Page 19 of Distortion
She hands it to me and I put everything back in the large envelope to look at later in my room.
‘If you come to Grinder after your first class, I can show you a few things. How does that sound?’
I nod. ‘Yeah, that would work.’
‘Great!’ Lu takes my hand and squeezes it, not seeming to notice how my body tenses at the unexpected contact.
I try not to pull away, smiling through the discomfort and hoping she lets go soon.
‘Oh!’ she exclaims as she looks at her phone and lets go of me. ‘I have to go relieve Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb-fuck at the table. Can you find your way back to the dorms by yourself?’
I hold up the envelope. ‘Got a map.’
‘What dorm are you in?’ she asks.
‘The Kappa Iota Pi house.’
She looks at me oddly. ‘Not at the actual frat house ... right?’
I nod. ‘Novelle money doesn’t just buy science buildings,’ I mutter by way of explanation and she whistles.
‘Fuck me blue.’
‘No.’
She cackles out a laugh. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually staying in theactualKappa Iota Pi fraternity house. Oh, my God! You have to tell me if the stories are true. Youhaveto invite me to their next party! I’ve heard their parties are the fucking best! Wild and crazy and so much fun!’
I roll my eyes. ‘I doubt Jack will invite me.’
‘Who?’
‘Oh. My stepbrother.Shade.’
‘You live there. You have an invite, babe. Trust me. It’sgonna be nuts. You don’t understand. A bunch of the juniors legit got booted off campus last year after a big one.’
My ears perk up. Shade didn’t tell me much when I asked.
‘What happened?’
She shrugs. ‘They keep their shit real quiet, so no one outside the house and the Dean’s office even know for sure, but they had some huge blowout night and by the time the sun rose the next morning, all the juniors except Shade and those other two guys who are seniors this year were gone.’
‘Gone?’ I murmur.
‘Yeah, like kicked out.’ She gets closer, dropping her voice conspiratorially. ‘And they were like kids from influential families.’
I regard her thoughtfully. ‘And that means something?’
‘Here it does. Rich kids get away witha lot. They must have done somethingreallybad. But no one knows what it was.’
She glances at her phone and grimaces. ‘Okay, I really have to go! Tomorrow. Black pants and a white button down shirt. Kay?’
Shit. Clothes.
‘I don’t have?—’
‘It’s cool. Meet me at Grinder at eight-thirty. I’ll help you get some stuff to wear.’
I open my mouth to ask what she means, but she’s already taking off down the hallway.
