Beloved

Chapter 14: Second Frat Party

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are you kidding me?" I demanded. Rebecca gave me a cold look. "I understand that attending to a party is the last thing you want to do," she began. "But I have heard that Marie's friends are coming to the event and we need to get ready."

"Can't we just, I don't know, knock on the door and ask some questions?" I whined. "We are not going to do that," Rebecca said. "What are we, Girl Scouts?" I tossed my pen and notebook on my bed then sat on my chair. "I am not-" I began. Rebecca gave me a puppy pout look.

"Please?" she begged. I gave her an annoyed stare. "Exactly, why am I going back there?" I asked slowly. Rebecca rolled her eyes. "The Frat party is where my sister's friends are attending," she repeated as if I am stupid.  "And besides, you get out of your comfort zone."

"Fine," I moaned. "Let's go to the party, ask some questions, and go to bed." She did a shrug then searched in her closet for some party dresses. "I am going to hang with a couple of girls. Do you want to come?"

"Thanks," I waved off dismissively. "But I rather take my chances." The sparkly pink dresses flounce against Rebecca's kneecaps as she gave me a wink then left the room.

Sighing, I opened up my closet then got out my evening wear: my diamond studded blue blouse, skinny blue jeans, and black leather combat boots. I then laid my leather black jacket and smoothed its edges.

Rummaging into my suitcase, I pulled out my knapsack and set it on my bed. I took out my phone and key card and laid it on the desktop. My phone was almost down to ten percent.

I took my phone charger and plugged it into the outlet. Next, I pushed the silver square into inside the hole. Lastly, I took my bag that was hanging on my nightstand and dumped out its contents.

My hands pushed away the pens, crumbled tissues, and wrinkled gum wrappers. I picked up my taser flashlight and two bottles of pepper spray then stuffed them into my knapsack.

After a good shower, I thought. Maybe, I'll call Seth and ask him if he could send me information, regarding Ace. A knock came on the door. I smoothed out my jeans then hurried to answer the door.

It was Claire, tapping her foot impatiently. To me, it wasn't surprising that she was eavesdropping on our conversation. "You heard everything, right?" I sighed. She nodded.

"Are you going to the party?" she asked. "It doesn't look like I have a choice," I said sarcastically. "I'll call Seth as soon as I can." Claire gave me a curious look. "Who's Seth?" she asked. "My ex-boyfriend's brother," I answered. My mouth suddenly went dry: it felt weird that I called Ben my ex-boyfriend.

"Is he like a hacker-" Claire began. "So, are you going to the event?" I interrupted, wanting change the subject. "My partner and I will be disguised as partygoers."

When I gave her a confused glare, she sighed. "You know," she said. "I'll be a Sorority girl and my partner will be a Fraternity boy." "Oh," I said. "By the way, who is your partner?"

Instead of answering my question, Claire insisted that I should get ready and meet her at the party. "See you," I said. She gave me a nod then left the doorway.

After I took a long shower, I put on my evening  clothes and walked back to my dorm. There, I unplugged my charged phone and dialed Seth's number. It rang for about a couple of minutes until someone picked it up.

"Hey," Seth greeted. "Were you going to ask me on a date?" "In your dreams," I snorted. "I heard about Ben's situation," he said. "What do you want me to do?" "Can you give me some school records on Ace, Marie, and Michael?" I asked.

"Sure," he answered. I heard some typing and sounds. Seth must be on the computer. "For Ace," Seth began. "It says that the douchbag has been kicked out of many schools." "How come?" I asked. "Bribing nerds to do his SATs, quizzes, and homework," Seth answered.

"And get this, Ace has been cut out of the football team because of his academic suspension." I got a pen then jot down everything on my small notebook.

"What about Michael?" I suggested. "Ace told me that he was a nerd until he joined the Fraternity." "That's true," Seth began. "Except last week, the guy reported abuse from the coach."

Abuse? I wondered. "Yeah," Seth responded. "Michael claims that the coach has been treating them like animals. No water breaks, bathroom breaks, and the worst part, the coach has been upgrading them with steriods."

"Whoa," I breathed. "Yeah," Seth agreed. "Coach Anger Issues has been taking his players to the next level." I wrote Coach under Suspect then asked him about Marie. "Marie has been on the Principal's List since she was in diapers."

"Is there any dirt on Princess Know-it-all?" I asked with a sigh. "Nope," Seth answered. "I'll keep looking until then, be careful Beyoncé." As soon as he hung up the phone, Rebecca showed up with a makeup, a pink party dress, and heels.

"Hey Cole," she greeted. Her smile evaporated when she saw my outfit. "Seriously?" Rebecca whined. "You need some cuter outfits rather than that." She pointed her manicured nail at my outfit then scowled.

"I rather wear these clothes than look like the Tooth Fairy." I retorted. But Rebecca wouldn't stand my excuse. She tossed a blue mini dress to my direction. It was a strapless dress with a touch of cotton.

"As soon as you try it on," Rebecca promised. "I will give you a makeover." I reluctantly took off my clothes and wore the dress. Much to my surprise, it felt comfortable on my skin. Rebecca gathered her supplies and sat on my bed.

"Come on, Wonder Woman." Rebecca said. I took a seat on my bed then closed my eyes. A couple of minutes have passed as I opened my eyes then glanced at Rebecca. "Wow," she breathed. "You look pretty." When I gave her a look, she got up on her feet. "You'll see," she beamed.

After putting on my sneakers, I grabbed my knapsack then took my key card and phone. "Come on, Cole." Rebecca said, waiting by the door. "Let's go." "I'm coming," I said sharply, stuffing my card and phone into my knapsack. As soon as I got everything in my bag, Rebecca opened the door and I closed it behind her.