DJ and his line brothers had been practicing faithfully for their probate. True, both DJ and Lee had to keep their invites small for fear that the national organization of Epsilon would find out.
DJ actually didn’t mind that. He wanted to run for SGA President at Dawn and wasn’t too happy about letting people know he pledged at Wesley. So, keeping it quiet was a good thing for him. Lee didn’t have the same pressures as DJ. Not many students knew him and he wasn’t even from Tallahassee. He was from Ocala, FL so there weren’t that many people from his area in the city.
Plus, Lee admitted several times that he was mostly pledging the chapter and didn’t care much for the fraternity as a whole. That told DJ that Lee would never seek to cross nationally.
DJ decided to share the fact that he pledged with a few friends he knew would keep things quiet. Chelsea was first on the list of people he told. In fact, him telling Chelsea was her first hint that he was leaving campus for a reason that made any kind of sense.
It wasn’t a well kept secret that DJ was leaving campus at night. DJ hoped that the revelation of this fact would keep thoughts about him living a double life at bay.
“Why didn’t you tell me?! I thought I was supposed to be your best friend?”
“Chelsea, it wasn’t a question of whether you were my best friend or not. It was more about whether you would inadvertently tell someone because I know you wouldn’t tell someone outright.” DJ didn’t believe that but his time online taught him how to lie effortlessly and even better than he had managed in the past.
DJ could see Chelsea’s face squirm. She could sense bullshit about as well as he could plus she knew him better than the rest of their friends. She could tell when he was lying. DJ wondered if this was one of those times.
Instead of lighting into him, Chelsea smiled and quickly asked, “Have you probated yet?”
“No! We haven’t. We are practicing right now.”
“You’ve got to tell me everything.”
DJ wanted to. He also wanted to talk to her about the SGA Chief of Staff, Chris. He knew the two of them had been seeing each other but wanted to know if his admission would get an admission out of her. Also, they were currently upstairs in the SGA office within the Student Union at Dawn. They were on the Student Senate side, where they would spend time preparing for Senate meetings but he heard other SGA members on the staff side of the office.
She could sense that was a problem and instead said, “Let’s leave the office because some people in here about to make me shit bricks, they are so nosy.”
After they left they walked to Brando, her dorm. He filled her in on everything over the past four months. They laughed and caught up. He got the sense that he missed a lot with his friends. He wondered whether his time apart actually brought his friends closer together or whether they even missed him at all. He pushed the thought aside and instead decided to focus on Chelsea.
“We need to catch up. I really do miss you.”
“Aww. I miss you too DJ.” DJ could sense that was likely half true. “But if y’all are probating next week, when will it be and where at on their campus?”
After filling Chelsea in, she asked, “Can I tell Evette?”
DJ didn’t mind her telling Evette. He was just happy she didn’t tell all their friends. Out of all their friends, Evette was least likely to share the information. Plus, Evette is from DJ’s hometown and was his valedictorian. He knew her well. She was solid. But by telling her that opened it up for more people to know. He decided to take the risk. He really needed his friends back after going through all that bullshit.
*******
After the probate, DJ had never been approached by so many women in all his life. The Quad was packed with every Greek organization from Dawn and Wesley plus students from Wesley. He felt people grab his ass and pull on his dick. One girl started talking to him with her hand on his chest.
The entire time DJ felt like a piece of meat but it also reminded him of the gay clubs he had visited. He didn’t react other than to smile. Smiling was a nice a neutral way to handle the gesture from men. Women, however, see that as something that is welcomed. He was sufficiently amused. Afterall, it had only been about a year since the last time he had sex with a woman...Chelsea to be exact.
DJ’s attention quickly switched to Chelsea and Evette. Chelsea and Evette rode the bus from Dawn to Wesley so he knew they would probably be a little late for the probate but because his chapter is notoriously late for everything they came just in time.
They took pictures together. It was in that moment that he realized the Epsilons from Dawn were there too. Fuckit! He knew this would kick up another can of worms. It might even jeopardize his becoming a real brother instead of always being a ghost brother. When DJ pointed it out to a few brothers from Wesley, they immediately told him to relax.
The brothers from Dawn never stopped staring at him though. They all knew who he was. He was still the Vice President of SGA at Dawn. He was the third most recognizable man on campus behind the quarterback and Ivory, the SGA president.
But that reminded him. His campaign must get into gear if he even had a chance. He didn’t make strong inroads with his own line brothers so he wasn’t going to count on them for support and he had just abandoned his friends to pledge this bullshit. He needed help but felt he had no where to turn.
That should have been enough of a warning for him because the entire campaign was a series and unfortunate events. Not only did he spend all his money on being an Epsilon, the people who swore to have his back didn’t. His aunt was supposed to have huge colorful yard signs for him delivered weeks in advance. Instead, they arrived two days before election and were instead black and white pieces of 8 X 10 paper that would have made his campaign seem like ameteur hour.
Payne was supposed to make stickers for him that were hastily made after he repeatedly begged for them. DJ could sense things weren't going well for him but he wasn't the type to give up once he made up his mind. So he soldiered on.
Originally, his major competition was going to be Angela, Payne’s “beard” but another student had been picking up a following on campus. His real name is Kendrick Allen but his stage name as a rapper is Clark Kent. In the end, neither Angela nor DJ could best Kendrick. His rapping was socially conscious and he had an infectious personality. He was also known for smoking weed so the weed heads on campus were immediately drawn to him. They thought he would make smoking on campus legal.
DJ didn’t even make the runoffs. Humiliated, he decided to transfer to Wesley. Afterall, Dawn had rejected him in one of the most public ways possible. Plus, he was a ghost brother and didn’t spend months of his time looking for a lifetime association that he could single-handedly loose if he didn’t put himself in the best situation possible.
The summer was a natural time of transition so his line brothers all went home and so did most of his chapter brothers. That left DJ and Payne in married campus housing all summer to live a life in love.
The months between crossing and the fall semester were all wonderful for DJ. He and Payne had gone on countless trips on weekends they were both off from their part-time jobs. Payne was still in the reserves and had to go to Keesler Air Force Base every now and then. On those weekends, they would stay in a motel and continue to enjoy the love of the other. DJ had successfully convinced himself that this was the life he wanted for himself and that Dawn was simply going to be his past.
DJ had no clue that in just a few short months, everything he thought was up would end up being down and the love he cherished would become the the darkest chapter of his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment