“I never forget anything,” she’d said. “Keep that in mind the next time you want to mess with me.”
Cass had learned the hard way what Courtney’s memory could do. Now it looked like Violet and Madeleine Christopher were about to find out, too. Courtney and Aimee had kept Madeleine up in the nosebleed section so nobody new would get to meet her. Then, when it came time for voting, their no votes would count double.
Of course, Miss Christopher had no idea what was going on. She let Aimee take her to the lawn, where she stood, grinning with the other rushees. Behind Cass, the sisters lined up on the porch to sing their farewell song for the tenth and last time that day. The rushees applauded, the sisters waved, and then they filed back into the house. As soon as the door closed, everybody wilted.
“Someone turn off those monkeys before I kick in the speakers,” griped Christa.
“And shoot the parrot while you’re at it,” Danica Moran chimed in.
Only Delia seemed to still have energy. “Voting starts in fifteen minutes, everyone,” she shouted. “Take a quick break, then meet back in the dining room. It’s going to be a long night.”
Day 2
Evening
TWENTY
Cass needed more than a quick break. Halfway out of her safari clothes up in her room she got a text from Leo that made her wish she could take the rest of the night off.
Sheets & Bezold are back! McWalter & the Wonder Twins get in tonite. Pow-wow at the fountain, 7:00 sharp
Cass whimpered as she read. All of their music and theater friends were returning, and from the looks of things, Leo was arranging one of his legendary meet-ups. They’d hang out at the music school fountain for a couple of hours, talking about their summers, then head downtown for a late dinner, finally ending up at Delaney’s, where it wasn’t unusual for people to still be partying at dawn. Cass had done her fair share of 6:00 a.m. Krispy Kreme runs with a stop at the Quickie Mart for tomato juice and Red Bull to help ward off hangovers.
It was almost physically painful to text Leo her decline.
More voting tonight. So sorry! I really want to be there!
His response came back immediately.
Sorority more important than friends? Color me surprised.
Cass bristled. If Leo knew how much she longed to ditch all of this and spend time with him, he wouldn’t be acting so awful.
Don’t start with this again, she wrote back.
Another rapid-fire reply: So should I expect to be stood up again on Friday? Headless Denvers. Remember? Are you coming to help?
Cass resisted the urge to tell him where he could shove the Headless Denvers. Because she knew she wouldn’t miss Friday for anything. She loved the Denvers, first of all. Plus, the chance to perform before the concert was like a light at the end of the dark tunnel of rush. And she missed Leo fiercely.
Except Leo was being an ass—so much more than usual, which both confused and hurt her still-tender heart. She decided not to dignify his guilt trip and texted back a terse I’ll be there.
She looked up from her phone, into the mirror over her dresser, and snarled at the dark circles under her eyes. If the next couple of days were as painful as the past two, then she’d have to go to Delaney’s on Friday looking like something out of the Walking Dead.
“Why so dramatic?” Ruby said. “It wasn’t that bad a day.”
Cass opened her mouth to unload about Leo’s party; then she remembered that Ruby had real problems to deal with.
“Did you hear anything from your dad yet?” she asked.
Now it was Ruby’s turn to frown. “He e-mailed.”
“What about house payments?”
“He’s going to transfer some cash so I can make the first one. But the rest is due next week. I’m starting to think maybe I should talk to somebody.”
Cass stopped with her head half in her Hamilton T-shirt. “Don’t.”
“What?”
“Seriously. Don’t.”
Ruby gave a little laugh. “Why?”
Cass slipped her arms through the sleeves and went to sit on her bed. Usually Ruby’s idealism was endearing, but this bordered on stupid.
“Do you have any idea what they could do if you told anybody? They’ll eat you alive.”
“C’mon, Cass. Remember the Sigma oath? Sisters for eternity?”
Cass rolled her eyes. She could picture it now—the whispering disguised as concern, the way the other girls would devour the details of Ruby’s predicament like a Thanksgiving turkey until nothing remained but a picked-over carcass. And that was if she got lucky. Cass didn’t want to think about what sick treat the Killer Bees might come up with to “strengthen” Ruby’s resolve to fix her financial problems. She could just imagine how quickly they would jump at the chance to get rid of another “subpar.”
“This place is all about sisterhood until they find out you aren’t perfect,” Cass said. “Remember all the drama last year? They’ll make your life hell.”
“You need to have more faith in people,” said Ruby.
“And you need to get over this whole sisterhood illusion.”
“You used to believe it, too. Remember?”
Cass’s eye fell on a photograph she’d pinned to her bulletin board—a picture of their pledge class on their first retreat just a few weeks after Bid Day. They were all tumbled over one another in a canoe by the lake, laughing into the camera with giddy, nothing-to-lose grins. Somehow Ruby had managed to maintain that spirit, despite all of the abuse that came after. Most of the other girls hadn’t smiled like that in ages.
“I did believe it,” she told Ruby. “Once. But things are different now.” She went to the door, holding it open for her friend. She bumped her hip against Ruby’s. “You know I love you, right?”
“Ditto, my dear.” Ruby squeezed Cass’s cheek with her free hand. “Now quit it with the sad face. Cheer up!”
But Cass couldn’t cheer up because there was the dining room, packed with girls settling in for a second long night of voting. Some of them had even brought down comforters and pillows; everyone wore pajamas. And there, presiding over all of it, was Sophia Kensington, looking just as pinched as ever. By all accounts, tonight was when the voting got serious.
And nasty.
Marina kicked things off by handing out the lists of girls who had gotten unanimous yesses and nos after each party that day. The nos were cut without debate, and the yesses were just an FYI. As always, it was the borderline girls everybody was interested in. Delia would read their names one by one, and then each would be debated and voted upon.
Delia took her place at the head table, then signaled Cass to start the Sigma anthem and pledge. When the sisters were finished singing, Delia cleared her throat and started to read down the names. Cass rubbed her temples. Each name represented at least twenty minutes of debate. They were going to be at it all night.
“Brittany Elliott,” Delia read, nearing the end of the list. “Madeleine Christopher, and . . . Rachel Morgan.”
Everybody gasped. Rachel Morgan was a must-have. They’d been looking at her photograph for the past week and a half, busting their asses to impress her. How had Rachel Morgan made it onto the borderline list?
“I’ll open the floor for discussion,” Delia said.
“Starting with Rachel Morgan,” Sophia jumped in. “What are the objections?”
Silence for a moment. Then Courtney stood up.
“Rachel Morgan is unsustainable,” she announced.
More gasps—a mixture of horror and delight. Sisters were forbidden to say anything blatantly negative about rushees, but they had developed a code. “Unsustainable” was one of the worst things you could say. It could mean anything from “this girl is a backstabber who posted all my secrets online” to “she’s a felon who might actually have killed someone.” People could let their imaginations fill in the details, but “unsustainable” meant that a rushee wasn’t what she seemed; once she joined the sisterhoo
d her true colors would come out and then everyone would be sorry they’d let her in.
Cass had met Rachel the day before. Just briefly, but it was enough. She’d been doing her best to stay out of Courtney’s way, but something inside of her snapped. Maybe it was Ruby’s reminder of the way things used to be, or maybe she just didn’t care anymore what the older sisters thought—Leo’s disdain for the sorority had gotten into her brain, and now she told herself that if she could just make it through rush, then she could let Sigma go. Maybe she’d even quit.
But not without making things a little harder for Courtney Mann.
Cass stood. “Rachel Morgan is not unsustainable.”
Courtney turned with a withering glare. “Excuse me? I think I would know. We were in Future Leaders Intensive together.”
“Then why didn’t you bring this up when we were talking about her as a must-have for the past two weeks?”
“I honestly had hoped she’d changed. But let’s just say I no longer feel she’s Sigma material.”
Courtney looked pained, but anyone with half a brain could see why she’d really waited to drop this bombshell. She’d held off for maximum effect—and maximum pain to poor Rachel.
