go. Got a text from Emuleh.(and here Nathan pumped his right fist in the air)imma get it in!”
Nathan’s proclamation was met with a cacophony of loud cheers and slurred jeers. He was going to do nothing of the sort, but his frat “brothers” didn’t need to know that. They loudly and sloppily slow-clapped for Nathan as he walked out the door, not even possessing the slightest clue that their efforts were wasted and even resented. It was of no major concern. After tomorrow he’d be a full-fledged brother, and these inane events would lighten
. The cool air greeted Nathan as he stumbled off into the night.