Satan's Sorority Girls -- Chapter 4

“Someone’s happy,” Mo snickered as I walked into our dorm room with his food in hand.

I locked and bolted the door, and I pulled on the handle just to make sure I had actually locked it. Then I handed over the paper bag filled with Mo’s burger and fries, and my Polynesian friend practically ripped the bag into pieces as he rushed to get to his food.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, either you ran straight home from the diner, or someone made you blush…” Mo cackled loudly as he folded a french fry into his mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumbled as I peered into Pippin’s tank.

I’d had a fantastic time walking home with Robyn, and although I tried to act like everything was normal, Mo knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.  But if I admitted to him that I just spent over an hour talking to the gorgeous English Rose, Mo would demand to hear every ounce of information, and it would be the only thing he talked about.

So instead, I focused on unpacking my bag and powering up my laptop while Mo practically ate his dinner in three large bites.

“You know I’m not going anywhere until you admit the truth,” Mo said as he wiped some ketchup off his chin and then hauled himself off the bed. “And let me tell you, that microwavable burrito I had for dinner is trying to tell me something. So unless you want to witness what is most likely going to be a traumatic experience for everyone, you should pick up the pace a bit and just tell me what happened.”

“You had a burrito when you knew I was getting you a burger?” I frowned.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy!” Mo threw his hands up in defense, but then he slapped both tanned hands against his stomach. “And now that burrito is coming back up to haunt me. Your clock is ticking, my friend…”

The last time Mo ate one of those cheap-ass burritos, we had to evacuate the room because the smell was that bad.

So even though I wanted to keep my moment with Robyn to myself, I also wanted to make sure Mo got to the bathroom in time.

“Jesus Christ, okay,” I groaned. “I met Robyn Gardner at the diner, and the two of us sat and talked for a while. She also lives here in Jefferson Hall, so we walked back together, too. It was… nice. I had a… great time.”

“Bro, I knew it had something to do with Robyn!” Mo grinned as he thrust a victory fist into the air. “And whooooo is the best wingman in the world? That’s right, it’s me.”

“Why is it you?” I asked in amusement. “Did you tell Robyn to meet me there?”

“Noooo.” Mo’s face scrunched up in discomfort as his stomach gurgled loudly. “But if I was able to join you at the diner, then she probably wouldn’t have come over to talk to you. But because you were alone… Do you see what I mean?”

“Okay, fine, then I couldn’t have done it without you, Mo.” I smirked. “Now, get your ass in that bathroom, and run the shower, too. The last thing I need is to hear that burrito making its way back into the world.”

“I was going to take a shower anyway.” He shrugged. “So don’t say I’m not good to you.”

My friend laughed darkly, but then he closed the door and thankfully turned the shower on, too.

I always told Mo not to buy those cheap-ass burritos from the store, because I knew the meat folded inside probably wasn’t meat at all. But Mo loved them, so I had to deal with the aftermath every time he enjoyed them.

While Mo sang horrific renditions of his favorite songs in the shower, I topped up Pippin’s food and water, and then I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. I checked over the work I had to complete for tomorrow, and I finished a little bit more of my essay before I called it a night and put my laptop away.

Mo wandered back into the room twenty minutes later, and he towel-dried his short black hair while I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

When I’d first heard I was getting a roommate, I thought it would be hard to share a bathroom with a stranger. But fortunately Mo and I became great friends, and it wasn’t as difficult as I’d first feared. As long as neither of us spent too long in the shower in the mornings, then we never had any issues.

“‘Night, bro,” Mo mumbled as he switched off his lamp.

“Goodnight,” I replied. “Goodnight, Pippin.”

My hamster’s reply came in the form of the water bubbling in his bottle, but that was good enough for me.

My alarm rudely went off at seven o’clock the next morning, and I let out a loud groan as I stretched my tired muscles.

“I think I’m just gonna stay here today,” Mo muttered as he flipped over in his bed. “I’ll tell my professors I’ll catch up with work tomorrow.”

“Really?” I asked. “But you never miss class.”

“I know…” he sighed. “But sometimes it can be really hard to pick between catching up on sleep, or listening to some dude talk about architecture.”

“Suit yourself,” I laughed. “However, we all know what you’re going to do, so I’ll just wait until you find the energy to get up.”

