Once they blindfolded the pledges, Barb led them into the administration building and stopped at the base of the stairs. They kept most of the lights in the building off, leaving them in the dim glow of exit signs and the fading sunlight through the windows. There was no way the pledges could see anything.

"Our club room is on the second floor, but we won't be using the elevator," Barb said. "You will work together and navigate the stairs."

"Oh, no," Tamara muttered.

"What's wrong, Tamara?"

"I'm a little clumsy."

"It's okay. I've got you," Kennedy said. "Sister Barb, do we have to do this in alphabetical order?"

"No. Go in whatever order works best."

"Tamara, hook arms with me. I'll guide you. The rest of you line up behind her and link arms," Kennedy said.

Barb watched them scramble to form a human chain. Observing them do this blindfolded was amusing, but Barb refrained from laughing.

"Isn't this kind of dangerous?" Claudia asked.

"The sisters will follow behind you just in case, but we won't help you climb. You do that as a unit."

When they finished preparing, Kennedy felt around for the guardrail and grabbed it. Then, she slowly guided them up the first flight. Tamara stumbled twice, but Kennedy had a firm grip on her. They moved steadily, and they reached the top without falling.

"Good job," Barb said before guiding them to a room. She had them sit, and Barb sat behind the teacher's desk at the front. The other sisters went to the club room across the hall and allowed Barb to speak with the pledges. They still sat in darkness because there were no lights, and Barb hadn't told them to ditch the blindfolds. "In a minute, the sisters will come in, and I want you to welcome them when we tell you to. You will say 'Good evening, Sister' and their first name. Try to do it in unison. We are going to discover if you are good at remembering names."

The procession started five minutes later. They left them in silence to allow the anticipation to build. Plus, they needed to fill the time. Having only five members meant the activities would be much shorter than they would with more significant numbers. Soon, they were ready, so Shawna, Felicia, and Keisha entered the room. Shawna switched on the light before speaking. "Remove your blindfolds!" she yelled. Her voice echoed off the walls.

The pledges' eyes squinted as they adjusted to the bright lights, but Shawna didn't let them acclimate. She held her crop over Felicia's head and looked at them. "When I hold my crop over someone's head, you greet them!"

"Uh," Hana said. She couldn't register anything because she was still squinting.

"Her name isn't Uh!" Shawna said.

"Good evening, Sister Felicia," Chloe said, and the others tried to join her as quickly as possible. It created a mess of noise.

"That was terrible. Also, don't look straight at us! Eyes on the wall," Shawna said, pointing her crop at the wall behind Barb.

Shawna made them do it repeatedly until they got it right, but she had more tricks. Next, Shawna circled her crop over the heads and randomly stopped. Sometimes, she would swap to someone else as they started speaking. Hearing them switch gears in the middle of their sentence amused her. Finally, Shawna placed the crop over her head.

"Good evening, Sister Shawna," Tamara said.

"Wrong! I am Mistress Shawna."

"Mistress?" Claudia asked under her breath in an amused tone.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No. Sorry, Mistress Shawna."

"Okay, moving on..." Shawna began, but something caught her attention. She slammed her crop down on Tamara's desk, making her jump. "Are you eyeballing me, Drama Girl?" Shawna asked as she got in Tamara's face. Tamara frantically shook her head while focusing on a brick in the wall. "I know I'm hot, but don't undress me with your eyes." When she said this, Claudia laughed for a brief second, so Shawna moved to her desk. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Claudia said.

"That's what I thought," Shawna said and stood up. "Light's out. It's time for round two!"

This time, Hailey and Cynthia entered the room, and Barb joined them before the desk. The girls didn't have much of an issue until they got to Cynthia.

"Wrong! She is our sponsor, so you will call her Mrs. Cynthia," Shawna said when they greeted Mrs. Harwin. Once they got her name right, Shawna entered the speed round like before. She enjoyed making them stumble, but they soon realized they were running out of ways to mix things up. "I've got an idea. Let's turn out the lights and see if they can identify us by our voices," Shawna said while they brainstormed in the hallway. Her idea produced amusing results, so she devised an even more devious plan. "How about this? Lights out and funny voices so they can't recognize who we are." This method brought them a moment that made even Shawna laugh.

"Good evening, Sister—Kermit the Frog?" Claudia said.

"I was going for Yoda," Felicia said with a frown. Shawna pulled her into a hug and told her it was alright.

***

When the ideas ran dry, they gave the pledges a break. Barb sat and talked with them while Felicia took pictures. Everyone else stayed across the hall and caught their breath. Shawna reclined in a desk and tried to throw a pencil through a small hole in a ceiling tile. She missed, but the pencil stuck in the panel.

"Whoa! I wasn't expecting that," Shawna said as she threw her hands in the air in victory.

"Shawna, please stop tearing apart the room. Bledsoe will kill us," Hailey said.

"I'm not tearing apart the room. I just stuck a pencil in the ceiling. From the looks of it, I improved things."

She left the pencil there and placed her hands behind her head. Shawna rested and admired her accomplishment but caught something in her peripheral vision. "Keish, why are you staring at me?"

"Sorry, I'm just proud of you. You are doing well for someone who didn't want to do it."

"Yeah, it's kinda fun."

While Shawna said this, Cynthia sat at the desk next to her. "I agree. Well done. So, Shawna, tell me a little about yourself."

"What do you want to know, Mrs. Cynthia?"

"For starters, where do you get your makeup? It always looks amazing."

Shawna released her tension when she heard this. She hadn't realized she was bracing herself until Cynthia finished talking. Part of her expected something more personal. People usually asked the obvious questions, and they weren't always nice.

"I buy it online from a company called Dangerfield. They're great."

"You'll have to send me a link. Would I look good in black lipstick?" Cynthia asked, which made Shawna laugh.

"I think warmer colors would suit you more."

"You might be right. I also wanted to ask you where you got that car."

"It was my dad's."

"Did he give it to you for your birthday?"

"No, not for my birthday," Shawna said in almost a whisper as the smile faded from her face. She could see Keisha react out of the corner of her eye and knew she was about to save her from an uncomfortable discussion.

"Shawna, tell her about the time you raced Professor Dunlap for extra credit," Keisha said

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"You did?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah, he had a modern Mustang and thought he could beat me. I smoked him," Shawna said. She turned to Keisha and mouthed the words, "Thank you." Keisha nodded and winked at her.

***

They still had thirty minutes until they had to meet Aeternum at the intramural fields, so they led the pledges to the lawn outside the administration building. It was time to teach them some dirty limericks.

"That's funny. I heard that one years ago," Kennedy said when Barb taught her "The Man from Gent."

"I must be too innocent because I never discovered these until Shawna taught them to us," Barb said.

"Why am I not surprised she suggested them?" Kennedy asked with a laugh.

Meanwhile, Keisha worked with Claudia, but they were having trouble. The issue wasn't that Claudia couldn't retain the knowledge. She was too busy laughing.

"Oh, that's hilarious. I'll have to remember these," Claudia said.

"Yeah, that's kind of the point," Keisha replied.

"Wait. You're going to make us repeat these in front of people. Aren't you?"

"Yep!" Keisha said with a devious grin, which ceased Claudia's laughter.

Elsewhere, Felicia helped Hana, but Hana was struggling to remember the words.

"I'm not good at memorizing things. I have to write everything down," Hana said.

"Me too, so don't feel bad," Felicia replied.

"I don't suppose you'll let me write it, will you?"

"Sorry, but I can't."

Hana's shoulders slumped, and her head dropped, but she noticed the camera around Felicia's neck and perked up again. "Hey, have you ever photographed models?" Hana asked.

"No, why?"

"My sister Jae is a model. I've always wanted to try it, but I'm not as pretty as she is."

"I think you're pretty," Felicia said.

"Thanks. Maybe you could take pictures of me sometime."

"I might, but right now, we need to focus. I know you're stalling."

"Damn, I was hoping you didn't notice," Hana said with a nervous chuckle.

While they got back to work, Hailey was teaching Chloe.

"I could only imagine Marla's face if she heard these," Chloe said. "I bet the Phi-O pledges aren't learning limericks."

"Good. I wouldn't want them to steal our thing," Hailey replied, which made Chloe smile. "But since you brought it up, how did Marla react to your decision? Is everything okay?"

