Sorority Sisters

by Tajuana Butler

  As they sat, their heads were spinning and everybody was uncertain about continuing with this unusual sort of initiation. To make matters worse, they could hear most of the big sisters leaving, but others were still in the front room discussing what they thought of the new pledges and naming who they thought would make it and who would drop. They also mentioned things that were important to withstanding their pledge period, such as character, strength, and a commitment to “cross the burning sands.”

  The dean walked into the room and sat down with the pledges to discuss with them the events of the evening. But this meeting was more intense than their first meeting. Some of the pledges were crying, others stared into space in deep thought. Their dean asked them how they felt about what just happened to them and gave each person an opportunity to state her opinion.

  The girl wearing the blue warm-up commented that she didn’t know any of her new sisters, and asked why the big sisters expected her to know information about them she couldn’t possibly know. Everybody agreed with her question, and looked to their new dean for a justifiable answer.

  Dean Big Sister Nina responded, “Life is a test. The strong survive and the weak fail. This experience is a step to prepare you for the real world after college.”

  “How so?” Malena asked.

  “When you get into the real world you are going to have to pay bills, strive to advance in your career, decide where you’re going to reside, and choose which schools are best for your children—if you decide to have children. Often you’ll have to make choices based on limited information. You will have to feel your way through dark moments in life. Pledging teaches you to recognize that, and to learn to use your survival skills.”

  “But I thought this was supposed to be memorable and enjoyable,” Tammy complained.

  “Haven’t you ever had an experience that seemed tough, and then looked back on it and were able to laugh?” Dean Nina asked.

  “Yes,” Tammy replied.

  “This will be one of them,” her dean responded. There was silence in the room. Then she continued, “I think all is understood.”

  Nobody said anything. So she gave them a moment to digest the evening and her words.

  She assigned the pledges offices and told them that each person was vital to making their pledge period a success. “Stephanie, I see a strong leader within you, and we need to bring it out, so I think you should be president. Plus, you have maturity on your side.”

  Stephanie didn’t know what to say. She had never really thought of herself as a leader, but replied, “Thank you.”

  “Malena, you will be vice president. I need you to know everything that Stephanie knows, if not more. You need to be able to take charge when she can’t. I know it won’t be a problem for you. I heard about your leadership skills from a member of your Public Relations Society.”

  “You did?” Malena was astonished by her dean’s knowledge of her.

  “Listen. To be a well-informed woman, one has to do her homework. And trust me, we have done ours.”

  “Yes, Dean Big Sister Nina,” she responded.

  “As for the rest of the offices, we’ll need a secretary, treasurer, and some other officers that are not customary and work only in a pledging situation.” She explained those offices and told them that they should decide midway through their meeting tomorrow who would be most capable for each of the remaining offices.

  She then instructed them to write down everything they’d learned from the night’s session, and to make sure they wouldn’t have to relearn any of those lessons. She gave them a list of pledge dos and don’ts, sorority information, and history they would have to know inside and out to cross the burning sands, materials they would need to purchase for special projects for their big sisters, and suggestions on possible pledge fund-raisers.

  She also informed them that their next meeting would be Tuesday, and advised them to decide on a private place to meet to organize and to make sure they learned as much as they could about their big sisters and everything about each other—from each pledge’s favorite food, to their bra size, to when or if they had lost their virginity.

  “If you are to be sisters under our sorority, you are to know everything about one another just as you would your real sister, if not more. Your pledge period is used for a number of reasons. We need to make sure you all can work together and successfully pull through almost any situation. Knowing your differences and similarities helps.”

  She then walked toward the door and said, “I’m going to give you five minutes to yourselves, and I’ll come back in for an update. Then you’ll be free to leave.”

  After talking to their dean, most of the pledges felt they were ready to meet the challenge of pledging. But the two girls in warm-ups told the group that they didn’t know they would have to go through a pledge period in order to be accepted into the sorority.

  “This is not my type of thing. I can’t deal and I won’t deal,” said the girl in the blue sweats.

  Her friend agreed. “I refuse to go through another night like this one. It won’t be worth it for me.”

  There was silence in the room. Stephanie realized that as president of the line she needed to take charge quickly. They only had five minutes to get things accomplished, and it was being wasted by the two wimps. So she spoke up and asked, “Are you sure?”

  “We’re positive. I am anyway. This is just not for us. Nothing is going to change my mind. Once I leave this apartment I am not coming back. So any plans made from this point on should not include us,” said the first girl.

  Her friend agreed.

  “Does anybody else feel the same?” Stephanie asked. She hoped anybody who was thinking about quitting would do it now.

  Nobody said anything.

  “Well, if the rest of you are still in this until the end, let’s make plans for tomorrow. Also, let’s exchange telephone numbers now.” Everybody except the two friends got in a circle and discussed their class and work schedules, and came up with a meeting time. They also discussed a location to meet—Stephanie’s apartment—and other possible ways of meeting without being noticed by everybody on campus.

