The Alpha Bet

by Stephanie Hale

  “Does anyone have new business?” Lindsay asks. I notice someone’s hand dart up energetically out of the corner of my eye. I glance over to see Sloane sitting cross-legged and bouncing around like she has to pee.

  “Yes, Sloane,” Lindsay says acknowledging her.

  “I hope this is okay but I ordered Double Happy, my treat,” she says giddily.

  Cheers go up from everyone but Jentry and I because we know Sloane is just trying to kiss up to the actives by buying Chinese food.

  “The only thing is,” Sloane continues. “I forgot my driving glasses so I was wondering if Grace Kelly would mind taking my car to get the food.” Her eyes seem to twinkle with evil as they meet my panic-stricken ones.

  “Sure, no problem,” I force out, ignoring the jolt of ephephrine to my heart at the thought of not having a drivers license.

  A few minutes later, I’m in the Alpha parking lot behind the house. I click the unlock button on the keypad and a beep and flashing lights come from a luxury SUV that rivals the size of the bus I rode last year. This is going to be bad. Very bad.

  I always meant to take Drivers Ed and get my license but more interesting class choices always seduced me away. I have been perfectly fine letting Mom chauffeur me around.

  I slide into the buttery leather of the drivers seat and hunt around for the seat adjustment. I can do this. If Tommy Crawley can learn how to drive, so can I. Tommy was the only eighth grader with a driver’s license because he had flunked so many times. This cannot be hard. I put the key in the ignition and turn it. The radio blares nearly giving me a stroke. I fumble with the knob to turn it down. I find the lights with no problem.

  I jam my foot on the brake and move the control thingy from park to reverse. I hold my breath while I gently ease up on the brake. The SUV seems to leap backward so I jam on the brake again nearly giving myself whiplash. I can do this. I can do this. I ease up on the brake again and slowly crawl out of the parking space. I crank the wheel too quickly almost crashing into Lindsay’s VW. I slam on the brakes just in time. I hear one of the back door’s opening then see Jentry diving onto the floorboard.

  “What are you doing?” I exclaim.

  “Saving somebody the trouble of scraping you off the pavement,” she says ducking down. “Now stop talking and drive us down to the Zeta house,” Jentry demands, staying hunkered down.

  I put the car in drive and pull forward a tiny bit then back up and finally make it out of the space. I drive slowly through the lot alternating the brake and the gas with my left and right feet. I inch out near the main road in front of the Alpha house. Dozens of headlights are coming in my direction.

  “I can’t do this,” I whine.

  “You just have to wait until its all clear then pull out slowly. The Zeta house is only a few hundred feet away and then I’ll take over,” she says calmly.

  “She’s watching,” I say, spotting Sloane peeking out of an upstairs window. “She knows. That’s why she did this.”

  “About your age? Nah, how would she know? Besides, Lindsay already knows so it doesn’t matter.”

  Jentry’s right. Sloane doesn’t have anything on me. I’m sure she was expecting me to fess up to only being sixteen and not having a driver’s license yet but I surprised her by calling her bluff and taking her car. She’s probably scared now that I’ll wreck her precious car. The street is finally clear so I carefully pull out. I turn the wheel a little too quickly, which startles me so I jam on the brake, then the gas, causing the SUV to buck.

  “I’m getting carsick, “ Jentry yells. “Keep your foot off the brake unless somebody runs in front of you.”

  I follow her instructions but keep my left foot hovering over the brake, just in case. I continue down the street never going above fifteen miles her hour. Joggers are passing me.

  “You drive worse than my grandma and she’s got cataracts,” Jentry laughs.

  I ignore her and continue slowly up the road until I see the Zeta sorority house. Several girls are standing outside when I inch into their driveway. I check to make sure the doors are locked because this doesn’t seem like the best place for two Alpha pledges to be.

  “Pull to the back of the house,” Jentry says, sitting up.