"Things haven't been okay between us for years. This is just another brick in that wall. But watch out for her. She's pissed."

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Hailey said. She put on a confident face, but inside, she dreaded the moment she would cross paths with Marla. Hailey understood it would happen eventually. She gazed around to give herself an excuse not to let Chloe see the worry in her eyes, and her gaze fell on Shawna and Tamara. Shawna seemed impatient.

Tamara had no issue with the memorization. She was a theatre major. Memorizing things came easily to her. It was the content that tripped her up.

"I'm sorry. You mumbled. Did you say dirk?" Shawna asked. Tamara nodded sheepishly. Shawna compromised. "Alright. How about this? Give me a funny alternative for the word dick. If you make me laugh, I'll consider allowing it."

"Dingle?"

Shawna stared at her stone-faced and silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. Tamara thought she would reject it, but Shawna surprised her. "That will work, I guess."

***

A half-hour of moderate success teaching the limericks passed before it was time to meet Aeternum. The pledges walked in a single-file line to the intramural fields on the other side of the campus. It was the largest open-field area at Harrison University, making it perfect for the next phase of Bid Night. All girls' clubs met with their brother clubs for joint activities. When KMA arrived, they found the fields already packed full of people. There was a mass of noise as everyone talked and played games. Hailey found Aeternum's president, Joel Kent, and she waved at him.

"Hailey, how has your night been?" Joel asked.

"Good. Yours?"

"Not too bad. And don't worry. We haven't been too hard on your boy," Joel said, gesturing toward Dan. Hailey looked in his direction and stifled a laugh when she saw him.

"What is that in his hand?" Hailey asked.

"Why don't you go ask him? I'm sure he would love to tell you all about it."

Dan smiled and waved when he saw Hailey approaching him, but he ensured the object under his arm was secure. Hailey pointed at it when she stopped in front of him.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the rubber shark Dan carried.

"This is Floyd. He's our pledge mascot. I have to carry him for the rest of the night. Say hello," Dan said and offered her a shark fin to shake. As she reached for it, Dan turned the shark and pretended to bite her finger, saying, "Grr!"

"Sharks don't growl, Dan," Hailey said with a straight face.

"You hurt his feelings," Dan replied. He pulled the shark back and petted it as he said this.

"Sorry, Floyd," Hailey said and gave him a pat on the head.

"Wow. I just realized we have a lot more pledges than you guys. This will make the sides a little uneven," Dan said, glancing at the KMA pledges.

"Joel said we would swap people in and out. It will work."

"Oh, Hail. You should know that Marla girl has been hanging around waiting for you. I wanted to give you a heads up."

"Damn. Where is she now?"

Dan looked around momentarily and then pointed toward the area where Phi-O and Beta Rho were meeting. Hailey spotted Marla quickly because of her haircut. Thankfully, Marla was busy yelling at a pledge, so she didn't notice Hailey looking at her.

"She looks happy already," Hailey said, drawing a chuckle from Dan. "Did she say anything?"

"Marla asked when you guys would get here."

Hailey wanted to know more, but Joel announced the start of the activities. A handful of Aeternum pledges paired with the five KMA girls. They were going to play a game of Suck and Blow. Shawna giggled when she heard this, but Joel quickly explained. You pass a playing card back and forth using only your mouth. If the card drops, the two players accidentally kiss. Hana stood beside a tall basketball player, already preparing herself for awkwardness. He didn't help matters anymore when he turned and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Damon," he said.

"Oh, hello. I'm Hahhh..." Hana said, but she lost her nerve in the middle of her sentence.

"It's nice to meet you Hahhh."

"No! I meant my name is Hana."

"Well, it's a pleasure either way," he said with a laugh and a smile that made Hana even more nervous.

When Damon looked away, Claudia nodded at him and turned to Hana before saying, "He's cute. Go for it."

Hana frantically shook her head and whispered, "I'm too scared."

While that conversation happened, Dan lined up next to Tamara.

"Nice shark," Tamara said.

"Thanks. This is Floyd. Say hello," Dan said, and he pulled the same finger-biting trick as he had with Hailey. Unlike Hail, Tamara laughed at the growl.

"You alright, Hail?" Keisha asked when she caught a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm fine. Why?"

