Walking the Crimson Road

by Perrie Patterson

  When we arrive in front of Phi Mu, Lexi and Bella say, “Goodnight, see you later Grant” as they hop out of the back of the jeep.

  “Tonight, was fun,” Grant says, leaning in kissing me.

  I stare into his dark brown eyes, thinking he looks hot in his 1920’s costume.

  “Yes, it was a total blast; a Halloween not to forget.” I pull away, reaching for the door. “I’m tired and can’t wait to get all this make-up off. Thank you for everything. Goodnight, Grant.” I say, sliding out of his jeep.

  Bella’s in the room in an awkward position, trying to unzip her sock monkey costume. I help her with her zipper, and she un-zips me as I slip out of my costume.

  “Let’s sleep really late tomorrow. It’s Sunday,” I say, tossing my dress onto the bed.

  Bella looks at the clock on the desk and says, “Yeah, totally. It’s 2 a.m., and I don’t want to think about anything for the next twelve hours.”

  In the bathroom, it takes me a while to get all the eye make-up off. As I’m walking back to our room, three girls stumble down the hall, giggling. One says, “Hey, Bex, what’s up?” Her voice is slurred.

  “Hey. A fun Halloween?” I ask.

  “Got a date with a Chi Phi next weekend,” she says, holding the door open to her room so her friends can go inside. Sounds like a successful Halloween. Mine on the other hand has been interesting for sure.

  11

  #Goals

  Neither Bella nor I stir until mid-afternoon. It’s Sunday, and the house is still and silent. November has gently arrived and presented itself in soft solitude. Tiptoeing down to the kitchen we pour ourselves some juice and pop some bread into the toaster. We know we need to work on the lawn decoration today, and I think Caroline said today’s plan is to begin at four o’clock. Bella and I gather some bottled juice, toast, and granola bars, and take them back to our room. I’m not planning on getting in the shower for at least another thirty minutes, so I pull out my computer and my day planner and look at all my assignments and commitments for the upcoming week. I see a note in the margin for today that says, “5:30 filming.”

  “Crap!”

  Bella screams. “Oh My God! You scared me to death.”

  I laugh and say, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I remembered I am supposed to film a commercial ad for one of my classes today, and I may have mentioned to my group that I had a few friends that would be helping with it.”

  Bella looks at me, points to herself and asks, “You mean me?”

  “Yes. Did you forget I asked?”

  “Uhmmm no. Now that you mention it, I do remember you asking me and Lexi and Grant about helping you with a project.”

  “Whew.” I snatch my phone quickly and text Grant a reminder. I’m hoping he’s up and around. He answers, Hey babe.

  Hope u r having a great first day of November.

  Absolutely, now that I’ve heard from u, my day just got a 100%.

  I’m hoping u can still help me with my project today.

  I remind him of the plan to meet up with my group to film the soda ad for my class project at the river walk. He shoots me back a text.

  See u at 5:30.

  I send a text to the three guys in my group to remind them and one to Lexi. I gather my hair into a messy bun and take a quick shower. When I get back to the room, two of the guys have texted back that they’ll meet me at the river walk, and Lexi has answered me with a question.

  Is Bella going?

  Yes.

  Great, I’ll come, too.

  I remind her about working on the lawn decoration before we leave. She texts me back a “thumbs up” emoji.

  After working on the lawn decoration for over an hour, we hop into Bella’s car and head to the riverfront and park near the paddle board rental. When we get out of the car, I see my classmates setting up cameras and other equipment. We walk down to the dock where I introduce them to Bella, Lexi, and Grant. After filming the ad, the guys say they’re going to hang around and take some still shots of the bottles with the river in the background. They’ve created impressive looking labels, making them look like a real soda brand.

  “Send me the final clip to look at before we have to turn it in,” I say, waving bye as I turn around and walk toward my friends. When Grant asks if he can take me to dinner at Steamers on the strip, I accept. It feels like a good way to wind down the day.

