Actual Sorority Sisters

Now it was just time to dazzle. The first event was at a local pizza place, nothing too exciting. But they'd rented out the top floor so that it would just be the sorority girls and the rushes. I decided to come about twenty minutes after it started, so I would be punctual but not desperate looking. But the waiting was awful; I was so nervous and excited I didn't know what to think. If Lily found out I was doing this, she might never forgive me.

Finally, the time came for me to go and I almost sprinted the eight blocks from my dorm room to the pizza place. When I arrived, I saw the ground floor with a large number of people sitting and eating. I then spotted a sign pointing up a flight of stairs that had the name of my sister's sorority. I felt my heart skip a beat and then pushed myself forward.

When I reached the top of the stairs, the din of the pizza place lowered and I could hear a few muffled voices on the far side. Finally, I pushed open the door and stepped in. It was a large, brightly lit room with a dozen tables scattered about. There were probably 12 girls there already. But two of them were sitting at a desk immediately in front of the door I'd just entered. It was Heather and Carrie. They had a list for taking roll.

"Ah!" Carrie said, "Lizzie and I guess its... Abood?" I blushed as she discussed my last name, I felt liked been keeping something from them before.

"Yeah," I said with obvious embarrassment.

"I can't get over how much you look like your sister," Heather said shaking her head.

"And Lily can't get over how much she does NOT want you in this sorority," Carrie said and laughed a little. It was now or never time.

"Yeah, that's why I came tonight. To talk to you about Lily. Well, not about Lily but about me. I knew she wouldn't be here tonight" I started. That didn't sound particularly forceful, I needed to do better.

"Yeah, well talking isn't going to do you much good. We were more than willing to let you rush, but if Lily says absolutely 'no', then our hands are tied." Carrie stated.

"Well wait, let her tell us what she was thinking," Heather said to Carrie, then turning to me, "What did you want to say?" I took a deep breath.

"Look, you both asked me to rush before any of this stuff happened with my sister. And I wasn't lying when I said this was the only sorority I cared about. If I don't get in here, I don't want anything else. I belong here. And I belong here on my merits. Whether I get in or don't get in should have nothing to do with my sister. I know that in order to become a pledge I need to go to at least 2 rush events and also get voted into the top 20 of the rush class by current members," I said. I'd read the bylaws and constitution online, I was ready for this, "So here I am, one rush event and my sister isn't here."

"Well she will be here for the rest, are you going to wear a disguise?" Carrie said and I vehemently shook my head.

"Not the third event. You all won't be there because you have a Pan-Hellenic meeting. I saw it on your flier," I explained.

"I still don't get it," Carrie said, "Even if you go to two Rush events, your sister is going to know and she is going to re-iterate her blackball. When we sit down to vote she will just say, 'that is my sister, she is a little bitch. Don't vote for her or I will take it personally,' and people will listen to her. And even if that weren't the issue, the other girls rushing will get five chances; you won't be able to compete." She had pretty skillfully explained all of the flaws I'd already noticed in my own plea. But I had to stick with it.

"Listen, if I am voted into the top 20 in the rush class I get to be a prospective pledge right? And then there is a 'culling period' of one month, isn't there? That's where you winnow down the class from 20 prospective pledges to the 10 girls you are going to invite in. If you guys don't say anything to my sister until then, I can get a fair chance. I get these two rush events, which puts me at a disadvantage I know, but if I convince everyone enough with just these two chances, then I deserve to be in the top 20. And there is no risk of pissing off my sister too bad. Because if I get voted in the top 20, then I can get a month during the culling period to convince you I belong in the ten girl pledge class. And my sister will find out at that point because I will be at the sorority house everyday and she will get her chance to tell everyone I shouldn't get voted on. But at least I will have a chance. That's all I want." I'd practiced that many times and it had gone off perfectly. It sounded absolutely reasonable and fair. I just hoped the officers agreed.

"You know more about the bylaws that I do," Carrie snorted. But Heather was leaning forward biting her lower lip.