  I follow her instructions, pulling alongside several other cars almost identical to Sloane’s. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding as I put the car into park. I scoot over to the passenger seat and Jentry jumps in the front. She is just about to put the car in reverse when I hear a knock on my window. I scream. I look over to see a brunette with a Zeta tank top standing next to the car. She has a very confused look on her face that quickly turns to anger as her eyes spy my Alpha pin.

  “Get out of the car.” She yells at us.

  Jentry peels out of the driveway and back onto the main road leaving the girl in her dust. She tries running after us but gets winded pretty quickly.

  “Holy crap, those girls are crazy,” I laugh, wondering if my heart can take any more tonight.

  “I told you,” Jentry reminds me.

  She turns up the radio and before long we are cruising through campus without a care. I’m feeling relaxed for the first time in a few days. Then I see red and blue flashing lights in the side mirror.

  Jentry must have noticed them at the exact same time because she is already signaling to pull off the road.

  “Oh my God, Jentry,” I say, my palms already sweating.

  “Just be cool, GK. I didn’t do anything wrong,” she whispers between gritted teeth. She pushes the button to open her window and smiles at the officer.

  “Both of you, out of the car now,” he demands, shining his flashlight into the car. We both do as he says and get out of the car. We meet at the back of the SUV where a second officer is waiting. My heart rate dips a little when I realize these guys are just campus security pulling us over in their soup-ed up golf cart, but it spikes again when I recognize one of the officers from the Alpha party that almost got busted. I keep my head down, hoping he doesn’t recognize me.

  “We got an anonymous tip that this vehicle was driving erratically. We have reason to believe you are driving under the influence of alcohol,” he tells Jentry. Those damn Zetas called in an anonymous tip. They do not fight fair.

  “I haven’t had a drop to drink tonight,” Jentry defends herself angrily.

  “Good, then you won’t mind taking a field sobriety test, will you?” The familiar officer smarts off.

  “Bring it on,” Jentry fires back. So much for playing it cool.

  “Recite the alphabet. Backwards,” the first cop says. Will these guys never learn?

  “Actually Officer Frank, I think we need a different test. Her partner in crime is a crafty one and knows that like the back of her hand so I’m sure this one isn’t much different.” My cheeks explode into flames when I realize that he recognized me.

  ****

  A half-hour later Jentry waves goodbye to the officers and starts driving to Double Happy. The sisters probably think we ran away.

  “It’s a good thing I wasn’t driving,” I say relieved.

  “Yeah, no kidding. There is no way you could have pulled off walking in a straight line while touching your nose,” Jentry laughs.

  I swat her arm playfully then collapse back into the luxurious leather seat. I can hardly wait to get back to the sorority house for a relaxing night of movies and food.

  Wait a minute…

  “She set me up,” I blurt out, bolting up in my seat.

  “Huh?” Jentry asks confused.

  “Sloane called the cops not the Zetas. She wanted me to get in trouble so that the Alphas would kick me out.”

  “But how would she know you didn’t have a drivers license even if she did know you were only sixteen?” Jentry counters.

  She has a point. “I don’t know.” I admit.

  “Plus, you were driving her car so she could have gotten in trouble too, and if you would have gotten caught it would have made th
e Alphas look bad. She wouldn’t risk that,” Jentry says confidently.

  I guess she’s right but I still can’t shake the feeling that there is more to it than that.

  “You’re just stressed. You’ll feel better after spending the night at the house,” she assures me.

  She’s right. I am stressed. Between my parents, the Alphas, and my classes, I feel like I’m juggling chainsaws. I just hope that none of them come crashing down on me.

  The next morning I’m no less stressed. I slam my laptop shut, even though I know I shouldn’t treat it like that. I can’t help it. The deadline to turn in my application for next spring’s science fair is less than four weeks away and I can’t think of a single worthy idea.

  “Ron and I are dressing up like ketchup and mustard for the Monster Mash. I’ve always wanted to be a condiment for Halloween,” Jentry says, obviously trying to get my mind on other things.