  We wave bye to Bella and Lexi and hop into Grant’s jeep. At Steamers, Grant and I grab a booth and order Cokes.

  H smiles and reaches for my hand over the table. “I’m glad to spend more time with you today.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” I smile back.

  I order a shrimp Po-boy, and Grant orders wings. While we’re eating, we chat about Homecoming.

  “How’s y’alls lawn decoration coming?” he asks.

  “It’s looking good. It’s almost finished.”

  “Do you have special plans for game day? Will your parents be coming in for Homecoming?”

  “Yes. They have a spot on the quad with a tent. They tailgate with good friends who are alums, complete with TV and a catered meal.”

  He nods and says, “My parents have come the past two years but decided not to come to the game this year. Can I pick you up at the house sometime after the parade ends? Maybe we could walk to the quad together and meet up with your parents.”

  “That sounds perfect. I’m not riding on the float. I’m marching behind the band with the dance team. After the parade I’ll quickly run over and say hi to Mom and Dad, then I’ll go back to the house, change clothes and hang for a while.”

  “I’ll be riding on the Chi Phi float. I’ll text you sometime after the parade ends, and we’ll meet up.”

  We continue eating, and Grant asks me about dance team. I explain that we’ll be performing at a home game on November 14th.

  “I can’t wait to watch you perform,” he says, with a huge grin.

  I smile back, biting my lower lip. “Yeah, I’ll probably be a little nervous if I know you’re in the crowd.”

  I text him the rest of the basketball schedule for the season and explain that we usually perform prior to the game starting and at halftime. “The next home basketball game will be the Friday before Homecoming. It’ll be a busy week for me. My parents will be there. You can meet up with me and meet them right after the game is over.”

  “Yes, that’ll be cool.”

  “We’ll still plan to go by their tent on Saturday. We can get a quick bite before the game.”

  He gives me a sweet smile, brushing his fingers across mine. “I’m looking forward to Homecoming with you. Before you know it, it’ll be Thanksgiving, and we’ll be stuffing ourselves with the big bird.”

  This makes me laugh, and I’d just taken a bite of food. Trying to cover my mouth while laughing only makes Grant laugh harder. He has a great sense of humor and an easy- going nature that puts me at ease.

  Grant asks, “Will you be going home to Atlanta for Thanksgiving?”

  “Yes, we have plans for my mom’s birthday, which falls on Thanksgiving this year, but those aren’t final. She said something about wanting to go to an island off the coast of Georgia.”

  “I’m planning to leave after the Iron bowl. Are you going to stick around for that game?”

  I nod. “I wouldn’t miss that game for the world.” We laugh knowing no one would want to miss the biggest college rivalry game in the state.”

  “I can’t leave until after the basketball game on the 27th. My parents will be at that game, too, and I’ll catch a ride with them. I usually get a ride back to school with a Phi Mu sister who’s also from Atlanta. We plan to come back the first Sunday in December. I have to dance at the basketball game that night, too.”

  Grant looks serious and says, “Do you realize it’s the first of November, and we've planned the entire month out over dinner?”

  I smile, feeling nostalgic. “Yeah, November will go by fast, then it’s Christmas break, and by the time w
e come back from that, we’ll have more than half the year completed.”

  On the short ride back to Phi Mu, I ask Grant when his first swim meet will be. I know he swims at 6:30 every morning before school, but I haven’t asked him about coming to a meet.

  He smiles and says, “I had a lot of home meets in September and only one home meet in October. Since we’d just met, I didn’t want to push a swim meet on you. They tend to be long and sometimes a little boring for most people.”

  He pulls up to the curb in front of the house, reaches for my hand, and says, “But there’s a home meet this week against Auburn.”

  “I’m there. What about the rest of the month?”

  “There are several away meets in November.” He squeezes my hand.

  We’re still holding hands and making plans for where I need to go for the swim meet when he takes his other hand and plays lightly with my hair. Then he puts his hand on the back of my head, pulls me closer, and kisses me gently. When I finally pull away, we say goodnight. He lifts the hand that he’s holding up to his lips and kisses it while looking into my eyes and murmurs, “Sweet dreams.”

