Satan's Sorority Girls -- Chapter 3

Fortunately, the rest of the day wasn’t as confusing or challenging as the morning had been.

I didn’t see Julia or Fiona again after lunch, so at least I was able to focus on the work in front of me, instead of the girls who seemed to do everything in order to grab my attention.

However, because of how strange my day had been, I decided to treat myself to a milkshake once I was done with class for the day. I ran the idea past Mo, because he believed in never missing a meal, but unfortunately he had a meeting with one of his professors that he couldn’t miss.

I promised to bring him back a burger and a chocolate milkshake so it didn’t feel like he’d missed out too much.

I passed more of the yellow ribbons for Chrissy Fry on my way to the diner, and given that it wasn’t too far away from Mason Street, where Chrissy was last seen, the yellow ribbons covered every railing and tree I came across.

It definitely felt strange to walk the streets that Chrissy walked before she vanished, and it was going to feel weird listening to the episode again and understanding every street and reference the host made.

But I tried to put those thoughts behind me as I continued on my way to the diner, and it wasn’t long before I arrived.

It was a standard tin can diner, with the black-and-white checkerboard flooring, red leather booths, and neon lights draped across the walls. It sold the usual burgers, milkshakes, and ice cream sundaes, but it was some of the best food in town, and I almost felt embarrassed by the number of times I’d visited this place in the couple of months since I’d moved here.

But the waitresses didn’t know me by name yet, so it could have been worse.

My original plan had just been to get the food and milkshakes and hit the road, but when I saw that the bar was empty, I decided to take a seat and relax for a minute after my long day.

A woman with copper-colored skin, blue hair, and tattoos that covered both arms came to take my order. Her name badge said “Athena,” and I was almost too busy looking at her various tattoos to realize that she’d asked me a question.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked.

“I asked if there was anything I could get for you?” she laughed. Then she stretched her tattooed arms over her head as she let out a loud yawn. “Shit, sorry, I’m so tired. Bad customer service, I know.”

I briefly noticed a Marvin the Martian tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve of her uniform, along with Pac-Man and a couple members of the Ghost Gang.

“It’s okay, I understand.” I smiled. “I’ll just get a banana milkshake with extra whip cream, please.”

“Sure thing.” Athena nodded. “But only if you let me finish my coffee first. I really shouldn’t have agreed to this shift today.”

She looked to be roughly the same age as me, so either waitressing was her full-time job, or she was balancing waitressing and being a student at the same time.

And if that was the case, then the coffee was definitely needed.

“Be my guest,” I snickered.

Athena wrapped her copper fingers around a white coffee cup, and I noticed that each of her digits had, what looked like, thorny vines tattooed from the bed of her fingernails all the way up to her knuckles.

Her blue hair had been tied back in two short braids, and she played with one of the braids with her tattooed fingers as she let out another soft yawn.

“Okay.” Athena clapped her hands together before she adjusted the white apron that was tied around her waist. “One banana milkshake coming right up.”

“I’m going to get some food for my friend, too,” I said. “So should I order that now, or wait until I’m about to leave?”

“You can do it now.” Athena nodded. “That way it’ll be ready to go by the time you’re finished up.”

I passed over Mo’s order, just so Athena could let the kitchen know when to start making it, and then she focused on preparing my milkshake.

While I waited, I checked the messages and emails on my phone, but it was just the same old crap. I had a text message from a pizza place I’d used once in Florida, and it basically told me that I could get ten percent off my next order if I applied a certain code.

I knew the restaurant delivered, but I wasn’t sure if Hartry, Maine was on the delivery list.

I also had an email congratulating me on the vacation I’d won– apparently I had a trip to the Maldives up for grabs if I wanted it.

My grandma once received the same spam email, and she ran around the house calling out my grandpa’s name, all while she ordered him to look for his passport.

Fortunately, I caught on to the trick before she found herself embroidered in some dangerous scam. It was a shame, really, because my grandparents could have really used a vacation at that time. But instead of falling for a nasty spam email, they booked themselves a night away in a local hotel, so at least they were able to relax, even if it wasn’t in the Maldives.

Along with the messages and emails I deleted almost instantly, I did have a message from Mo reminding me of his food order. He wanted to make it clear that the burger had to have extra cheese, and I had to remember to squeeze some ketchup on the fries before I even thought about leaving.

Of course, I knew all of that already, but I didn’t want to get on Mohala Kalua’s bad side, and I would have been if I got his order wrong. So perhaps it was a good thing he’d decided to remind me.

“Here you are,” Athena said as I typed out a message from Mo.

“Thank you.” I smiled as I sent the message and sat my phone down on the counter.

She then slid my banana milkshake toward me, and my mouth began to salivate as I caught sight of the extra whip cream on top.

“That looks amazing,” I added.

“Thanks,” Athena replied. “If my gut allowed me to have all of that dairy, I’d probably order it myself, to be honest.”

“I bet it must be hard working here,” I said as I scooped off some cream with my spoon. “Smelling all the different foods, looking at the ice cream sundaes… You must be constantly hungry.”

I practically fell off my stool as I took the first sip.

Nothing was ever going to beat a fresh, creamy banana milkshake.

“You get used to it.” She shrugged. “Plus, I’m around this shit all day, so I’m kinda sick of it by the time I go home. Also, it helps that I can’t eat most of it because of my intolerance, so that makes it easier.”

“There’s vegan options though, right?” I asked. “Couldn’t you have them?”

“Yeah…” Athena thought for a second. “But it’s never the same, and don’t tell my boss, but the alternatives we serve here aren’t exactly the best…”

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” I smiled, and then I pretended to lock up my mouth and throw the invisible key behind me.

“I’m so glad my reputation isn’t going to get ruined after that conversation,” she laughed. “I need this money, so I’d have to find a way to mess with your milkshake if you broke that promise. Because I’m not losing my job over this.”

“What would you do?” I asked jokingly. “Make me a vegan banana milkshake instead?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Athena smirked a little sassily.

Athena swapped that expression out for a polite, server-worthy smile as she turned to serve another guy at the bar, and I took another long sip of the glorious milkshake.

I’d noticed Athena a few times since I’d started coming to the diner, mainly because of her bright blue hair. However, it was the first time I’d properly spoken to her, and I enjoyed the conversation much more than I thought I would.

Athena looked like the sort of person who would have avoided me in high school. A tall, lanky nerd like me, who spent the majority of their time in the library, would have been the last person someone as confident and cool as Athena would talk to.

Of course, that was just an assumption, and Grandma always told me not to judge a book by its cover. There was also the chance that Athena was just as nerdy as I was, if the tattoos on her arms were anything to go by. But it was still a nice surprise that the conversation went as well as it did.

“Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched?” Athena broke me from my musing with her peculiar question.

Given the strange day I’d had, I could actually kind of relate to the question, but I was confused why she’d asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Athena was leaning against the wall opposite me with her arms crossed over her chest, and she stared out the window with a deep frown on her face.

“I swear they’ve been watching me for, like, half an hour,” Athena mumbled as she continued to stare out the window. “It’s starting to really freak me out now.”

I frowned as I slowly turned around in my stool, and that expression stayed firmly on my face as I spotted three girls standing on the other side of the road.

All three of them were staring in my direction, and two of them officially made my own confusion hit an all time high: Julia and Fiona.

The third girl with them had perfectly straight blonde hair that seemed to stop at her waist, and I was quick to spot the mustard-yellow boots on her feet, and the matching raincoat she wore, even though it wasn’t raining.

She almost reminded me of Georgie from IT, and I half expected a red balloon to sail past the window, or to find Pennywise lurking in the sewers.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but something about the three girls made them look terribly out of place in comparison to the other students who walked by. Maybe it was due to the strange encounters I’d had with Julia and Fiona, but I just got a vibe from the women that I couldn’t quite shake off.

All of a sudden, Julia gave me a happy wave as a bright smile curled across her purple lips. Fiona and the Georgie-looking girl also waved at me, but all I could do was give them a hesitant, half-hearted wave back.

What the fuck? Had they followed me to the diner?

Athena thought they were watching her, which could have also been the case, but she said they’d been watching her for half an hour, which was about the time I’d arrived at the diner.

Had they been standing there, on the other side of the street, watching me drink a damn milkshake?

An uncomfortable chill raced down my spine.

Maybe last night was just the start of some weird hazing dare, and now all the sisters were taking part, hence why three of them were staring at me drinking a milkshake?

But if that was the case, then why couldn’t they find another nerd to stalk?

Or maybe I was just being paranoid.

“I’m totally being paranoid,” I mumbled under my breath before I turned back around to face Athena. “Do you know those girls?”

“I know to keep my distance,” she snickered, but that only made me more confused.

“Why would you keep your distance?” I asked.

“I just get a strange vibe from that lot.” She shrugged. “They seem to know you, though.”

I wondered if she’d also had strange encounters with Julia and Fiona, because she seemed to receive the same vibes as I did.

“I didn’t know them until this morning,” I snorted. “But now they’re acting like we’ve been friends for years. They even invited me over to their sorority house earlier.”

“I’d keep my distance from the house, too,” Athena replied. “It’s really strange, and apparently the initiation to get a place there is, like, super weird.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely a creepy house to look at,” I agreed as I recalled the grim-looking structure I’d passed a few times near the library.

“Apparently it’s not just the outside,” she added. “According to my friend, you have to ‘be someone’ in order to become an active sister. You can’t just turn up, and even during rush week, only a select few are allowed to take part in their parties.”

“What, like, you have to be famous, or something?” I queried.

“Maybe.” Athena shrugged. “It’s kinda like with Iota Delta. Unless you have a lot of money, or your parents are famous, don’t even think about joining that house.”

Athena seemed to know a lot about Hartry and its Greek Life. So she either grew up here, or she’d researched the shit out of the sororities and fraternities before she moved here.

And perhaps part of her was bitter because she never got a place in the Rho Alpha Theta sorority, so now she resented Julia, Fiona, and the Georgie-looking girl for having what she wanted?

Then again, she certainly didn’t strike me as the sorority type.

“Well, I hadn’t planned on joining a fraternity anyway, and especially not a sorority,” I joked to lighten the mood. “But I appreciate your warning.”

“Yeah, I can offer warnings, and I can make a damn good milkshake.” She smiled. “You could say it’s a niche personality, but I have my uses.”

“That sounds like a good combination to me,” I chuckled.

We ended our conversation when Athena turned to serve someone else. I kept my eyes focused on the banana milkshake, and even though I was curious, I refused to look behind me in case the girls were still standing on the street.

“What can I get for you?” Athena asked as I took a long sip from my drink.

“Uh… do you serve green tea?” a delicate English accent asked. “Or peppermint tea?”

I would have recognized that voice anywhere, and I had to stop myself from freaking out at the fact that Robyn Gardner was right there. Right next to me.

I didn’t know what was happening, or why all of the hot girls were suddenly appearing from the shadows, but I wasn’t going to complain.

“Yeah, we have green tea,” Athena replied. “Just one?”

“Yes, thank you,” Robyn said politely.

I waited until Athena walked away to prepare Robyn’s tea, and then I slowly turned my head to look in her direction.

I didn’t want to seem too eager.

“Oh, hey.” I smiled, like I’d only just noticed her standing there.

“Hi, Grayson,” she replied sweetly. “How are you?”

“I’m not too bad.” I shrugged. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” Robyn nodded. “I’m glad to be finished for the day, though. Professor Burton’s essay had me awake until the earlier hours of the morning. But at least it’s now been submitted, so I can try and sleep tonight.”

“Shit, I still need to finish that,” I replied. “But I’m almost done, and we have until tomorrow night to get it completed.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she laughed lightly.

Robyn then hooked her brown leather bag to the backrest of the stool before she climbed up beside me. I briefly glanced out the window, because I couldn’t stop myself, and even though the girls were still standing on the other side of the road, I made sure to focus on the English Rose in front of me.

Hopefully Julia and Fiona would get the message that I wasn’t interested in being a part of their weird hazing shit, and maybe they’d leave me alone if they saw that I was preoccupied with Robyn.

“Here you go,” Athena said as she placed the green tea in front of Robyn.

“Thank you so much,” she replied delicately.

Athena gave us one more smile, but then she left the bar to clean a booth someone had just vacated.

I couldn’t take my eyes away from the white mug as Robyn cradled her fingers around it. She blew off some of the billowing steam, and I almost leaned forward as Robyn placed her lips around the rim of the mug and took a small sip.

“I’m sorry, I hope you don’t think I’m being rude,” Robyn said as she placed the mug back down again. “But were you talking about Rho Alpha Theta just then?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Do you… Do you know those girls?”

