I leave his room. I dismiss Knowitall. I slowly walk out of the hospital. I’m barely holding it together, my actions are mechanical, no real thought behind them.
I keep walking until I reach the nearest park, and its nearest bench, onto which I collapse. All the tension, all the adrenaline, all that energy leaves me and I’m closer to a jellyfish than I’ve ever been before. I exhale, it’s a long and slow exhale. The kind of exhale you do when you’ve been holding a breath in without realizing it.
I sit on the bench, staring at the sky. It’s overcast, you can barely make out some gaps, and the only reason to notice them is to notice how quick the clouds are moving. The wind blows some of the few remaining leaves off of the trees around me. The air smells just humid and chilly enough to be comfortable.
I zone out. Sure, I register the thoughts going through my head, that I stand out, that standing out is dangerous when alone, that I should make my way back to the dorm quickly, but I just let them flow through me. I am tired. I exhausted myself completely. I stood up for someone, finally. I had someone’s back. All it took was finally having someone in my life with a back for me to have.
It’s funny. Helping yourself feels like an impossibility, you know what you need but you can’t bring yourself to take the steps necessary. Helping others? Easiest thing in the world. Helps you avoid dealing with your own problems, and you feel good afterwards.
My phone rings. I dig it out of the pocket of the long coat I have on as part of my outfit. It’s Violet. “Hey.” I answer, not really putting the energy into talking.
“How the fuck did you manage it so quickly? The dean just called, my suspension got shifted to just a week long one as a disciplinary action, and he apologised!” Violet’s shock is perfectly audible.
“How long ago did I leave the apartment?” Time has once again lost all meaning to me, but it’s only polite to ask.
“Kat, you’ve been gone for six months.” Nice try, Violet.
“About an hour, then?”
“Closer to two. I’ve been so fucking worried you have no idea.” I can hear the smile in Violet’s voice, and I get my ass off the bench, walking towards home.
“I can imagine. Are you okay? Is Liz okay?”
“I am now, thank fuck, and Liz is as okay as a corpse can be. Aaaaaa cold cold cold!” Violet shrieks in my ear. “Liz, what the fuck!?”
I can barely make out a huff from Liz in the background, followed up with her saying “I can put an ice cube down the back of your shirt whenever I want. Please, please stop making those jokes.”
“Yeah Violet, be nice, it’s not Liz’s fault.” Blaming the victim’s a dick move. Not to mention that it really wasn’t Liz’s fault. Her hopeful nature got exploited. “Speaking of faults, though, we need to figure out the ones the sorority has.” Only then will we be able to make truly poetic punishments for them.
“No shit. Well, get your ass home then, we’ve got sleuthing to do.” Violet hangs up the call before I have a chance to tell her I’m already on my way. I don’t call her back to tell her that. I just keep going, crunching leaves beneath my feet with each step. I could almost forget the events of the past week. The atmosphere brings to mind Halloween. It truly feels like October. Not to mention Halloween is barely a couple of days away.
Halloween is only a couple of days away. I walk as fast as my don’t-fuck-with-me high heeled boots let me, an idea brewing in my mind for what we can do.
Top nearly hits the ceiling with her startled jump as I burst through the door. “HALLOWEEN!”
“Yeah, it’s nearly here, all three of us have an easy time with costumes, what about it?” Violet asks, lounging on the couch, trying and failing to hide how happy she is to actually see me.
“THAT’S what we’ll do! Scare them half to death into confessing with the veil lifting!” I pace around the room, ideas flitting around my head, not settling.
“Cool, how though? We know jack shit about them. They’ve got masks from Hugo Boss and Channel, kinda hard to get through.” Violet changes her position on the couch, now sitting upside down.
“And, uhm, and don’t ask me, they kept me at a distance, I only know their public personas.” Liz contributes. As if I could involve her in this part of the plan directly.
“I just need to know if they have a specific hangout point. I’ve got an idea.” I start dressing down, I need a low key outfit for this, not my dramatic one.
“Seriously, here? Of all places, they hang out here? At this location? Regularly?” I pulled out my closeted clothing out of the closet for the disguise. It’s weird. On one hand, it feels reassuring that I can be invisible again. On the other, having been seen as me, I don’t want to go back. Like getting a glimpse of a better place, only for there to be a wall put up to block the view. I can’t wait to get home and change out of them.
We’re sitting on a bench across from the franchise coffee shop on campus, one that’s in the middle of a seasonal promotion. “Aren’t they super rich?” I ask, quietly so as to only be heard by my co-conspirators. “Couldn’t they get their coffee made at the sorority house in a fancy espresso machine that’s smarter than most of them?”