Unless I literally couldn’t leave the room, I always attended my classes, and I loved to soak up all the information my professors had to teach me. Mo was the same, too, so he’d rather fall asleep in class than miss an entire day of learning.

The two of us talked about everything and nothing as we got ready to leave, and then I checked Pippin’s food and water one more time before we left the room.

Halfway into the walk, Mo let out a loud groan, and he pulled his phone from the pocket of his cargo shorts.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I should have known…” he grumbled before he came to a halt. “It’s the weekly message on the family group chat. I dunno, my parents want to make sure we’re all alive, or something.”

“I mean…” I snickered as I turned to face my friend. “Isn’t that just good parenting?”

“Yeah, but this is my mother we’re talking about,” Mo laughed, and then he cleared his throat before he read out the message in his best ‘Mama Kalua’ voice. “‘How is everyone’s week going so far? Mohala, you better have some money left after your father and I wired it to you. Lokemele, are you feeling better after your diarrhea? Tell that husband of yours to stop cooking shrimp. Keli’i, have you found a job yet? Hilo has a nice job stacking shelves in a supermarket. You could look there. Tell me how your week is going.’”

“I…” I paused to laugh. “Okay, maybe I can understand why you dread those messages.”

“I mean, I don’t need to know about my sister’s runny shits.” Mo shook his head in disbelief. “She could have asked if Loke was feeling better. That’s all she needed to do. I just– Oh! We have a first reply.”

“Oh?” My eyes widened as I glanced over Mo’s shoulder to look at his phone. “Who is it from?”

Because I didn’t grow up with a large family, I loved watching Mo interact with his parents and siblings, even though he found it slightly annoying and occasionally tedious.

“Keala,” Mo said.

Keala, Mo’s other sister, told Loke to stock up on toilet paper, and then she told her parents that her week was going well, and she added in a smiley face emoji at the end of her short paragraph.

“My grandma thinks that’s the sun,” I snickered as I pointed to the phone. “So she always includes that emoji when she’s telling me what the weather is like down in Florida.”

“That’s not as bad as my grandmother,” Mo muffled back his laugh. “She literally thought ‘LOL’ meant ‘lots of love,’ and that’s how she signed off every message. So when my grandfather was in hospital for an operation, it looked like she was laughing at her husband’s damaged hip.”

“Oh, I’ve heard the stories about that happening,” I chuckled. “I never knew anyone who actually made that mistake, but clearly your grandmother’s one of them.”

“Fortunately, she’s learned her lesson now,” Mo replied. “But autocorrect often likes to mess around with her words, so we’ve also received some disturbing messages, when in reality it was completely innocent.”

“I think the only confusing message I’ve received from Grandma was when she messaged me instead of Grandpa,” I said as Dowell University appeared in the distance. “He used my old phone for a while, so she once messaged me instead of him by mistake. I can’t remember what she said in the message, I just remember it could have been a whole lot worse than it really was.”

Mo shuddered as he caught on to what I was saying, but then the two of us cracked up laughing.

Our laughter stayed with us until we reached the main campus, and then we gave each other a pat on the back as we headed off in two separate directions.

Robyn gave me a sweet smile and a wave as I took my seat in biology. But as soon as I’d returned the gesture, I noticed a flash of short blonde hair out of the corner of my eye, and I realized Fiona was also smiling and waving at me.

To which Robyn glared at the Rho Alpha Theta sister before she returned to the notebook in front of her.

Now that I knew how Robyn felt toward the girls, I understood why she glared at them the way she did, even if I did think she was being a little overly ‘holy’ about the situation. However, I was still confused as to why the sorority girls had followed me to the diner last night. And why did they stand across the street and stare at my back, instead of actually walking in and taking a seat beside me?

But as those questions and constant thoughts ran through my mind, I caught sight of Fiona looking over at me once again. This time, she was playing with her pentagram necklace, and her green eyes, once again, looked as though they were sparkling.

Maybe it was just me, or maybe Robyn’s theories were getting the better of me, but I couldn’t stop myself wondering whether her eyes really were sparkling in earnest, or if it was just the overhead lighting.

I mean, Julia’s eyes were fucking bleeding the other night, so it wasn’t the craziest thing in the world to assume that Fiona’s eyes could sparkle.

Fortunately, Professor Burton walked into the room at that exact moment, so Fiona was forced to look away from me, and I could focus on the lesson instead of the confusing yet highly attractive girl in front of me.

The class went by smoothly, and I noted down every piece of information Professor Burton gave us. In fact, I enjoyed the lesson so much that the class seemed to speed by, and it didn’t feel like much time had passed before it was time to pack up and leave.

“Okay,” Professor Burton called the class to attention as everyone shoved their things into their bags. “I’ve only received a few introductory essays, and they have to be submitted to me before six o’clock this evening. I already told you that you can’t use rush week as an excuse, so I expect to have everyone’s essay sent to me before this evening.”

Luckily, I only had the conclusion to finish up, and I’d read over my essay multiple times, so I was happy with the work I was going to submit. I wanted to make a good impression with Professor Burton, so I didn’t want to submit some sloppy, half-hearted essay that lacked passion and knowledge on the subject.

Biology was kind of super important in the veterinary field, and after reviewing the programs Hartry had to offer, I knew I’d most likely be spending a lot of time in Burton’s classes for the next several years.

I waited for the majority of the crowd to pass before I left the room, but as soon as I walked through the door, I noticed Fiona leaning against the opposite wall. She played with her pentagram pendant with one hand, and she twirled a strand of her short blonde hair with the other.

“Good morning, Grayson,” she said smoothly. “I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far.”

The overly friendly and rather peculiar way the sorority girls spoke also confused me, but maybe the mess in my head made me question every little thing they did.

“I…” I frowned. “Yeah. I mean, biology was fine.”

“It makes me so happy to hear that.” Fiona smiled before she pushed herself away from the wall.

Her red t-shirt looked a size too small, and the material literally stretched to fit around her impressive-looking tits. But her short, black denim skirt appeared to be the right size.

I stared down at Fiona’s chunky black boots as she slowly walked toward me, and I felt almost stuck in that one spot. I could have easily walked away and headed down the corridor, but the more Fiona walked toward me, the more I just wanted to stand there and watch her move.

“Grayson!” Robyn called out from behind me. “Thank you so much for waiting for me.”

Fiona came to a sudden halt, and I was almost certain she let out a light growl as our conversation was once again interrupted by Robyn Gardner.

“O-Oh, yeah, hey,” I said confidently as I tried to play along with the act.

“Ready to go?” the redhead asked me. “Oh, Fiona. How are you today?”

“I’m fine. Thanks. Grayson, talk to you later, okay?” Fiona gave Robyn one long, hard stare before she sent me a brief smile and walked away. The chains on her chunky boots rattled as she stormed down the corridor, and it felt like I didn’t take a single breath until Fiona and her tiny black skirt were out of sight.

“That was… strange,” Robyn huffed. “But I think we should get used to it.”

“I think you’re right,” I snickered. “And thank you for saving me yet again. Fiona was definitely trying to lure me into the dark side. If you had been two minutes later, I’d probably have my own pentagram necklace on already.”

“I told you.” The English Rose gave me a knowing look. “Those wicked witches…”

Even though I was only joking, I had a feeling Robyn wasn’t.

I hid my smirk, though.

“So, where are you headed now?” she asked as we began to walk down the corridor. “Calculus, right?”

I couldn’t believe Robyn remembered that, and I did everything I could to stop the shit-eating grin from taking over my entire face.

“Uh, I actually have a free hour,” I replied. “Wednesdays and Fridays are the only days where I don’t have calculus, so I’m going to sit in one of the study rooms and finish off my essay.”

“Oh, I have a free hour, too,” she laughed, and the sound was like the most delicate bells in the world ringing in my ears. “It’s almost like we have a longer lunch, which is never a bad thing.”

“Well, um…” I sucked back the stutter before it appeared. “If you want, you could join me in the study room? It would be nice to have some company.”

At least I could control my stutter now, and it truly felt like I was getting more and more confident the longer I was around Robyn.

“Sure, I’d love to.” She smiled.

There were a few other people in the study room, but Robyn and I managed to find a spare table at the back, and we set up our notebooks and my laptop in front of us as we made ourselves comfortable. Robyn also brought out a reusable water bottle as well as a tupperware container filled with red and green grapes.

It was probably the cutest thing I’d ever seen, and she drank her water and munched on her grapes as she worked on a few things in her notebook.

I also caught on to a few quirks Robyn seemed to have, and I loved nothing more than casually glancing over as she wrote down some additional notes alongside the work she’d done in class.

Robyn had a laptop in her bag, but she never touched it, and she only ever wrote down notes in her notebook. She highlighted certain words in different colors, and she had small sticky notes that matched the color of each highlighter. Then, at the front of her notebook, she had a little system drawn out which explained what each color referred to.

Robyn highlighted things in pink if they were words of importance, and yellow if it was a word or phrase that she needed to do more research on later. The green and blue highlighters also had a purpose, but her hand covered the description at the front of the book.

Every page of her notebook had sticky notes stuck to them, and I was simply amazed by how organized she was, and how she clearly loved every class she attended.

I also couldn’t take my eyes off her neat handwriting, either. Her ballpoint pen flowed over the page with ease, and the soft, almost italic penmanship seemed to just glide onto the page without any issues.

It actually made me feel embarrassed about my own handwriting. I honestly struggled to read it at times, so I knew no one else had a chance. But that was exactly why I much preferred using my laptop, especially when it came to handing work over to my professors.

But maybe Robyn would look past the chicken scratch that coated my pages, and the way I occasionally stuttered when I was nervous. Maybe Robyn only saw what was on the inside, and if that was the case, then perhaps I had a chance at taking this friendship further.

The “girlfriends” I’d had in high school were nothing in comparison to Robyn. In fact, that was probably the wrong term to give the girls I went on a couple dates with. I never talked to them in school, and they never talked to me, either. We’d simply message each other, plan to meet somewhere, and then that was that. It was like no one else could know that we’d spent time together, and it was a taboo subject that neither of us could mention while there were other ears listening.

This was probably a major reason why I wasn’t too confident with girls, now that I reflected on it.

Fuck it, though. High school was sucky and weird in so many ways.

And I was a different person now than I was back then, and I hoped that change in my behavior worked in my favor.

The two of us worked in silence for a little bit, but it wasn’t awkward in the slightest, and it was actually quite nice to work together.

However, the silence came to an end when Robyn brought out books for the rest of her classes.

“English Lit?” I asked. “Is that your major?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “My dream is to become an author some day, but I also love reading, researching, and looking deeper into the works of my favorite writers.”

“An author, wow.” I smiled. “Have you written anything yet? Or anything I could read?”

“Oh, no, definitely not,” she giggled. “I mean, I’ve written down rough outlines, and the occasional opening chapters, but I’d rather die than have someone read them just yet.”

“Well, when you get your first book published, I want to receive the first signed copy.” I smirked. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Robyn agreed. “Even if it’s romance, or a tale of two star-crossed lovers?”

“Robyn, it could be written in a completely different language, and I’d still read it,” I chuckled. “Just make sure not to forget about me when you’re flying across the world taking part in book tours.”

“Never.” She smiled. “After all, I’d need a bodyguard when I travel, so maybe that could be your job.”

“Every star has security,” I replied.

“That they do.” Robyn nodded.

We were quiet for a few more minutes as I tried to get the last of my work done for biology. I wrote up the conclusion for my essay, and Robyn looked through a passage in a book and wrote down some color-coordinated notes to go along with it. It was so calming and relaxing, and I hoped it was going to become a tradition to come here every Wednesday after biology.

“So is biology just to meet your science requirement?” I asked a few moments later.

“Yes.” Robyn nodded. “I love both subjects, so I swapped calculus for biology, and then it felt like the best of both worlds. Maybe I’ll do something with biology later, but right now it’s just for fun.”

“That’s amazing.” I smiled. “I bet your parents must be really proud of you, and how dedicated you are to studying.”

“They are, yes.” Robyn shrugged. “They both graduated with honors, and my brothers did the same thing, so it was important that I followed in their footsteps.”

“You have brothers?” I asked.

“Yes, two older brothers,” she explained. “Francis is twenty-seven and Joseph is twenty-six. So they were nine and eight when I was born, which meant we never had the best relationship growing up, but I got used to that pretty quickly. They’re protective of me, I’m certain of that, but no twenty year old wants to hang out with their eleven year old sister. What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope, it’s just me,” I replied. “Well, I might have some half-siblings in the world, because my dad remarried when my mom died, but I don’t know how true that statement is.”

“I’m so sorry, Grayson,” Robyn said sadly. “I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay,” I said reassuringly. “My mom died when I was two, so I don’t remember her, and I never really saw my dad again after that, so I’m more than used to life with just my grandparents. But anyway, how does your family feel about you moving all the way over here? Because they’re still in England, right?”

“It was hard for my parents at first, but they always knew I wanted to study abroad, so they were somewhat used to the idea.” Robyn shrugged. “Yes, my parents still live in the Cotswolds, in England, but Francis now lives in Wales with his wife, and I think Joseph was thinking about moving to Greece, but I won’t believe that until I see it.”

“I don’t think my grandmother believed I was really moving to Maine until it happened, either,” I chuckled. “But I’m only a few hours away from her, so I can only imagine how your parents felt, and still feel.”

“They’ll get used to it,” she replied. “And I know Dad would love to visit the east coast, so at least they now have reason to fly over here.”

“Maybe your brothers will come, too, and it could be a whole family vacation,” I suggested.

“If our parents pay for flight and accommodation, then Francis and Joseph would definitely come along with them.” Robyn rolled her eyes dramatically. “But they’re living their lives, I’m living mine, and I’m quite happy with that. The Cotswolds, as beautiful and idyllic as it is, just isn’t the right place for me. My parents love it, and I had a great childhood there, but it was time for me to spread my wings, and I’ve done that now.”

“I’m glad you were able to do what you wanted.” I smiled. “And you never know, you might appreciate the area more whenever you return. I know I’ll feel the same way when I go back to Florida.”

“I probably will.” She nodded. “My parents live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone, so I’ll probably enjoy the peace and quiet during the summer holidays. Or… sorry, summer vacations.”

“I know what you meant,” I chuckled.

“Actually, I think you’d like the Cotswolds, too,” Robyn said as she pointed toward the Bilbo Baggins t-shirt I was wearing. “Yeah, it kinda has Hobbiton vibes to it, so I think you’d love it.”

That almost sounded like Robyn’s subtle way of asking if I wanted to join her in England for the summer. But that was impossible, right?

If it wasn’t impossible, then I already knew my answer.

“Anywhere that looks like Hobbiton will be on my list of places to visit,” I replied. “In fact, Mo and I have created a bucket list together, and traveling to New Zealand to go on the movie set tour is right up there at the top. But England can take second place, if you want us to join you.”

“I suppose second place after New Zealand isn’t anything to complain about,” she giggled. “So in that case, depending on how the rest of the academic year goes, let’s pencil in a trip to England in the summer.”

I didn’t know how serious she was, but my stomach leapt up into my throat at the prospect. I swallowed subtly and managed not to look too giddy, though.

“I can’t wait.” I smiled. “We just have to get through the rest of the year first.”

“Goodness, don’t remind me,” Robyn said with a light laugh.

The two of us continued to work in silence until the study hour came to an end, and once we were all packed up, we left the room and headed toward the cafeteria.

“Would you, um,” I said as I fought back the nerves. “Would you like to sit with me and my friend at lunch?”

Robyn had sat on her own yesterday, so I wanted to offer her the spare seat, just in case she didn’t have anyone else to sit with.

“That would be lovely, thank you so much.” She smiled.

I was honestly so proud of myself for actually having the courage to ask her in the first place, and the biggest smile crossed my face when she accepted the offer.

The cafeteria was surprisingly empty when we arrived, so that allowed us to be one of the first people in line, which I always enjoyed. I chose a standard hot dog with a side of curly fries, whereas Robyn went for a garden salad, a pot of mixed berries, and a bottle of water.

“Are you a vegetarian?” I asked.

“I have been since the day I was born,” Robyn replied as we headed toward my favorite table. “My brothers now eat meat and fish, but I never saw the appeal, and it’s how my parents were raised, too.”

“Oh.” A blush swarmed across my cheeks. “Is it okay if I eat meat around you, then? Or would you prefer it if I didn’t?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she laughed. “I’m not going to be offended.”

“Okay, good.” I pretended to wipe sweat from my brow, and narrowly dropped my loaded tray in the process. “My friend, Mo, probably wouldn’t last a day without eating meat. I bet you any money he turns up with both the hot dog and the chicken burger.”