Delia cut in. “But Rachel Morgan was identified as a top prospect. We would have to have a very good reason to cut her.”
“I do have good reasons,” Courtney answered. “I want to stay positive here, so I won’t discuss the details in public. But I have a reliable indication that she’s been discussing a very private matter with other rushees, and I just don’t see a place for gossips here at Sigma.”
Courtney’s friends were all nodding. Delia looked apprehensive and Sophia looked furious, but there was nothing either of them could do. Rachel was on the borderline list, so the sisters had to vote.
“Alright,” said Delia. “Voting is now open for Rachel Morgan. What say you sisters?”
Cass watched as the black paddles went up. “Oh, come on,” she muttered to the table next to hers, which was full of Killer Bees. “You didn’t even meet her.”
“No talking during voting,” Delia snapped.
Cass raised her red paddle, then counted. Most of the other yes votes came from her pledge class.
“We have a tie,” Delia announced, and groans filled the room. When a tie happened, another round of debate was required, and then another vote to see if anyone could be persuaded to change her mind. If not, then another round of debate ensued, and on and on until somebody cried uncle and switched sides.
Cass watched Courtney smirk, remembering how she’d tried to sabotage Madeleine Christopher that afternoon. Cass hadn’t formally met Maddy yet, but Violet’s attachment to her was so strong that Cass had started to feel a fierce protectiveness toward the girl.
Courtney thought she could fix rush for the girls she and her friends liked by rigging the system. Well if Courtney could do it, then maybe Cass could, too, and buy at least one deserving rushee another chance.
“Wait a minute,” she spoke up. Her idea was ballsy, but she figured why not try? If nothing else, it would let her see just how flexible Miss Play by the Rules Delia could be. “Madeleine Christopher is on the borderline list, too. Right?”
“Right,” said Delia.
“Okay, then I want a trade. Invite Madeleine Christopher back tomorrow, and I’ll change my vote for Rachel Morgan. I’ll vote her down right now.”
Whispers sizzled up as the sisters registered this new development.
“I don’t think you can do that,” said Sophia. She turned to Marina at the computer. “Can she do that?”
“That’s not how things are usually done,” said Delia.
“You know we’re going to have a fight over Madeleine Christopher when her name comes up,” Cass said with a pointed look at Courtney. “That’s on top of however many more rounds we’re going to go over Rachel Morgan. I’m offering to cut at least an hour out of the evening.”
“Courtney?” said Delia. “Is that acceptable to you?”
“Absolutely not,” said Courtney. “Every rushee should get her own vote.”
“Fine,” said Cass. “Then we’ll spend all night debating two girls.”
“Somebody else will change their vote,” Courtney insisted. Her gaze darted from table to table, staring down every subpar in its path. “They will if they know what’s good for them.”
Cass could see her pledge sisters shrinking under Courtney’s gaze. Memories of last year hung heavy in the air. But then something amazing happened. Delia brought down her gavel.
“Threats aren’t allowed, either,” she told Courtney, and an almost palpable release flooded the room. The spell had been broken. “In fact,” Delia went on, “I think we should stop the discussion right here and take another vote.”
Again, the paddles went up, and Cass silently begged the girls in her pledge class to keep their responses the same as before. They still looked beaten down, but nobody changed her vote.
“Fine,” Courtney snapped when Delia announced another tie. “If people don’t care about character and quality, then that’s their problem. I’ve done all I can do.”
Delia turned to Marina Lucci. “Rachel Morgan will not be invited back, but Madeleine Christopher will be.”
Cass sat back, astonished. She couldn’t believe her plan had worked! And up at the head table, Sophia Kensington looked like she couldn’t believe it, either. She sat with her mouth open, her face paler than pale. Ruby reached over and squeezed Cass’s hand under the table.
“That was awesome,” she whispered. “Go, you!”
Four hours and thirty rushees later, the sisters dragged themselves back upstairs. It was past midnight, but the decorating committee was already outside preparing the house for the next day’s party. Cass peered out the window to see them laying a red carpet up the front walk with klieg lights on either side.