"So you want to get two rush events to wow everyone but your sister?" she asked and I nodded. It seemed like she was biting.

"Just a chance," I said. She paused for a long while, even leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms in front of her breasts. Contemplating. Finally she leaned forward.

"Okay Lizzie... Actually, no Ellie," she said and winked, "I will put you down under that name on the forms. If you get the votes, your sister won't know until you show up."

"She is going to be pissed!" Carrie said.

"Yeah well...she shouldn't have run against me for president then," Heather hissed, "I told her I had the votes and she had to have a divisive election to prove the point. Well, now I get to show her the kind of power a president gets to wield." I wondered for a second what I'd stepped into. Did Heather and my sister not get along? Whatever, she seemed to back my plan. The enemy of my enemy I guess.

"So I can try?" I asked. Heather looked at Carrie for a second.

"You are a stone cold bitch!" Carrie said and then giggled.

"Yeah, go give it a try," Heather said. At first I was worried again about the seeming animosity between Lily and Heather, but then her permission sort of sank in. I had a chance! Now was the time to make the most of it.

"Better get out there and get to work," Carrie said, gesturing out towards the crowd. I nodded my head. Now, in high school I hadn't exactly been an overly social person. I had a small group of friends and I got along with everyone. Not a nerd but not a 'cool kid' either. But that night I knew I had to turn it on. I had prepared myself for all the previous night. And as I moved past Heather and Carrie's desk I pushed down my nerves and social anxieties. I had to shine.

And I think I did. I won't get into the tedious details, but I did what I had to do. I moved around the party and talked to everyone. I laughed a little extra at things I found was funny (though I wouldn't fake it, If something wasn't funny I would just politely stay silent), I shared anecdotes, I complimented people on their clothes or purses or whatever, and generally did whatever it took to charm anyone and everyone. And I made it my business to talk to everyone and mention to everyone that my name was "Ellie." And A few days later at the second event I tried to do it all over again, except this time I was more comfortable and even had some people I wanted to talk with. I had fun! The girls all seemed super nice and interesting. They were the kind of girls I would want to spend four years with. And both nights, I avoided thinking about my sister. I wanted something and I decided what I had to do to get it. And when that rush event was over, I knew that everyone knew who Ellie was and I left it up to chance.

It was another week before all of the rush events were over. And it was the longest week of my life. I could barely focus on class. My roommate kept asking if I was sick (she'd decided not to rush anywhere, by the way), but I was just nervous and excited and curious. Finally, I came home one night from the dining hall and found, slipped underneath of the door, an envelope. And inside it was an invitation to join 19 other freshman girls for a chance to be in the sorority! I had a 1 in 2 chance of making it in, so I guess my sister didn't know what she was saying when she claimed I didn't have what it took to get in! I'd never felt more triumphant in my entire life.

And that was how I found myself standing in front of the sorority house, feeling both excited and nervous about going inside. I was excited to start the "culling" process, trying to prove I deserved to be there, but also not looking forward to seeing my sister. We'd barely spoken since the day at the Pan-Hellenic Fair. She was going to be pissed. But, I was also a little happy I was pissing her off. Sisters, right?

Anyway, that thought got my feet moving and in a few moments I was standing at the front door, knocking. The door opened and Heather was behind it. She was smiling already, but when she saw who it was her eyes brightened. She looked both wicked and beautiful as she ushered me inside.

"Oh Ellie," she said, "We've been waiting for you!" She said. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the foyer and into the first room. It was a large living room with several couches and chairs piled around. There were a couple of girls already there. Some new prospective pledges and some existing members. I recognized a couple of them as people I'd gotten friendly with at rush event. They smiled at me and waved and I returned the greeting. But Heather was just closing the door when I heard the other shoe drop.

"No!" I heard in my sister's loud voice. I spun around and saw her standing next to a far wall. She was marching over quickly towards me. Heather stood next to me, still smirking.