“Let’s wait and see if you’re right, then.” She smiled.

I hadn’t messaged Mo to tell him that Robyn was going to join us, so I couldn’t wait to see the look on my friend’s face when he saw we had company at the table.

I was surprised that I’d arrived at the cafeteria before Mo, but as soon as Robyn and I took our seats, my Polynesian friend all but sprinted into the room to take his place in line.

Damn, Mo must have been really hungry if he was actually running. He was always the first one to admit that he wasn’t the strongest or fastest runner in the world, and he avoided it at all cost when he could.

But I was soon distracted when I found that Julia and Fiona had chosen to sit somewhere else for lunch. Julia’s multicolored hair was easy to spot across the room, and the two of them sat with their backs facing me.

Huh. That was surprising.

I wondered whether it was because Robyn was sitting with me, or maybe the girls had tried to get me to take part in their hazing shit but given up trying because they could tell I wasn’t interested.

Regardless, something had caused them to sit across the room from me, when that certainly wasn’t the case yesterday, but I tried not to focus on that fact for too long.

Soon, Mo wandered over with his tray, and he gave me a look which practically said: “Dude, you didn’t think to tell me about the girl you’d invited to the table?”

I’d definitely have a few questions to answer later.

“Oh, hey, Mo.” I smiled as I threw a curly fry into my mouth. “I asked Robyn to sit with us, I hope that’s okay?”

“Like you even need to ask,” he chuckled, and then he turned to look at Robyn. “Mo is short for Mohala. Mohala Kalua. But don’t call me that unless you’re my mother, or I’ve done something to severely piss you off.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Mo,” Robyn replied sweetly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” He grinned.

Just as I thought, Mo had gone for both the hot dog and the chicken burger, along with a side of curly fries and a bottle of lemonade. It always amazed me just how much he could eat, and I knew he’d be hungry again in an hour.

“So, Robyn, tell me,” Mo cleared his throat before he took a sip of lemonade. “Have you ever been to Hawaii?”

“Er, no, I haven’t.” She shook her head. “I’d love to go, but it takes a long time to get there from England, so my family and I never managed to tick it off our travel list.”

“Well, you’re in luck.” He grinned. “That’s my home state, and Gray and I plan on taking a trip over there together. So feel free to come along with us. If you want to come, too, of course.”

“Oh, goodness, that’s exceedingly kind of you,” Robyn gasped. “But thank you so much for the offer. I’ll definitely have to think it over.”

Mo subtly nudged me under the table with his shoe, and I was pretty sure Robyn caught on to the wink he gave me, too.

I knew exactly what my friend was doing, and it was all part of his plan to become the best wingman in the world. However, what he didn’t know was that Robyn and I had already discussed vacations today, and that she’d offered to take me to England, too.

It seemed as though the three of us were going to have a busy year traveling all across the world if any of these plans actually came to fruition.

But if I was traveling with both Mo and Robyn, then I certainly wasn’t going to complain about where we went, or how long it took to get to each place.

“Whenever I’ve seen pictures of Hawaii online, it always looks so breathtaking,” Robyn said as she pierced her salad with her fork. “It’s definitely on my bucket list.”

Mo opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a word out, a girl appeared beside us.

“Hi.” She smiled.

At first I didn’t recognize her, so I assumed she was talking to either Robyn or Mo.

But then I caught on to the long blonde hair that stopped at her waist, and the pentagram pendant around her neck.

It was the Georgie-looking girl from across the street last night. But instead of a mustard coat and boots, she wore a white raincoat and matching boots, and she had a red sucker in her mouth.

I thought the weird shit was over because Julia and Fiona weren’t looking at me, but now the third girl had turned up, so I was straight back to feeling confused and slightly suspicious at the same time.

Who the hell walked around in rainwear with a sucker in their mouth in October? And why did she still look incredibly hot regardless?

“Grayson, right?” she asked.

“Yes…” I said slowly.

Robyn gave the girl the side-eye, but Mo shoveled more curly fries into his mouth like he was watching a tense, action-filled movie.

“It’s so good to finally meet you, Grayson.” The girl kept her smile plastered on her face. “My name’s Tasha. I heard you met my sisters yesterday?”

Tasha spun the pentagram around with her fingers, and her glistening white-blue eyes seemed to stare deep into my soul as I tried to think of how to answer her question.