  By the time the girls had everything situated, Dean Big Sister Nina walked in and asked, “Is everything in order?”

  “Yes, Dean Big Sister Nina,” everybody answered, including the two girls who had already dropped line. Nobody mentioned to the dean that the girls were no longer a part of their line, because they didn’t know how she would react, and didn’t want to know. After such an exhausting night, they figured it would be better dealt with later.

  “Good. I need a copy of that information. Also, you girls will need to be uniformed the next time we see you as a group. Stephanie, take my number down. As a matter of fact, everybody take my home and work numbers just in case anything weird happens and you need to reach me. But, Stephanie, you call me at seven-thirty a.m. today, and I will give you a list of everything the line will need to discuss and take care of. You are now free to go. Oh, yeah, Tiara doesn’t have a car and will need a ride. She stays in Campton Tower. Who lives near her dorm?”

  “I do,” answered Cajen. “I can take her home.”

  “Okay. And pledges, you also need to look into carpooling so you won’t be too noticeable with all of your cars parked everywhere you meet. But no more than three people per car. Am I understood?”

  “Yes, Dean Big Sister Nina,” they answered.

  She dismissed them, and everybody walked toward their cars. All of the big sisters who were in the front room earlier were gone. The apartment belonged to Nina, so she was the only one still there. That was a relief to the worn pledges. They didn’t want to face their big sisters again for a long time.

  As Stephanie walked toward her car, she thought of how proud she was to be chosen president of the line. But she was also intimidated by the tremendous responsibility of caring for a line of individuals who barely knew one another. How am I going to deal with this? she wondered. Th
en she began to worry about how she was going to make sure she called her dean in three hours. It was almost four-thirty a.m. already, and she was exhausted. She was not a morning person and was going to need help getting up that early with so little sleep, so she decided to ask Malena for help.

  She caught up with Malena, who was getting into her car. “Malena, I’m going to need your help, if you don’t mind. I am not a morning person. As a matter of fact, I have been known to sleep through my alarm clock on an average morning, and this is not an average morning,” she joked. “I’m scared I won’t wake up early enough to call Dean Big Sister Nina, even if I set my alarm clock.”

  Malena smiled at Stephanie. “I don’t need much sleep, plus I’m a light sleeper. I’ll call you at seven-twenty-five, and I’ll talk to you until seven-thirty to make sure you are alert when you call Big Sister Nina.”

  “Thank you so much. I owe you one.”

  “With the way things are looking, I’m sure that you’ll have plenty of opportunities to repay the favor. Anyway, we line sisters have to stick together, right?”

  “You’re right. Thanks again, and I’ll talk to you in about three hours.”

  “All right,” Malena answered and got into her car. She couldn’t wait to get home so she and Tammy could recap the night’s events.

  Stephanie walked to her car, relieved the night was over. She considered some suggestions she could give her dean about the attire she and her line sisters could wear to sessions. Then she thought as she was driving home, Who cares what we wear to session? Session is the last place to be concerned about making a fashion statement.

  Unexpectedly, she began to think about Sidney, the argument they had, and the serious trouble her friend was in. I was so wrong. How could I have been so cruel? My girl needs me, probably more now than ever before, and I turned my back on her because of my own fears and insecurities. I have not been a real friend to her. What have I done?

  Stephanie was disappointed with herself. She decided to fix the situation by going to talk with Sidney later that day, after her first class, to see if she could mend things between them so she would be able to help her through this tough time.

  Chancey walked Cajen and Tiara to the car. “Hey, Cajen. I stay in Minor Hall. Don’t you stay in the same dorm?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “You think I can ride with you and Tiara to the meeting tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, that’ll be cool.”

  “Maybe we can take turns driving. Call me tomorrow at about twelve-thirty and we’ll set up a meeting time.”

  “Remember how nervous we were earlier today?” Chancey asked.

  “Yeah, and now we have so much more to be concerned with,” Chancey responded.

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Tiara added.

  “Well, I think we’re going to do just fine,” Chancey said. “I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”

  Cajen and Tiara pulled off and found themselves sitting in silence. Tiara was thinking about all the bits of information she had picked up that night. She had decided, when they were in the room talking to Dean Big Sister Nina, that she was going to know every piece of information that was expected of her. She refused to give her big sisters any reason not to accept her. She was also planning her study time. In addition to meeting with her line sisters and big sisters and learning her sorority history, she had to find time to concentrate on her courses, which were her primary reason for being in school. She felt overwhelmed.

  Cajen felt like she was going to explode. She wasn’t sure what was tugging at her most: trying to get into the sorority, living with herpes, or finding the opportunity to talk to Jason to let him know how badly he had screwed up her life. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t returned any of her calls. How was she going to continue pledging if she didn’t talk to him and at least release some of the pressure that was quickly building up and weighing on her mind? How was any man ever going to love her with this disease? How was she ever going to allow her new line sisters to get close to her, when she didn’t even want to be close to herself? She hated herself for having sex with Jason. She hated him. She decided she wasn’t sure if she would even leave her room to go to class, let alone meet with her line sisters or continue this pledging ordeal.