"I...uh," I started. I felt a panic I hadn't expected. I knew my sister was going to be pissed when she saw me, and even more pissed when she knew I wasn't going to leave, but knowing something would happen was different than seeing it happen. My sister hadn't looked so angry at me in years. I had been going on the assumption that once all of this settled down, that we'd be okay again (we didn't always fight). Now I was worried I might be doing permanent damage to our relationship. I could see it in her eyes.

"You need to go," Lily said as she reached me. She stopped right in front of me, pointing her finger in my face. I addition to my concern, I also felt anger rising up inside of me. If anyone was trying to ruin our relationship, it was Lily. She was choosing to make it like this. I was about to yell something back, but Heather stepped in between us.

"Sorry Lily, but she is on the list. Ellie got enough votes to be here."

"Ellie!" she said peering around Heather, "What is this?" She pulled a list of names out of her purse and looked at it. She must've seen the name Ellie with a vote tally. No last name (as I guess was normal) and no Lizzie. For a second she seemed to be thinking about it, and then the full scope of my plan seemed to dawn on her.

"You know the rules, if someone gets the votes, they get a shot," Heather said and I could feel the animosity between them. I didn't know if I should be happy that I was lucky enough to have a breach to exploit or upset that I was in some way compounding my sister's conflict with someone in her sorority. But things moved too fast to worry about it.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Lily asked after a pause. For a moment I thought she was talking to me, but I saw that she was looking directly at Heather.

"I don't make the rules, I follow them. That's my job as president," Heather said coolly, "She got the seventh most votes so it was an easy call." I couldn't resist a considerable flood pride at that number. Seventh most! But I didn't let it show on my face. Lily looked flummoxed.

"She didn't go to the rush events!" She scrambled.

"She went to two, you just happened to be absent," Heather said.

"She can't be here and you know it...It isn't right," Lily said, almost stamping her foot like a spoiled child. But there was real pain in her voice. I was too confused to know how to feel.

"I can't decide to kick her out. You know the rules. She has the votes, she gets a chance. If you want her gone, you have a month to convince everyone she doesn't belong. There are 19 other girls you can try to shepherd in ahead of her."

"You planned this you," she said, "And you used my little sister. Christ Heather, it wasn't personal I ran for an office and you won. I got over losing, why can't you get over winning?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please settle down, other girls are coming. We don't want to make a big scene" Heather said. And then she slid out from between my sister and I and went to the door.

For a moment my sister just stared at me. I was still surprised that she seemed angrier at Heather than she did at me. But she still starred at me with...disappointment. I wasn't ready for that look. It actually cut me a bit. I was alright with anger, I could deal with that, but this made me feel...guilty. Even if that wasn't fair for her to make me feel, I felt it. Finally she shook her head and walked half a step closer to me.

"I told you to just leave well enough alone. You do not belong here. And you have no idea what you got yourself into. But you are going to learn," Lily hissed. Then she pushed passed me and back into the crowd. I thought it was an empty threat because I'd defied her. But I would soon find that Lily was right, I had a lot to learn.

Chapter 1: Culling and the Day One of Pledge Week

For the culling period, I still had to live in my dorm but I went to the sorority house every single day. And oh that house! It was really just the most amazing place I'd ever been and I desperately wanted to live there. I already sort of explained how it looked on the outside, stately and imposing. On the inside, it had ancient hardwood floors and warm yellow paint that brightened the place and made it feel open and inviting. There were windows everywhere bathing every nook and cranny in natural light.

The first floor was all common areas. Like I said, you walked into a foyer but then immediately entered a large, rectangular living room. There was a large television mounted on the wall and plenty of places to sit. At a normal time, there would be 40 girls in the sorority, and most of them could probably lounge comfortably in that living room. It stretch almost the entire width of the building. On the far left wall as you walked in was also a very large fireplace that looked like it was actually used in winter. There was a door on the right-hand wall that led to hallway and the stairs leading to the higher floors. Directly across from the front door was a door leading into the rest of the first floor.

Passing through that door led to a large dining room that had four ten-person tables, one for each pledge-class. There was a chandelier and big bay windows that really opened the room up. There was a door on the left that led to the large kitchen and to the first floor bathrooms. All of the rooms on this floor were massive and gave plenty of room for 40 girls to comfortably co-exist.