“Uh, yeah…” I nodded. “Julia and Fiona, right?”

“Yes.” Tasha grinned even more. “They had so many wonderful things to say about you, so I couldn’t wait to meet you properly.”

Tasha popped the red sucker into her mouth for a second, pulled it back out, and then ran the tip of her tongue across it before she popped it back in again.

I forced my gaze back to her eyes.

“My sisters also wanted to know if you’d like to join us for a party this evening?” Tasha asked as she held the sucker in her hand by the stick. “It’ll be so much fun, and I’d love for you to be there, too.”

“A party?” I asked. “Like a rush party? Because I didn’t know I could join sorority rush parties?”

I’d already noticed Rho Alpha Theta didn’t announce rush parties so loudly as the other sororities seemed to, or even take part in the week in general from what I’d seen, but it probably had something to do with what Athena mentioned about how only select girls were allowed to join these parties.

“No, it’s just a regular party.” Tasha shrugged. “Everyone is invited, and you’ll have a great time. So… would you like to come?”

“Uh… I don’t know,” I mumbled as I briefly looked over at Robyn. “I’ll have to… think about it.”

Robyn looked like she was about to stab the girl with her fork, but Mo had now moved on to his hot dog.

“Think about it.” Tasha smiled and winked. “It’ll be seven o’clock tonight at the Rho Alpha Theta house.”

“O-Okay, thanks…” I gave her the most reassuring smile I could muster, but I wasn’t sure how convincing I was.

Tasha popped her sucker back in her mouth, and I briefly wondered if she always puckered her lips so damn much in the process, or if she’d done it on purpose.

A heavy silence fell upon us as Tasha walked away, and just like with Fiona, I seemed to stare at Tasha’s boots as she stalked off across the cafeteria.

“Uh, dude.” Mo coughed out a laugh. “Earth to Grayson Price… Are you insane? Why didn’t you tell her you’d go to the party?”

“Maybe because Grayson has a brain?” Robyn scoffed, but then she gasped and cupped her mouth with one hand. “Gosh, I’m so sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

“I like a girl who speaks her mind,” I chuckled. “But to answer your question, Mo, I’m not sure if I want to go to their party, hence why I hesitated.”

“But why?” He frowned.

“Because those girls are totally up to something,” Robyn whispered as she leaned forward with wide eyes behind her glasses. “They followed Grayson to the diner last night, and now they’re inviting him to parties.”

“Okay, and…?” Mo shook his head in confusion. “To me, it sounds like a bunch of super-hot sorority girls who are looking forward to having a good time with a nerd. That nerd being Grayson. I think that’s tooootally normal.”

Mo flashed me a shit-eating grin.

“Totally normal?” I snorted. “Stalking isn’t normal. In fact, it’s kinda creepy. The girls from that sorority seem to keep popping up everywhere, and it’s sort of freaking me out at this point.”

“Hmm… I suppose.” Mo shrugged.

“Also, they’re witches,” Robyn whispered so that only we could hear her. “I’m certain of that, and we’ve all seen the pentagrams they wear.”

“Alright…” Mo looked like he was trying not to laugh, and I bit my cheek to do the same. “And, what, you think they’re trying to sacrifice my boy Grayson to the demons or something?”

That caused me to almost lose my composure, but I managed to hold in the laughter.

“You can laugh all you want, and you can think my ideas are silly,” Robyn said. “But I’m telling you right now, those girls are up to something. They have darkness written all over them, and I don’t want Grayson to mingle with a group like that.”

I smirked as I snuck a glance at the utterly sincere look on her face.

Robyn was trying to protect me.

“You really think something’s going on inside that house?” Mo asked as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Yes.” Robyn nodded. “I get the chills every time I walk past the house to go to the library. That isn’t normal. Plus, if you include the necklaces they wear…”

“Which could be innocent,” I added. “That doesn’t mean they’re witches.”

“No, but it means they’re dark and Satan worshippers.” Robyn shrugged.

This time, Mo only barely managed to keep a straight face, but he nodded like this wasn’t at all the silliest thing she’d said yet.

“Fine, then I think there’s only one way to prove us wrong,” Mo said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“We’re going to that damn party tonight.” Mo grinned. “And let’s see what sort of demons show up.”