  “That’s nice,” I say distantly. What costume I am going to wear is the farthest thing from my mind. So far I’ve just been trying to deal with the fact that I will have to spend an entire evening with Chloane. Okay, not exactly with them, but in the same vicinity.

  “You’re going as Princess Grace,” Jentry tells me. I laugh at her suggestion. “What? Check out your legs. You don’t have one bruise on them.” She points out.

  I look down and realize she is right. I actually can’t remember one accident I’ve had for several weeks. I’ve come a long way since I started school. My cell rings and my parents phone number flashes on the display screen. It’s about time. I’ve left a thousand messages lately. It’s like my family has forgotten all about me.

  “Hello, Mother,” I say formally. I might as well start practicing talking properly if I’m going to dress up as a princess.

  “Hello, Grace Kelly. How are you?” Mom asks cheerfully.

  “Why haven’t you called me back?” I demand.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. My job is keeping me pretty busy.”

  “It’s like you don’t even care about me anymore,” I whine. Jentry gives me a strange look, which I ignore.

  “Sweetheart, don’t be silly. We are all really excited for you to come home for Thanksgiving.”

  “Don’t you even care about my grades or anything?”

  “I’ve never had to worry about your grades. Why would I start now?” Mom asks.

  I don’t say anything but Mom doesn’t seem to pick up on my silence.

  “How’s Jentry?” Mom asks, changing the subject.

  “Fine.” I answer sharply.

  Jentry makes a swiping motion across her neck but I ignore that, too.

  “How’s it going at the sorority?”

  Like she really cares. She probably hopes I’ll get kicked out. “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay with it, Mom.”

  “I think it’s wonderful that you are making friends. My only concern was that you might get a bit overwhelmed.”

  “Well, I’m not,” I huff. Why can’t she just realize that I’m not an awkward little girl anymore? And if she was so concerned about me being overwhelmed, you think she would have returned my call a little sooner.

  “It’s getting cooler. I thought maybe we could run your sweaters up to you some night,” Mom suggests.

  I grip my phone tight with frustration. She just wants to come up here and spy on me. Wouldn’t she be surprised to see how well I’m handling everything? I don’t even know how to respond. So I don’t. I hang up. I know hanging up on my mom isn’t very mature but she didn’t give me any choice. She has to realize that she can’t control me anymore.

  Jentry looks at me dumbfounded. “Did you just hang up on your mom?”

  “She was wanting to bring me my sweaters. What a lame excuse to check up on me.” I defend myself.

  “It must really suck having people who care about you,” Jentry smarts off, grabbing her Blackberry while storming out of our room.

  I sit cross-legged on my bed, dumbfounded. Just when I think I’m getting things right, not being so dependent on my parents, not being such a klutz, fitting in with all the sisters, I go and do something to drive away the one person who has helped me get here. I have a feeling that Jentry’s blowup isn’t completely about the way I talked to my mom, but has something to do with her not talking to her own mom. I’m going to give her some time to vent then try to patch things up. But first, I need to call Mom back.

  I dial our home phone number and Sean picks up. Ugh. I am not really in the mood to talk to the little extortionist.

  “Let me talk to Mom,” I say.

  “You made her cry, you big jerk,” Sean yells at me. “She was doing so good then you had to go and hang up on her.”

  “I didn’t mean to,” I say, feeling horrible.

  “It doesn’t feel very good, does it?” He asks, slamming the phone down.

  ****

  Two hours later I find Jentry on her favorite bench on the quad.

  “Peace offering?” I ask, extending a pumpkin spice latte to Jentry. She looks up and grabs the drink. I sit down on the bench next to her. I take a few sips of my own coffee and take in the red, yellow, and orange shades that the leaves on campus have turned. I just love it when the leaves lose their chlorophyll. The hot coffee does a good job of warming me up. I hadn’t realized how chilly it had gotten when I left the dorm in just jeans and an oxford. It is hard to believe that I was in this same spot nearly two months ago when Jentry begged me to rush with her. Now I’m eight short tasks away from becoming a full-fledged Alpha and having everything I want.

