My eyes widen dramatically, and suddenly, I’m at a loss for breath. “What?? I don’t know what you’re…”
“We know all about it, so you can cut the act. We had a little chat with your fudge-packer boyfriend this afternoon.”
“He wouldn’t tell you about that!” I grit my teeth, glaring at him angrily in the eyes.
“We can be really persuasive, blondie.” One of his buddies laughs, grabbing my crotch from underneath the table. “You were promised to us last night and we plan on collecting tonight.”
“Forget it! Fuck the Frat, I want out! I want you oafs to leave me and Billy the fuck alone, got it?!” I wrench my arm from Todd’s grasp, and the three of them respond my laughing at me.
“There IS no out for you, baby.” Todd grabs my hair, yanking my face mere inches away from his. “You are mine, you belong to me and anyone else I want to lend you out to. If you keep fighting me, I’ll be forced to make your life a living hell.”
“Let go of me right now, shit-for-brains, before I call the cops!”
“Trust me, baby, you won’t even make it to the phone. Make it easy on yourself, Nelson. I know all about your family history in Beta Kappa. Your dad was a brother and so was his dad. Am I right?” I just stare ahead, saying nothing, just gritting my teeth. “So, it would be a shame if their little boy was to fail to keep up the family tradition, wouldn’t it? Go ahead and call the cops if you want, but my one phonecall in jail will be to your father.”
“Bastard…”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be sure to let him down easy. Ha, ha, ha.” When Todd laughs, the other two goons chime in, laughing in my face as well. “Or, we can all go back together and settle this little debt in the privacy of my dorm room. What do ya’ say?” Again, I keep my mouth shut, just staring at him in contempt. “Hmm. I think he needs further incentive. Boys, why don’t you go pay a visit to our friend Willie in the nurse’s office. I’m sure he’ll be glad to…”
“Alright, alright! I’ll go back with you, just please, leave Billy alone!”
“That’s more like it. Gather your shit.” He lets go of my hair, shoving my face back violently. I put my books away and leave the ten on the table for the waitress. Reluctantly, I let Todd and his friends escort me out. His fire engine red convertible is sitting right outside the restaurant door in a handicap space. One of Todd’s friends goes to put me in the back seat, but Todd stops him. “Wait, he isn’t going anywhere. I want him up front with me.” And so, they shove me down into the passenger seat and buckle me in. My stomach jerks and thumps, wrapping itself around my spine nervously as the top folds down, trapping me in.
“Why are you doing this, Todd?” I glare at him as we tear out of the parking space. “I mean, there were a dozen other recruits to do this to. Why me?”
“Because I like you.” He snickers, squeezing my knee. “Because you look damn hot in a dress, and because I wanna fuck you in it.”
“And what makes you think I’ll still let you fuck me once I become a brother?”
“Hey, baby, this will be my third year there. I hold a lot of weight and the others look to me for guidance. If I say a recruit fails the test, it doesn’t matter what everyone else says, that recruit doesn’t get in. And if you don’t get in now, you’ll just have to try again next semester.”
“But if I know I’m not getting in, why would I try next semester? It’s just going to be the same thing, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but you have no choice. You’ve got two stingy old men to answer to.”
I take a look around and realize that I’m the only one wearing a seatbelt. “Maybe you’re right, Todd. I think it’s time I make up my mind what I care about more; my father’s approval, or my dignity.” And with that, I grab the steering wheel with both hands and jerk it all the way to the right, slamming my foot down on top of his, forcing him to accelerate. The car makes this horrible screeching sound as it swerves off the main road and into a patch of sparse trees.
“What the fucking Hell are you doing?? ARE YOU CRAZY!?!” Todd tries to regain power over the wheel, meanwhile, the two idiots in the back are screaming for their lives. Todd glances in front of him just as a big tree appears dead in our path. We both let go of the wheel and cross our arms over our faces defensively.
*CRASSSHH!!* Todd goes flying through the windshield, past the tree and I hear his body hit the nearby bushes with a disturbing thud. The two in the back are crying and whimpering. I waste no time unbuckling myself, grabbing my book bag, squeezing through the window (the door wouldn’t open), regaining my equilibrium and getting the fuck outta there.
__
“I’m sorry, Mr. Conroy. William left a couple hours ago.” The nurse gives me a sympathetic look when I ask her about Billy. “Are you alright, dear?”
“Yeah…thanks anyway, ma’am. I gotta find him. He may be in serious danger.” I turn around and start running back down the hallway.
She calls out after me. “Would you like me to call campus security?”
“No thanks!” I call back, turning the corner. “I can handle it myself!”
I run as fast as my legs can carry me back to Billy’s dorm. I knock on his door a thousand times but there’s no answer. I feel physically ill with worry. I hope none of Todd’s other friends got to him first. I don’t even know how badly they beat him up, or if he had to go to a hospital, I just know I have to find him. I don’t know what I’d do without him. After a while of pacing around, I run all the way across campus back to my own dorm. Hopefully, Jay will have some profound wisdom for me. He always has in the past. On the way there, I make an anonymous phone call to 911 about the crash outside campus.
When I unlock the door to my dorm, the room is dark. I flip on the light and see a note tacked to the fridge. It’s the note Billy left for me this morning. Shit! I must have left it in the pocket of the pants I borrowed! On the back of it is written another message:
//Billy is safe. Come to where we first met.
-Jamar\
That kid must have a giant hole in him, because he’s a lifesaver. I lock up and head for the last place Todd or his goons would ever look for me- the library. I come crashing through the double-doors of the cavernous study hall and my eyes immediately begin scanning the dark room for them. It doesn’t look like anyone’s here.
“Billy! Jay! You guys here?” My panicked voice echoes throughout the empty room.
“Nelson?” Both of them pop their heads up from behind the row of microfiche projectors. “My god, Nelson!” Billy runs up to me, picks me up in his arms and spins me around. “I was so worried about you!”
“Me?? I wasn’t beat up! Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you too bad, did they?”
“I’m fine. Just some cuts and bruises. What happened to you?”
“Yeah, Nels. What the hell ran you over and sped away?” Jay comes out with his hands on his hips, smirking at me.
“It’s not important. I have to get the hell away from those frat creeps. They’re all perverted, power-hungry schitzos.”
“Ha.” Jay looks at Billy, pointing at me. “I’ve been trying to get that through this fool’s head since the semester started.”