  He slowly releases my hand. I smile back and think he’s the perfect guy-next-door-take-home-to-mom-type. I like him a lot, but do I like him, like him?

  Walking into our room, I see Bella at her desk. She turns around when she hears me.

  “Hey, aren’t you glad to have that commercial assignment over with?” she asks.

  “Totally. Because I have a lot more stuff coming up right before Homecoming, plus we have choreography practice twice next week. And Grant has a home swim meet on Thursday. Would you want to go with me?”

  “Not really, I’ve heard they can be boring. But if you really want me to I will.”

  “Nah, that’s okay, I’ll text Cat. She’ll probably go just to look at the hot guys with their dripping wet bods and tight speedos on.”

  Bella doubles over in laughter. “Girl, you know it,” she, says.

  12

  #Canyoukeepasecret

  I get to my usual seat for creative writing and realize Lane hasn’t come in yet. At the end of class, we receive our end of term assignment that will technically be our grade in the class for the semester. The paper states our assignment is writing up to a 2,000-word story that can be fiction or nonfiction. The good news is this is our final grade and takes the place of our exam. It’s one exam I don’t need to study for. I also notice it’s due sometime around Christmas break.

  After class is over, I hurry down to catch Professor Brigg before he leaves the room.

  “Excuse me, Professor Brigg, could I get an extra assignment sheet for a friend?” He smiles and says, “Yes.” He hands me the extra paper and, as I turn to leave, I scan the room. Outside along the sidewalk I watch to make sure I haven’t missed seeing Lane. I realize I haven’t seen him since the party Halloween night. It was a little surprising finding out he’s a DKE. I stuff the extra paper inside my notebook and head across campus for my next class.

  Later, I have to pick up my dance team uniform and pom poms for the Homecoming parade then go to practice for the choreography competition. We have practice three times this week in order to get ready for the big event. It’s only Tuesday, and I’m already hoping for weekend vibes to come soon.

  ******

  Another week, a new Monday, and more Homecoming preparations to keep me crazy busy. Glancing through my agenda, I double, and triple check my schedule for practice times and things I need to turn in for classes. I have a math test to study for, and I’ve been asked to submit an article on Homecoming to the Crimson White school newspaper. I’m flipping through my notebook when I see the paper I picked up for Lane. I hope to see him in class tomorrow since he missed last Tuesday. If not, maybe I’ll check with Cathryn and see if she knows him, since I saw her at the DKE house Halloween. What was I thinking getting this paper for him? Like what is he going to say? And why I am so worried about giving it to him. Gawd, I still have a total crush on the guy. Geez, Bex, get over yourself already. You have lots to work on, including the lawn decoration. We plan to put the final details on it after dinner. After that, I’m looking forward to a little chill time in my room.

  After dinner, I get up from the table to throw my trash away. I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I see it’s Amanda, and she’s signaling me to come downstairs, which is a very odd thing for her to do. No one ever goes down to the basement, and why is she being so secretive? I leave my tray and follow her down the stairs when she signals me over to the side away from the lights.

  “You’ve been chosen,” she whispers. “You need to come with me tonight.”

  “Chosen for what?”

  “You’ll see. Meet me at my car at 11:30. You’re riding with me, and you’ll find out everything once we get there. Be careful not to tell a soul.”

  “Okay,” I squeak.

  She turns to head up the stairs. That was weird. There goes my quiet evening.

  Everything seems totally normal while we’re working on the lawn decoration, but in the back of my mind I’m desperately curious as to why so much secrecy with this chosen thing. I’m a little spooked and a bit confused, but I decide to go with Amanda.

  At 11:20, I casually walk out of the room. Bella’s busy working on something and doesn’t seem to notice. In the parking lot I see Amanda standing next to her car. She sees me and unlocks the doors. Getting in I question where we’re going but Amanda just answers me with, “You’ll see.”