The top three floors were all living quarters. Each floor had ten bedrooms, five on both sides of a long, narrow hallway. At the end of each hallway was a large bathroom with five stalls, five sinks, and six shower stalls. The rooms themselves were relatively small, but bright and homey. The second floor housed the freshman (after the pledge period) and sophomores. These underclassmen had to share rooms. The freshman were all on the hallway facing towards the back of the house and the sophomores faced the front of the house. The third floor was for juniors and they had private rooms. Finally, the fourth floor had private rooms for seniors. In addition, the windows on the fourth floor were extremely large and there were balconies jutting from each bedroom. That, I suppose was the benefit of moving up a flight of stairs for senior year. From the very first day I was there and took the tour with the other prospective pledges, I wanted one of those rooms.

And I had plenty of time in that month long culling period to pine over those beautiful rooms and the beautiful house. I was pretty much expected to be at the house every waking moment not occupied with other matters. That meant I was in my dorm room for sleep, in a cafeteria for breakfast and lunch, in a classroom for class, and at the sorority house at any other time, including dinner.

I had been a little bit frightened that the culling process was going to be rough. I was frightened that in order to decide who was fit to be a member of the sorority and who was not would depend on who could stand up to pressure. But, I was pleased to learn that that wasn't the case. In fact, I couldn't say for sure what criteria the sorority used to decide who would make the cut. Most of the time we were there, we just sort of all hung out together in a casual way.

I got to know all of the girls in the sorority better. It was tough to learn the names of 30 girls (well, 29, I knew my sister already) in just a couple of days, but I got pictures from the library and made flash cards so I would remember. I would go to the house after class and maybe watch television with a group of juniors and discuss the show or play volleyball in the backyard with some of the sophomores. Every single person seemed incredibly nice and welcoming. They all wanted to know about me and find out how I enjoyed the sorority and the school.

All except for one person of course. My sister. We hadn't really spoken since the day I'd shown up with my invitation in hand. She hadn't been outwardly angry with me since then, but she was cool. I saw how she interacted with the other prospective pledges. Warm, affectionate, and inviting. But she didn't have anything like that for me. I wondered what she was saying to the other sorority sisters behind my back. For whatever it was worth, I didn't notice any difference in the way the other girls treated me. If she was trying to undermine my candidacy, it didn't appear to be working well.

I should note that as the days stretched into weeks I noticed a couple of strange things about the sorority. And I should preface this by saying at the time they seemed like completely isolated strange things. As they were happening I just barely noticed them. It wasn't until later, when more of the mysteries of the sorority were revealed to me that these things came back to me and clicked into place.

For example, sometimes one of the sisters would ask a prospective pledge to do a favor or retrieve something, like a can of soda or something. Then, when the prospective pledge would go to complete the task, the sister would give her a playful swat on the behind. It was almost jock-ish, but still seemed a little bit strange. Another strange thing that I noticed was in that month, none of the girls in the sorority ever seemed to leave to go on a date with a boy. No boys ever came to the house. And like I said, I was there almost all the time. My sister had always had boyfriends in high school, but she'd never brought one home from college.

Another thing was that the girls were always complimenting one another on their looks. And I mean I know that isn't strange in and of itself, but it seemed a little more intense than in most other places. Girls would compliment one another on how their breasts looked in a top or how "sexy" they looked in a skirt. It went beyond saying, "Oh god Becky, I love what you did to your hair." It was more like, "Becky, you look so good I want to run my fingers through your hair." And again, it wasn't like this happened constantly and usually didn't feel too strange in context (though I did feel uncomfortable when a junior named Laura had spent almost two minutes complimenting my ass), but it was a little different.

But like I said, pulling these things out makes it seem like it was a lot more prevalent that it was. Most of the time was just chill and easy going without any sort of strange, vaguely sexual undercurrent. I didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary, other than that these girls were comfortable with the female body. And I liked that.