“Well, well yes, they are, but, you know, they like feeling better than others.” Liz contributes, floating next to me, having just figured out how to turn invisible.
“Can’t piss on the poor from the balcony if there’s no poors to piss on.” Violet stole a few pieces from my wardrobe for her disguise, nothing too special, just a hoodie and beanie.
“Speaking from experience?” I shoot back, earning myself an eye roll from her.
“Oh please, I don’t need to boost my ego that way. Auntie Caitlyn, now that’s a champion of challenge pissing.”
“Hey, girls, the prez is just leaving.” Liz gets our attention, and I try and see if I can have eye contact with the prez long enough to cast the spell.
“Shit, Liz, make her look this way.” I hiss, not getting a good angle.
“Oh-oh, right, you can’t see me nodding.” It doesn’t take long after Liz says it for the prez to yelp and look my way. Her eyes pass over me, I’m completely below her notice, but that’s exactly what lets me quickly do sense sharing. I close my eyes and try to tune out everything around my own body, focusing only on her.
“God, Cindy, why’d you hold your frap to my neck?!” The prez asks, rubbing it with her hand to warm it up. I chuckle to myself quietly. Nice one, Liz.
“I swear I didn’t! Why would I do that?” One of the other girls asks. There’s three of them in total. I recognize them as most of the group responsible for putting Liz on ice.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe as an extension of your shitty joke?” The prez crosses her arms. The pressure on her chest from it isn’t familiar, but only because I never got myself falsies. The silicone crescents she stuffs her bra with push into her modest bust.
“The prez is flat as a board up top, I’d say mood in solidarity but considering she’s responsible for the death of a friend I won’t.” I convey to Violet and Liz. “Come on, lead me home you two, while I’ve got the link going.”
“It wasn’t a joke! I really saw her on our porch!” Cindy screeches at the prez in disbelief. “Please believe me, why would I lie about something like that? Especially after what we di-” the prez holds a hand over Cindy’s mouth to shut her up.
“What’s that? I didn’t quite understand, I thought you almost said what we did. But we didn’t do anything, isn’t that right?” I feel the sinister smile spreading on the President’s cheeks.
“Sheesh, Annabelle, take a chill pill, it’s been a week and everyone thinks it’s a suicide. A weird suicide, but a suicide nevertheless.” The third girl contributes to the conversation, something she follows up with a loud slurp with the straw.
The prez, Annabelle, steps back, straightening herself out. “You’re right, Beverly, I need to remain composed. Speaking of composition, how’s the music selection for the party coming along?”
“I got Rot10H34d scheduled, make sure one of our real pledges spends the Afterparty with him, it was part of the deal.” Another loud slurp courtesy of Beverly.
I tune out most of that conversation. They walk to their sorority house, slowly. Sit down in the reception hall, near the fireplace. A week and some change after their last party and the place looks nothing like I experienced it. It’s spotless. I expect it to be haunted by a plantation owning Colonel with how it looks.
The walls are whiter than the prez’s lineage. The staircase is elaborately carved. The fireplace sports trophies and awards of sorority pledges. The coffee table is thick, solid mahogany. There’re photos of their most prominent members proudly on display. But I only catch quick glimpses of them through Prez’s eyes, before she sits in the borderline throne of an armchair. And while she lounges that way, I’m put down on the couch. “How boring can you be?” I ask aloud, hearing Violet sit down next to me. “They’re discussing catering now! It’s all so useless. I thought me being closeted was foolproof but they’re holding all their secrets so close to the chest it’s no wonder they stuff their bras to hide them!”
I sever the connection and sit up with a sigh, rubbing my eyes. “Only useful thing was it being an exclusive event, invite only. I don’t have anything to build nightmares for them off of though.”
“That, that’s okay Kat, you still tried. I’ll, uhm, I think I’ll get us those tickets? Two of them, right? Since I can invite myself in.” Liz is floating near me, nervously scratching at her cheek.
“Yeah. Let’s just scare them senseless.”
Wasn't there talk of bringing people back with sacrifices? I think the president of the sorority volunteered
ooo... good idea
One day... one day liz will utilise her powers to their true extent (helping her friends with heatstroke)
[...] They’ve got masks from Hugo Boss and Channel, [...]
Just noticed on this reread that this is the fashion house of Nazi uniforms and the fashion house of a Nazi collaborator. Subtle burn, but very deserved.
I'll be honest I don't remember if I was consciously thinking that but am glad it lands