The Will To

E L E V E N (halloweekend)

The shade of white I wore shocked me every time I caught sight of it.

Georgiana was her name—a white dress that grazed against the tops of my knees and a bodice that hugged my middle, coming to a skinny-strapped halter at my neck. The irony of my choice of dress tonight would be lost on everyone but me. I typically only wore black to Greek parties seeing as it was a color worn to blend in and it reflected my lady-of-the-night soul.

It was Halloween and wearing white was my costume.

The fact gave me much more joy than should have been considered normal.

Nola looked like a dead cat. I was pleased she hadn't been lying. She wore a black dress with the obligatory tail and ears, but had coated her face with dark grey makeup that distinctly screamed roadkill. Her eyes were nearly black and she'd drawn her whiskers to be scraggly and limp. Her ensemble was completed by sewing on a tangle of red yarn and fabric to emulate guts. It was perfect. So, so perfect.

"I can't wait for your sisters to see you," I said, fighting the urge to bridge my fingers as we walked up the porch. Though Greek Row was essentially one big party tonight (and had been all weekend), Nola's sorority was getting together at Reid's frat, Alpha Omega Phi. I'd happily gone as her plus one as it worked in my favor two ways: I'd have the chance to work on Reid and witness Nola's sorority's outrage when they saw her costume.

"They're gonna be so pissed," Nola said, grinning mischievously. "Well, most of them. Despite what you think, there are a handful who do have a sense of humor."

"Okay. I'll believe that over your dead body."

Nola angled her palm towards me right before we entered the house. I struck it to complete a subtle high five. "Nice one."

"Thank you, thank you."

There wasn't a visible square foot of free space inside the house. It looked like the entire campus was crammed inside, though I knew that to be false; however, I thought it was safe to assume that the entire campus was present on Greek Row tonight.

Halloween was taken very seriously on campus. It was an excuse to dress up, drink, and act like a dipshit more than any other night of the week. This was proven true many times over (I'd spare the horrendous details) as Nola and I somehow squeezed through the massive conglomerate of people in costumes. No rules applied on Halloween, apparently. Everyone got trashed and acted irresponsibly. From my understanding, Halloweekend borrowed its slogan from Las Vegas: What happened on Halloweekened, stayed there.

We finally made it to the back wall and took a breath.

"They should put this on the university brochure," Nola said, nodding to the stocked room while fanning herself against the wall and fiddling with her backside. "Damn, this tail is annoying."

"Pain is beauty."

"True that."

Like clockwork, Rose sauntered near and was accompanied by two other women, one of which was Cassidy McCready. I supposed the tiny ears they wore on their heads meant they were dressed as cats, but I liked to theorize they were actually horns. They had no tails or whiskers, further cementing my theory.

Rose's face pinched the closer she grew. Cassidy's too.

Leaning towards Nola, I muttered, "I don't even know how she recognizes you with all the makeup you're wearing."

"I told you. She's put a tracker inside of me somehow."

Rose broke through the crowd, and, like the good minions they were, Cassidy and the other girl stood behind her. "I thought we agreed on cats," Rose sniffed, mouth tight.