“I can barely walk,” she moaned as she and Ruby rounded the landing on the second floor. They almost bumped into Courtney and Aimee, who stood in the middle of the hall with their heads bent over Aimee’s phone.
“Excuse you,” said Aimee, shielding the phone from Cass’s view.
“Wow, Cass. That was pretty amazing down there,” Courtney said. “I guess I should have known you’d fall for the hopeless ones. Are there any other charity cases we should be aware of?”
Cass studied Courtney—perfect face, perfect hair, perfect body—she was so beautiful, yet so hard. Cass looked for a hint of compassion in those wide eyes and saw only steel.
“No,” Cass said. She was done fighting for the night. “Come on, Ruby, it’s late.”
“I’m going to try and call my dad first,” Ruby said. She ducked into the privacy booth with her phone. Cass, meanwhile, headed up to the third floor to print out the next day’s songs in the study lounge. It was quieter up here; most of the other girls had already tucked themselves into bed. Cass could hear her own footsteps creaking on the rug-covered hardwood. And there, just across the landing, was the door nobody ever entered.
This was the room where Marianne McCourt had lived, and inside was the window from which she’d fallen. Cass paused just a moment, then pushed the door open, surprised that it gave so easily. She’d figured a door closed for so long must have been locked, or at least become stuck a little. But suddenly she stood on the threshold, looking into a place that hadn’t been entered in almost three years.
Moonlight came in through the window. Cass ventured forward and peered around. The room looked like any other room in the house before the sisters moved in each year: two iron-framed beds stripped to the mattresses, two chests of drawers with mirrors, and two desks flanked by bulletin boards and empty shelves. The bulletin boards in this room were empty, except for a small picture still pinned to one. It was an old drawing of Snoopy and Woodstock from the Peanuts comic strips. They were hugging, and the caption read, “Happiness is having a friend like you.”
Cass looked around again, disappointed. S
he wasn’t sure what she’d expected to find inside Marianne’s room, but after all of the mystery, the actuality was surprisingly anticlimactic.
She turned away from the desk, and as she did she spotted something between the bed and the wall. It looked like a couple sheets of poster board had folded in on each other. Drawing closer, Cass could see what looked like pieces of paper and photos taped to the boards. Gingerly, she pulled it up a few inches and saw that it was a sort of trifold photo collage. It was big and heavy—the kind of thing that might have been used as a visual aid for a class project. This made Cass bolder; if it were just somebody’s novel study homework, why not take a look?
But when she lay the boards out on the bed and opened them up, what they revealed made her gasp. “To Our Beloved Sister, Marianne—We Will Never Forget” was handwritten across the top. Photos, notes, and other items had been arranged across the boards to form a memorial collage. It was the kind of thing that sat on altars at funerals or in front of makeshift shrines where someone had died. Clearly, this had been made for Marianne, and perhaps it had been shut in this room as a way of honoring her. Cass felt like she was looking at a time capsule. Here was Marianne, healthy and vibrant. She had strawberry-blond hair that fell in waves to her shoulders and an almost zany smile. It was hard to imagine someone with a smile like that being unhappy enough to take her own life.
Cass studied the other photos. There were pictures from various fraternity parties, charity functions and formals, plus shots of girls just hanging out around the sorority house. Delia smiled out from many of them. She had long hair in those photos—quite different from the sophisticated crop she now wore. She looked happy and carefree, laughing with her arms around Marianne. Under one image of the girls in Halloween costumes was a handwritten note. “Sisters for eternity,” it read. “I will always carry a part of you with me. Delia”
Cass looked around, hungry for more. When people moved out of houses and rooms, it was impossible to get rid of every trace. Surely there was a hairpin or a scrap of handwriting or even an old book hidden in a corner, a drawer, or under the bed. Using her phone as a flashlight, Cass started pulling open the dressers, feeling along the tops of shelves, checking every crack and crevice. All she found were some dead stinkbugs and a whole lot of dust. She’d almost given up when something told her to look in the beds.
Rush Page 11