Synopsis: Allison contemplates her future and the initiation ceremony commences

“Hey lady, what are you up to?” Remy asked as she passed by me in the common room. “The ceremony is in like…fifteen minutes. You really need to be in there.”

“I’m just thinking…about…how much has changed in the last few weeks,” I said with a sigh. I was here, ready for initiation. Believe it or not I was wearing the exact same dress I’d worn for pledge initiation; it was this scoop neck blue number, a silky material with brief sleeves and a knee-length skirt. The girls, Brianna especially had drilled into me how important is to wear different outfits, but this dress had special meaning to me. It was what I was wearing when my sister had taken my pledge; I would probably keep this long after I graduated. I think Remy noticed; she kind of smiled and smoothed out the wrinkles in the top before she sat down next to me.

“You’re not the only one,” She said. “Not by far. It’s been a trying time for all of us; we’ve challenged opinions and conclusions that we thought were immovable. You’ve shown us a different way of thinking, even if…that wasn’t your intention. Everyone here is proud of you, not only for what you’ve become, but for what you’ve shown us.”

“I feel more like I’ve gone through the spin cycle on a busted washing machine,” I snorted. “Like…I love it here, but I’ve been through so much. This is SO not what I had in mind for my college experience.”

“Well,” Remy said. College is…never what people think it’s going to be. Everyone’s experience differs, though usually it’s just more homework than they thought, or maybe…relationship issues. Most people don’t go through what you did. Actually I don’t think anyone has, but hey, I could be wrong. You did good Allie, you worked to become who you are, you’re a lot happier now, and you helped us all in the process. Now, get up and come do this ceremony. The sooner we get done the sooner we can eat. I’m starving.”

The conference room tables had been cleared out, but I had no idea where they’d been put. Then again, who cares. As I joined the rest of our pledge class the first thing I noticed was that the logo on the floor had been changed; they’d done that really quickly. The room was dark; I could see my sister and mother standing beside Laura and Remy near the front, the rest of the active members were standing around the edges of the room; each one holding a lit candle much like the sister ceremony that we’d had weeks ago. There was an excitement in the air unlike anything I’d felt before. This time I wasn’t nervous, I was anxious for the future; a future that I had helped to form through my actions. The pledges around me were excited, proud, ready to move forward. It’s hard to explain the atmosphere and the feelings that were surging through the space, I guess you would have to be there.

Remy started the ceremony off by stepping forward and speaking.

“Today we stand here, in the same room as always but it is a different place. A place of acceptance, a place of new beginnings, a place where each and every one of you will form your future. You all have the honor and privilege of being the first pledge class in this newly christened sorority, a sisterhood formed on a pledge that reaches deeper and burns brighter than any before. Today, signifies the day that we renew our bonds but form new ones, and with that said, each of you, as I call your names will step forward and place your Alpha Gamma pins in this bowl. This is the end of the old, and the beginning of the new. After placing your pins in the bowl, please step over here, and kneel.”

One by one they called our names, and one by one we stepped forward, dropping our old pledge pins and taking a kneeling stance near the front of the room, just feet away from where the officers, my sister, and my mother stood. Mom and Brianna kept their eyes fixed on me. Had I done well? Had I made them proud? I hoped so.

“We kneel in servitude, but as sisters we rise together. Move through life, and obstacles with grace, never forget the bonds that you have formed here, and pledge your servitude not to an organization, but to one another. Now rise, as sisters of Alpha Rho.”

And that was it. It had taken far less time than I had anticipated, and as I stood, Remy, mom, and Brianna stepped down to hug me.

“Congratulations, Allison,” My mother said. “I am so very, very proud of you.”

“So am I,” Brianna smiles as she straightened out wrinkles in my dress again.

“Me too,” Remy said. “But I’m going to show you just how proud I am later…probably after dinner. We’re going to try the Tawdry Tube.”

“You…have a pool?” Brianna cock her head. What the hell were they talking about?

“Well,” Mom said. “I believe we have a dinner to get to, and…tomorrow, obviously I want to take you shopping. Your wardrobe is a little lacking and I want to make sure you’re set for the next four years.”

“I would love that, mom,” I said quietly. The room was beginning to clear out, we were almost alone. “So what now? What’s the next step for us?”

“Well,” Remy said. “Your mother has most graciously outlined our philanthropy requirements, so we’ll have to get to work on that starting tomorrow. Also, we’ll need to get you settled into your new officer position. You’ll need to lay out how you want to handle any potential transgender pledges, the rules, expectations for their treatment, the whole nine yards. That’s going to be up to you.”

“I’ve already ordered new pledge pins for us,” Mom added. “We’ll need to send the Alpha Gamma ones back to…whatever happens to be left of them. The houses that did leave AG are already in contact with us and we’re working on getting them set up with the new Alpha Rho gear. Shirts, sweats, dresses, the works. We have a lot to do and I want to get it all done throughout the month. Fortunately we’re not alone. If we were it would have been a serious financial strain, but since the AG board split, we have access to more assets than we would have.”

“So I guess all we can do now…is eat,” I smiled.

“Hey, are you guys coming?” Laura shouted out from the door. “Everyone’s waiting on you, Michelle’s about to sexually assault the fried chicken platter!”

“You’re such typical college students,” My mom rolled her eyes. “Is chicken really the best you could come up with?”

“No,” I sighed. “It’s just that the author of this story has an obsession with chicken. It’s probably the only thing she knows how to cool.”

“There you go with that theory again,” Remy smirked. “Maybe next time she’ll write something more interesting.”

“Hah, maybe so,” I laughed.

“Guys, come ooonnnn!” Laura called out again. “I haven’t eaten since the last time I ate!”

“Alright, alright, coming!” Remy conceded. We began walking toward the door, toward an uncertain future, but all in all, there wasn’t anywhere else I would rather be.