  We drive for a while and end up on a dirt road in the woods. I see a few parked cars. We pull up next to one. I start to feel nervous.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Amanda urges, getting out of the car.

  “Why are we here?” I ask, but Amanda just keeps walking. I send up a quick prayer. Dear God, please don’t let me die in the woods tonight.

  Amanda turns on her phone light, and we continue along the path which ends at a clearing. That’s when I see more people. As we get closer, I recognize a few faces, then I spot Lane. I gasp aloud as if I’ve stumbled on something, thrown by his presence. Amanda asks, “Are you okay?”

  I pull myself together and answer, “I’m fine, just stepped on something.”

  She leads me over to a table with a bowl, candles, and a flag of Theta Nu Epsilon. A guy asks me to raise my right hand and take the pledge of complete secrecy of everything I will see, say and do while here. I follow through with the pledge, and he hands me a candle. Amanda takes my hand and leads me to our place within the circle.

  The only light is from a few lit candles. One of the leaders begins by lighting a candle within the circle. Each person touches a candle to light their own.

  We’re asked to recite a pledge in Latin. I don’t know it, so I’m standing quietly. When the pledge ends, someone walks around with a bowl and presents it in front of each person.

  He concludes, saying, “As you dip your left hand into the bowl, any violation of the oath, or of the secrecy of our society will cause the blood to appear on your left hand, never to be removed.”

  Okay, by this time, I’m freaking out, and wishing I hadn’t come. But when he steps in front of me, I dip my left hand. When he steps back, I notice someone wearing a black hooded robe with a skull and crossbones embroidery on the top left standing in the center of the circle. I can’t see who it is. The person in the cape calls the meeting to order. It’s a guy’s voice. The order of business seems completely normal, all about supporting our Greek candidates and remembering to vote for our supported SGA president and something about commercial media focus, promotions and influence. I’m only half listening, since I’ve been thinking about wanting to leave ever since I got here. Suddenly, there’s a loud chant in Latin and everything goes dark. I quickly blow my candle out. I notice light from a flashlight, and everyone quickly disperses. Things are packed up and gone in a matter of minutes.

  Amanda turns on her phone light and hands me a piece of paper with words written in Latin
and says to memorize the pledge and the chant.

  “Next time we meet you’ll be voted in, and you’ll recite the chant by yourself at the official ceremony.”

  I’m not sure how to respond, but as I start to say something, I hear my name.

  “Rebecca.” I turn around and see Lane. “Can I drive you home?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I say breathless, staring at him like I’ve been turned to stone.

  Amanda says, “Bex, I’ll see you back at the house later.” She gives Lane an annoyed look and walks away. Interesting, she gave him a watch-it-bro look, very protective of her sorority little sis, sweet.

  We’re left standing in complete darkness. Lane turns on his phone flashlight and points it at his car just a few feet from us. When he opens the passenger door for me, I slide into the delicious smelling leather seat. He gets in on the other side, his golden wavy hair glowing from the dim interior light. He starts to push the ignition button but instead, he turns and looks at me. His hand moves to my knee. We’re looking right into each other’s eyes, and time seems to have completely stopped. I’ve forgotten the weird, spooky ceremony since all my focus is on the beautiful creature, no make that god, sitting right in front of me. I drink in the intoxicating scent of his cologne, and I’m transported to another dimension. Thoughts of Grant’s hot swimmer’s bod, slick with water, rising from the pool during the swim meet last week are wiped from my memory.

  He whispers, “I’m glad you came tonight.”

  I gulp, and all I can squeak out is, “Me, too.”

  He looks like he wants to kiss me, and I really want him to. Instead, he squeezes my knee, which sends a wave of butterflies swarming into my stomach.

  As he starts the car, he says, “I better get you home.”

  Oh, but I don’t want this to end. I quickly say, “I missed seeing you in class last Tuesday morning.”

  He glances over at me with the most dazzling smile and says, “Yeah, I was out of town. I had to fly to New York for a family thing.”