The Freshman

Chapter Ten - Sorority Ball, Part 2

Emily's POV

At the Kappa Phi Sigma sorority ball, I walked over to Kaitlyn and leaned against the banister next to her. "Hey, Kaitlyn... you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Kaitlyn said.

"Weird night, huh? You would not believe the drama I'm dealing with right now. James and I kind of had a moment out there, and Chris saw it and wanted to talk to me alone, and now -" I noticed Kaitlyn studiously not making eye contact with me, her gaze drifting across the throng of partygoers. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Kaitlyn turned to look at me, a tiny crease between her eyebrows. "Sorry, Emily. I just... I don't know if I can hear about this right now."

"What... what do you mean?"

"I... never mind. It's too hard to explain. So... what happened with Chris?"

"Forget about Chris. What's going on with you? You seem upset."

"I... don't worry about it. I just feel like... Ugh! This is way too hard to explain. Can we just drop it for now?"

"Okay... you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah... sure. Anything."

Just then, Darren returned from the kitchen with an old-fashioned in one hand and a lemon drop in the other. He handed Kaitlyn the lemon drop, and she took a grateful sip. "Hey, Emily. Sorry, I would've gotten you something if I knew you were hanging with us," Darren said. "And if I had a third hand."

"Oh, don't worry about -"

Kaitlyn suddenly grabbed Darren's sleeve with her free hand, cutting me off before I could finish speaking. "Darren, do you want to go for a walk? I bet the stars look great tonight," Kaitlyn said.

"Sure, let's do it. See you around, Emily," Darren said.

"Right..." I said. "See you around."

More confused than ever, I wandered across the dance floor to where James waited talking to Abbie. "Hey, Emily... you okay? You look a little..." James said.

"Befuddled. Bothered. Bewildered," Abbie said.

"Yeah, something like that," I said.

"Maybe a dance will cheer you up?" James asked.

"It's certainly worth a shot..."

"One sec, James... I want to talk to Emily alone real quick. That okay?" Abbie asked.

"Sure, she's all yours," James said.

Abbie pulled me aside, smiling brightly. "What'd you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I just wanted to say... James is awesome! He's been really sweet to me all evening, and he obviously likes you..." Abbie said. "Plus, he's super hot, but I'm sure you've noticed that."

"Yeah, he's definitely boyfriend material."

"Cool. Glad you agree. Just wanted to give you my blessing."

"Thanks, Abbie. Much appreciated. I just wish I knew what was going on with Kaitlyn. Have you noticed she's been acting kind of... distant?"

"Yeah, I feel like something is going on with her... where'd she disappear to, anyway?"

"She went for a walk with Darren..."

"Maybe we should try to go listen in on what they're talking about... If we don't go now, we might never figure out what secret Kaitlyn is keeping!"