  “I hope I can survive this semester.” Tiara finally broke the silence as they got closer to her dormitory.

  “Huh?” Cajen asked, still preoccupied with her own mess.

  “I have some difficult classes this semester. I don’t know how I’m gonna maintain my GPA with everything that’s going on.”

  Cajen hadn’t given her GPA a second thought. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

  “So what do you think it’s going to be like?”

  “What?”

  “Crossing over and becoming sorors.”

  “You know, I can’t even imagine.”

  “I can’t either, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’m with Chancey. I think we’ll make it through just fine.”

  “I hope so. I really do,” Cajen responded, wishing Tiara hadn’t broken the silence. She wasn’t quite ready to get to know her just yet.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Tiara asked, concerned about Cajen being so engrossed in thought.

  “I’m fine. I just need to get to my bed and get some rest, you know?” Cajen replied.

  “Girl, I know what you mean. I really do appreciate you dropping me off.”

  “Oh, it was no problem, no problem at all.” Cajen drove up to the front of Tiara’s dorm. There was nobody outside or in the lobby. They were both thankful for that.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tiara asked, a little suspicious that Cajen might be considering dropping line.

  “Yeah . . . tomorrow.”

  “I will see you, won’t I?” she persisted.

  Cajen snapped out of her trance. “Oh, yeah, I’ll be there. I’m fine. It’s nothing that a shower and a warm bed won’t solve.”

  “All right, you drive safely.”

  “My dorm is just around the corner. I’ll see you tomorrow. Remember, I’m supposed to pick you up for the meeting. Now get some rest. We’re both gonna need it.”

  Tiara said good-bye and got her key out as she walked toward the entrance to the dorm. I wonder, she thought, how many of us will actually hold on long enough to call one another “Soror.”

  THIRTEEN

  Malena stopped by her apartment, as planned, to pick Tammy up for the meeting with their other line sisters. She was shocked and frustrated to find Tammy lounging on the couch and watching television in a T-shirt and sweats.

  “Why aren’t you dressed? And why are you just sitting around like you don’t have a care in the world? You know we are supposed to be at Stephanie’s apartment in about fifteen minutes. Get moving!”

  “I’m not going,” Tammy said.

  “You’re not what?”

  “I just got off the telephone with Philip, and we decided that my pledging would become a strain on our relationship. He told me that he’s planning to ask me to marry him at the end of this semester. I want us to stay close, and I want to focus on our future together. Now is not a good time for me to be running around like a maniac, trying to please some ungrateful big sisters just to get into their sorority. Philip and I decided it would hinder our relationship, and that pledging is not worth the strain.”

  “So why didn’t you and Philip decide that before you wrote? Why did you waste your time?”

  “Well, I told him what happened last night and—”

  “You did what? You told him? Tammy, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe we’re even having this conversation. I thought being in the sorority was our dream. How can you just throw it away like this? Philip can wait.”

  “See, Malena, what you fail to realize is that the sorority thing was not my dream, it was yours. Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t against it. I wrote because I thought it would be something fun for us to do together, and I only wanted it if it was
convenient. And you know as well as I do that getting into this sorority is going to be anything but convenient,” Tammy said. Then she softened after seeing the disappointed look on Malena’s face. “I’m sorry I let you down, Lena, but I have to think of what’s best for me and Philip, and our future together.”

  Malena opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. It wasn’t worth it. Tammy and Philip were in love, and they had their minds made up. There was nothing she could say to change that. But she had to try one more time. “Tammy, you know if you turn back now there are no chances to come back. This is it!”

  “Malena, I know, and you know I support you one hundred percent, and I will help you and the rest of the line in any way I can. I do realize I’m giving up a lot, but I think the trade-off is worth it.”

  Tammy got up, walked over to her best friend, and hugged her. “You’ll be okay, and you know I got ya’ back if you need me for anything.”

  Malena pulled back to look Tammy directly in the eyes. “So I guess that I’m gonna have to tell everybody that you’re dropping. What am I supposed to say to them?”

  “You’ve always been good at smoothing things over. Just tell them that it’s personal, and please let them know it doesn’t have anything to do with them.”

  “What if I don’t want to break the news to them? Tammy, I think you should come with me, and let them know yourself.”

  “You know how dramatic things would get if I told them in person. We both know that the line as a whole can’t afford to have any unnecessary distractions. My being there is unnecessary, and all of the questioning will cause the meeting to run late. We can’t do that to them.”

  “Tammy, you already did it to them . . . us.”

  “I know you’re mad at me. If I were you, I’d be mad at me too. But I think it would be best if you told them.”

  Although Malena was disappointed, she couldn’t argue. “Well, I guess I’d better get out of here if I want to be there on time.” She walked toward the door, then turned back. “Tammy, I respect your decision. I just wish you would have made it sooner.” She picked up her backpack and walked out the door. She then tried to figure out how she was going to break the news to her new line sisters that her best friend wanted to drop line because she was in love.