“No, not personally,” Robyn replied.

“Oh.” I frowned.

I was interested to know more, because Robyn had given Julia and Fiona a death glare during lunch, and Fiona hadn’t seemed overly pleased that Robyn joined in on our conversation earlier on. But I also wanted to know why Robyn was now showing me more attention all of a sudden.

I certainly wasn’t going to walk away now that she was sitting right next to me, but I was eager to know what the hell was going on.

I was definitely going to double check the ingredients of my deodorant later, too. I doubted “irresistible musk of a buff and utterly masculine dude” would be listed, but it kinda seemed plausible at this point.

“I’m sorry, maybe I should be a bit clearer,” Robyn said before she took one more sip of green tea. “I don’t know the girls personally, but I have been keeping an eye on them. There’s something… I don’t know, I…”

“Do you get a strange vibe from them, by any chance?” I raised a singular eyebrow.

“Yes,” Robyn laughed. “How did you know?”

“Because you’re not the only one,” I snickered. “And if the death glares I spotted earlier were anything to go by, then I assumed you weren’t close friends with those girls.”

“To be honest, I’ve only just caught on to them.” She shrugged. “But I just think they’re bad news, so I’m interested to talk to people about the sorority house, or to people who do know the sisters personally.”

“Bad news?” I asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well,” Robyn let out a deep breath, and then she looked over her shoulders, almost like she wanted to make sure the coast was clear. “Have you noticed they all share something in common?”

“Uh…” I coughed out a laugh.

I’d for damn sure noticed that Julia and Fiona were both extremely attractive, and they liked to wear clothing that showed off their alluring bodies. But I wasn’t sure if that was the answer Robyn had been looking for.

“They’re all members of the same sorority house?” I said instead.

“Yes, the sorority house is one thing.” Robyn nodded. “But have you noticed that the Rho Alpha Theta sisters all wear the same necklaces?”

I glanced down at the counter as I tried to think back to the interactions I’d had with the girls earlier on in the day.

“I mean, yeah, Julia and Fiona both wore necklaces when I met them,” I mumbled. “But I bet the vast majority of students wear jewelry, too. Plus, I didn’t get a good look at Fiona’s necklace, so I wasn’t able to see if it was the same as Julia’s or not.”

“Spoiler, it is the same necklace,” Robyn giggled. “In fact, every sister wears one. A black pentagram necklace.”

“Okay…” I frowned.

Was that why Robyn thought the girls were bad news, because they wore pentagram necklaces?

“I mean, maybe it’s nothing.” Robyn shrugged. “However, I grew up in an extremely religious family, and my parents are both devout Christians. We weren’t even allowed to celebrate Halloween, so anyone who messes around with pentagrams is someone to stay clear of. After all, it’s always a symbol of Satan, or another evil force.”

My eyebrows wanted to hop upward so badly at this. I’d never actually heard anyone make such a broad claim about something so small as a necklace, but I managed to keep my expression purely intrigued.

Even though I personally didn’t see it as a bad thing. I even knew someone in high school who went through a gothic stage. They had pentagrams on their bags and jackets, and they used to draw five-pointed stars on their hands with thick black markers.

In my opinion, pentagrams were harmless fun. Almost like playing Bloody Mary in a dark bathroom.

Did I believe in ghosts and an afterlife? Yes.

But did I think pentagrams were a link to Satan, or that the ghost of Bloody Mary was going to appear in my mirror because I’d repeated her name three times? No.

However, I also appreciated the fact that Robyn grew up completely differently than I did. If she was taught to stay away from anyone who messed around with dark magic, or evil spirits, then of course, she was going to stay away from them.

I wasn’t going to bash her beliefs just because I thought differently.

But all of this made me think again of the death glare she gave them at lunch, and how she interrupted my conversation with Fiona, even though it was quite clear the two of us were having a discussion at the time.

“Is…” I smirked. “Is that why you walked up to join in on our conversation after biology? Were you… I dunno, were you trying to protect me from sin or something?”

Robyn’s blue eyes widened behind her circular glasses, and she took a sip of tea, almost like she was trying to cover the blush that coated her face and traveled down her neck.

I imagined the blush covered her entire body, but then images of her naked came to my mind, so I did whatever I could to clear those pictures from my head before I embarrassed the shit out of myself.