  “I’m not really mad at you,” Jentry admits.

  “I know. You were right though. I shouldn’t take my mom for granted. I know she loves me. I guess now that I’m out from under her suffocating grip I’m a little afraid to give her any power back.”

  “Your mom definitely isn’t who I thought she was that first day I met her,” Jentry laughs.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s actually a pretty cool lady.” Jentry smiles. “She’s given me some good advice.”

  “When did my mom give you advice?”

  “We email every once in a while,” she says, shrugging like it is no big deal.

  “What, you mean those inspirational emails?”

  “No. Like regular emails.” She takes a sip of her drink while I fight to keep my emotions in check.

  “So, is she like using you to find out what I’m doing?” My hand is practically shaking with anger as I bring the coffee to my lips. How could Mom be so diabolical that she would go behind my back and use my roommate to spy on me?

  In a flash, Jentry is standing in front of me, looking angrier than I’ve ever seen her. She wings her coffee cup toward a garbage can. The cup falls short and coffee splashes against the side of the can.

  “For your information, we don’t even talk about you. I needed somebody to talk to about my family stuff. And I wanted to apologize to her for making her think my mom was dead. I can’t believe you think that she would do that to you. And even if she did, how could you think that I would be involved in it?”

  I feel so stupid for thinking that Jentry and Mom had some spy on GK thing going on that I don’t even know what to say. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. Jentry just stares at me with the most disappointed look on her face.

  “I thought we were friends. I would never betray a friend,” she says, disappearing behind a cluster of trees.

  I sit on the bench for a long time, finishing my coffee, and wondering how in the world I could be so close to everything I’ve ever wanted, yet feeling more lost than ever. Something I’ve been pushing back for weeks bubbles up and I can’t push it down anymore. I start sobbing into my hands. I miss my family. I don’t belong here. I just want to go home.

  I dial my home number again hoping that Sean doesn’t answer. When I hear my mother’s voice it is like eating warm chocolate cookies, snuggling by a fire, finishing the perfect book, and waking up on Christmas morni
ng to a foot of snow all wrapped up in one moment.

  “Hi, Mommy,” I whisper, still crying.

  “Grace Kelly, what’s the matter?”

  “I miss you,” I admit, not caring about the gawkers walking by.

  “I miss you too, sweetheart. Is there something else wrong?” She probes gently.

  “Jentry is mad at me. Charlie thinks I’m a liar and now he’s dating Sloane. The sisters think I’m somebody that I’m not. I was so mean to you. I don’t belong here,” I mumble through sobs.

  “Calm down, sweetie. I don’t know who Charlie and Sloane are so I can’t help with that one. But I know that Jentry is a true friend so you two will work it out. I don’t know much about the sisters but I’m sure they wouldn’t have picked you as a pledge if they didn’t think you would belong. It’s really hard for me to admit this, but you belong there. It’s hard enough to leave home at eighteen, let alone sixteen. You are doing so good. Daddy and I are so proud of you.”

  I was expecting Mom to offer to come get me and take me away from my new complicated life. Actually, I guess I was hoping she would. That way I could blame her for college not working out. I guess maybe I’ve blamed her for a lot of things I was too scared to try. If I really want to be a grown-up I have to start acting like one all the time instead of picking and choosing the situations I want to deal with. Starting with all the lies I’ve told.

  I’m tempted to tell Mom about the whopper of a lie I told just to get into the Alphas but I don’t.

  “Grace Kelly, it wasn’t right of me to keep you so sheltered all these years. I’m so sorry.” I hear her choke up and my stomach clenches. I’ve been making her out to be such a monster for so long that I forgot she was just trying to do her best to keep me safe.

  “It wasn’t all you, Mom. I hid behind you a lot of times that I was too scared to make my own decisions.” I admit.

  “I’ve never wanted anything but the best for you,” she says.