The Legacy Continues

After Pref party, Mark called and told me he signed his bid card. He was officially official as a Theta pledge. I was so happy for him. He seemed so excited to have the bid card in hand. I know it was a big weight off his shoulder.

“Hey...” he got somber. “I can call Leslie after they get out of bid session and see if you are on the top of their bid list?” He was making an offer in earnest. An offer that could get a lot of people in a lot of trouble.

“No, Mark. I couldn’t ask that. Plus, my Aunt Mary and I would guess your mom are counting ballots tonight. I’m sure Mary will send them out for a recount if something came up askew.”

He laughed. “Mom is excited to meet you.”

I literally made the weirdest croaking sound. “Oh, is she?” I had a hard time even muttering out those 3 words. He was planning on inviting me over? What? He told his mom about me? This was too much.

“Yeah, she’ll be there tomorrow at bid day stuff. She’s the General Advisor. She loves meeting all the legs.” Leg was short for legacy. It sounded silly to me, so I never used it. However, a lot of people, my mom and aunts and cousins included, did.

I didn’t realize his mom was the GA. This changed a lot. I would be interacting with her almost daily, especially while I was a new member. I got really nervous and quiet. “Cool, me too.” That was the only thing I could get out without letting me internal freak out becoming an external freak out.

Mark changed the subject. “Do you want to get lunch in the café before lab tomorrow?”

I silently thanked him for not making a bigger deal out of my nonchalance. “Yeah, that’ll be great. We have lab at noon. Want to eat at 11:30?”

“Sure thing. What time is your bid run tomorrow?”

“We line up at 3:30. We’ll probably run at 4. Are you planning on going with the Thetas?” The boys often lined up to watch the girls run at each other while screaming. I’m sure it was a weird thing to experience. I know I was kind of nervous. Had I not seen my cousins do it before me, I would think the whole thing bizarre. That’s another thing, my Aunt Mary will be there, my mom is coming into town, and my two cousins who work in Birmingham will be there. Usually if you’re a legacy, your family will show up to show you support.

He scoffed. “No, I’ll be at the house doing stuff. The members will be going, but I have to be up at the fraternity house from 5-10 every night this week.”

The next day, I couldn’t get done with classes and lab quick enough. Luckily, Mark and I finished the lab early and we were done by 2. I went back to my dorm and took a shower. They told us to wear a t-shirt so we could quickly change into the bid day t-shirt they were going to give us. But, I wanted to be clean, as I figured it’d be a long event.

While I was in the shower I got a card slid under my dorm room door. Candace also came back while I was in the shower and had put it on my bed. It read: You have been invited to accept a bid. Please meet in the intramural field’s parking lot. You will be split into houses at that time.

They didn’t tell you which house you got until you got to the lot. Then, you’d break up into your groups. Ree, Yvonne and I were going to walk down together. I asked Candace to join us, but of course she couldn’t be bothered to be nice to me. Ugh, she kills me.

We all walked up to the table together. This is where our fate would be sealed. Ree wanted ODP and Yvonne had decided last night to rank Delta Alpha first. Yvonne had a hard time figuring out which house to rank where. Speaking of hard times, I noticed Michelle had been absent from her room all day. I hope she was out doing something fun for herself. I stopped by after my shower to check in. Her hipster, unaware, roommate said she’d been out since yesterday. Poor girl. She was devastated and chose to make herself alone. I’d have to send her a facebook message later. I didn’t want anyone feeling left out so soon. I knew how that felt.

Ree got to the table first. “Harriet Vines.” She spoke quickly, without being prompted.

The Rho Gamma scanned the lists. “Vines... Vines... Harriet! Congratulations, you can go join the group of girls with the ODP balloons!!!” Harriet beamed and bounced around.

She stood waiting by as I walked up. “Hi, Kathleen Hoover.”

“Oh, let’s see. Hoover--- yep! Beta Nu is right over there!” She smiled.

I smiled quickly and clapped. Now, it was Yvonne’s turn.

“Hey girl!” Yvonne spoke to the Rho Gamma.

“Okay, Yvonne, let’s see.” This girl apparently knew Yvonne because she didn’t ask her name. “Well, Yvonne, you can join your friend Kathleen over with the Betas!”

Yvonne’s face froze. I knew that Yvonne had ranked Beta last. That means that her two other choices had not opted to pick her up. She gave a forced smile and a nod. I ran up to her. “Hey girl! We’re going to be together!!!” I was trying to lighten the mood.

Ree hugged us all, and ran over to the other ODP new members. I didn’t know what to do, I was totally stoked to be a Beta, and Yvonne felt like it was slap in the face. I didn’t know how to handle this.

“Okay, girl! Let’s go get over here!” I grabbed her hand and pranced over to the huddle of girls who had already gotten their bid info.

Yvonne saw a friend amongst us, and ran over to talk to her. I wasn’t offended. I was happy to here. Yvonne was on the fence. I couldn’t console her properly, and she knew that. I could sense it.

I whipped out my phone and text my mom. Well, it looks like the legacy continues. Beta Nu!!!! J I love you, Mom! I cannot wait to see you, Mary and whoever else y’all wrangled up!

She responded quickly. Mary told me the good news this morning when they received the bid list! We’ve got your cousins Fran and Ginny here! They’re so excited! Oh, I met Mark’s mom! Total doll!

Oh Lord. That quickly changed the tone of today...

**My finals are on Monday, I am trying my hardest to make sure that I get y'all taken care of by then, but I'm just warning you---things might get a bit fuzzy. However, after that I'll be free for a WHOLE MONTH! Well, minus work...? I am so honored and humbled by the attention this blog is getting and I appreciate all of you! Much love, Lee**