Banana milkshake. Drink the damn milkshake, Grayson.

I took such a huge swig that my brain instantly froze, but I managed to look only slightly pained by it.

“I-I h-had t-t-to do something…” she stuttered. “I couldn’t just sit back and watch sinful women lure a nice guy like yourself into their wicked ways. I… Yeah, I had to do something.”

This time, my eyebrows did pop up toward my hairline.

Robyn thought I was a nice guy, and she was trying to help me.

By “saving” me from a flock of gorgeous, allegedly wicked women.

Sure, it was bonkers, but just hearing that was like music to my ears.

I couldn’t help but laugh, and when Robyn caught on to my smile, the same expression crossed her face, too. The blush cleared from her cheeks, and she placed the mug of tea back down as her laughter began to build.

“Before you say it,” she chuckled. “I know. I know I sound like Little Miss Church Girl. But I have a firm moral compass, and I couldn’t just sit by and not do anything when I saw them talking to you. Especially as I’ve seen you in class for weeks, and I can tell you’re a total gentleman, and not someone who goes along with creepy nonsense like that.”

Had Robyn paid attention to me in class as much as I’d paid attention to her?

Had she noticed all the other guys who did whatever they could to get her attention, or was I the lucky fucker in this situation?

I desperately needed to know the answer, but it also didn’t seem like the right time to ask a question like that.

“I appreciate your, uhh… help, I really do.” I smiled.

“I know it’s really none of my business,” Robyn added. “However, when I saw them follow you here after class, I knew I couldn’t sit around and let it happen again. So I took the plunge and came inside.”

“Even though I can look after myself?” I smirked, because I needed her to know that I wasn’t being serious. But then I remembered what else Robyn said. “Wait… they actually followed me here? It wasn’t just a coincidence that they saw me while passing?”

“I didn’t overhear their conversation, so it could be a coincidence.” Robyn shrugged. “But I saw them walking in the direction of the sorority house, because I needed to go to the library after class. But then they suddenly changed direction and started to walk toward the diner with a rather quick pace, if you ask me. I wanted to know what they were up to, so I subtly followed on behind them, and that was when I noticed you sitting here. And they were giggling and waving at you.”

“Soooo, you stalked them?” I sent her a teasing grin. “I don’t know, that’s kind of… what’s the word? Creepy?”

“Hey!” Robyn laughed and playfully swatted my arm. “I wasn’t stalking, I was just…”

“Doing the lord’s work?” I offered, and I was pleased when she rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Look, it paid off, didn’t it?” she replied. “It does look like they’re up to something strange.”

“Yeah, what the hell is their deal?” I asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know,” Robyn mumbled. “But I’ve had enough of these wicked witches.”

“Wicked witches?” I snorted. “Is that what you’re actually calling them, or is it because you don’t want to say ‘bitches?’”

It was only my first proper conversation with Robyn, but I hadn’t heard her curse in passing before, so I assumed she didn’t use “bad language” as often as Mo and I did.

“Um… both?” Robyn giggled. “I think they’re witches because of the pentagram necklaces. But I also think they’re… the other word, too.”

“Witches with a B?” I chuckled.

“Witches with a B,” she giggled.

I had to admit, it unnerved me to know that Julia, Fiona, and the third girl had followed me here this afternoon, especially when they were already on their way back home before they turned around and came here.

However, spending an hour with Robyn, and talking and laughing with her, made everything seem better.

I didn’t even think about the Rho Alpha Theta girls while Robyn and I finished off our drinks, and we changed the subject completely while I waited for Mo’s food to be ready.

Once I’d made sure the burger had extra cheese, the chocolate milkshake had whip cream on top, and I added some ketchup to the fries, I thanked Athena for the drink, and then Robyn and I left.

I was quick to notice that Julia, Fiona, and their boots-wearing friend were no longer standing on the side of the road. I had no idea when they walked away, but at least they had left for now.

“Do you live in Jefferson Hall?” Robyn asked as we both started to head in the same direction.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Which dorm building are you in?”

“Jefferson Hall, too.” She grinned.

I just about dropped Mo’s food as I realized that Robyn and I were neighbors, but I’d somehow had not fucking clue until that moment.

“Oh, okay, cool.” I nodded my head as casually as possible.

It didn’t feel like college could get much better than this.