Then the game began. They successfully passed the card around the circle once, but Tamara bonked heads with the guy on her other side.

"I'm so sorry!" she said as he rubbed the sore spot.

On the next go-around, the card dropped, and Tamara kissed Dan.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Keisha asked Hailey again.

"What are you talking about?" Hailey asked as she turned her reaction into a yawn. Keisha shook her head, but she kept quiet.

Hana struggled to pass the card with her much taller partner. They had dropped it twice, but she sadly didn't get a kiss unless you count his lips bumping her forehead. Every two rounds, they switched partners, and another group of Aeternum pledges joined the circle. Hana got her kiss, but the guy seemed worried his girlfriend might get mad. His concerns made Hana feel worse. Now, she feared an angry girl would knock on her door.

***

On the outside of the circle, Felicia photographed the action while Shawna watched her with pride. She loved to see Fel working. Felicia's concentrated face was quite cute.

"You're staring," Felicia said while snapping another pic.

"Sorry, Fel. You make this adorable face when you're focusing."

"No, I don't," Fel said, but Shawna saw the corners of Felicia's mouth turn upward for a brief second.

"Yeah, you do. Ooh, take a picture of me," Shawna said and then posed. Felicia turned her camera and captured a few shots as Shawna tried some unique positions. "Get my good side. How do I look?"

"Very nice."

"Just nice? I was going for badass."

"Oh, right. I meant badass."

"You're just saying that, but thanks."

"So, how do you like being the mistress?" Felicia asked as she continued her job.

"It's fun. I didn't realize how much I needed this until we started."

"What do you mean?"

"You know me. I always have to be doing something because I can't sit still. Plus, it's nice to find somewhere to—belong," Shawna said, idly kicking at a rock on the ground. It wasn't often that Shawna was the one who didn't want to make eye contact. Felicia stopped taking pictures to glance at her friend.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Felicia smiled.

"Me too. I was worried when you avoided me at the start of the semester."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. I know what your mom said to you. And if she comes to visit, I'll pretend we aren't in the club together."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen," Felicia said, lifting her camera to her eyes again.

"Yeah, I hope so," Shawna said. "I couldn't stand to lose you," she added in a whisper that Felicia didn't hear.

***

Hailey watched everything from the other side of the circle. She moved over there to avoid Keisha, who was annoying her. Hail didn't understand what Keisha was blathering about. She didn't have any problems with Dan enjoying himself. That was the point of the activity. The pledges needed a respite from Bid Night's intensity. Either way, Hailey found something else to worry about.

She didn't have to peer sideways to discover who had stood beside her. Hailey recognized that bob haircut through her peripheral vision. Its owner didn't speak a word. She stood with her arms folded, watching the pledges play their game, so Hailey started the conversation.

"Hello, Marla."

"You know I was ready to coexist with you, but then you made this personal, Hailey."

"I didn't make it personal."

"Bullshit. Stealing pledges from us was bad enough. Now you're trying to turn my sister against me."

"Chloe pledged with us on her own. We didn't force her to do it. I'm not trying to turn her against you. You're doing that yourself," Hailey said and instantly regretted her word choice. She didn't look at Marla but saw her turn and glare at her. Marla got uncomfortably close to Hailey's face.

"I can make this personal too, and you won't like it when I do it," she said calmly. Now Hailey understood what Keisha meant about how creepy it was. "Watch and learn," she added before walking toward the group of pledges.

Marla marched straight over to Dan and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned with a puzzled expression and recoiled when he saw who it was. The most unnerving part was Marla's fake smile. It didn't extend to her eyes. "Dan, you're single, right?" Marla asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, we have our fall social coming up. How would you like to be my date? Pledges rarely get to attend with a club president."

"No offense, Marla, but no, thank you."

"Oh, come now. We're both young and free. It will be fun," Marla said, running a finger down his chest. Once she finished, she fetched a pen and paper and wrote her phone number. Marla placed it in the pocket of his suit jacket and said, "I'll give you some time. Call me when you decide. I can make it worthwhile." After saying this, Marla leaned in and whispered something. What she said left Dan in a state of wide-eyed shock. By the time Dan spoke again, she was ten yards away.

"What the fuck!?" Dan said.