Secret Society

The Knights

Back in my room I was grateful my inheritance paid for a single. I didn't have to explain my red eyes and puffy face to anyone. I washed my face and changed into a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt with fuzzy socks on my feet. I pulled my computer into my lap and opened google. I tried typing in various things to see if I could understand what this envelope was about. Knights. Knights and Mainstead University. Kn1ghts. No significantly different things came up, so I sat there staring at the screen trying to figure out what to do next. I got up and pulled the card out of my bag. I tried to decipher any meaning out of the single silver embossed word. Why were the N and S backwards? I got out a notebook and started trying to rearrange the letters. That tactic got me nowhere. I wrote out the three letters that were wrong. N1S. Wait. Backwards that spelled sin. I tried typing sin knights and knights sin into the search bar and both of the pages were blank. I refreshed the page thinking maybe there was a glitch in the system. Nothing. I put everything away and decided it was time to sleep.

* * * * * * * * *A WEEK LATER* * * * * * * * * * * *

There had been no more freak hot boy sightings or run ins in a week. Sadie and Kamille were treating me like patient 0. The first couple of days I tried to save them seats in the classes we had together, but soon learned that they had no interest in sitting with me. I still hadn't figured out what happened between us. I threw on my favorite Captain America shirt and pulled on a faded pair of jeans and my grey converse. I checked my email on my phone before leaving for class. I was glad I did because my Econ class was moved to a different building today. I always left for class 45 minutes early so I could stop for my daily caffeine fix. I walked into my favorite coffee with a latte already on the counter for me. The shop was mostly empty except for a group of guys sitting in the back corner. They were hunched over the table and whispering so I didn't pay them much attention. I grabbed my cup and leaned over the counter.
"Thanks Jeff!" I yelled so that he could hear me wherever he was. I skipped out the door and headed towards Statler Hall where the email said class was today. I rechecked the email to see which room I was supposed to go to. B60. I didn't know there were lecture rooms in the basement. I found the stairs to the basement in the back of building. I heard some footsteps and voices on my way down the stairs but couldn't place where they were coming from. I reached the door the room B60 and grabbed the handle. There was loud noise to my left and I snapped my neck around in that direction. I shook off my goosebumps and opened the door. It was dark in the room, which struck me as odd. Maybe I'm the first one here. I felt along the wall for a switch but couldn't find one. I felt a nudge on my back and stumbled forward, the door closing behind me. My heart started racing and I clutched at my chest, my breaths coming in pants. A match was struck and the room lit up with a soft glow. There were four people in hoods standing in front of me. My breaths were coming even faster. I scrambled backwards to try and get to the door but was met with a hard body. I whipped around and found another person in a hood. I sucked in a breath and stumbled back almost falling in my butt. The person I was facing flinched like they wanted to reach out for me and I held up a hand to stop them from coming closer.
"What... THE HELL... is going... on." I was struggling to breath, my lungs trying to keep up with my racing pulse. I turned back to the four figures standing with the candles. One of them stepped forward.
"We're not going to hurt you Tasha."
"Yeah the luring me down to an abandoned basement, in the dark, instills me with great confidence in that statement."
"Sorry about that. We've never inducted a girl before. We didn't really think this through..."
"You think?!" I snarled at them. My heart wasn't beating so fast anymore, and I could breath again. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the guy who had been talking.
"Well, uhm, you've been chosen to join the Knights. We are a society of the top achievers and insanely talented individuals of this campus."
"What, there are only five of you?" My anxiousness was affecting my mood.
"We are the current active chapter. There are alums, of course, but we represent the best and brightest of the current population." I had always struggled with my self-image, so I didn't really understand what I was doing there. The guy picked up on my thoughts.
"Tasha. You are the at the top of your class. You have shown exceptional language, self-defense, and problem-solving skills. Chapters of the society generally are made of even numbers. You were the best fit for our team." I was reeling a little from all the compliments being thrown at me. There's no way they are talking about me. All of the guys still had the hoods covering their faces, so I wasn't quite sure who I was talking to.
"Do I get to know who you are at least? Or am I the only one that has to be ignorant?"
"Does this mean you are accepting our invitation?" I thought for a second. Did I really want this? I was seriously lacking in social contact lately, and I thought it could be a fun adventure.
"Yes."

There was a still moment in the room and I thought maybe they really were going to murder me. All at once, the guys reached up and pushed the hoods back. My breath caught in throat as I took in the faces around me. Holy hotness. I recognized each of the guys from different encounters last week.

"Flash?" I asked incredulously to the gorgeous blonde to the left. He scrunched his eyebrows at me. The one who had been talking was the scrumptious brunette that had grabbed me after class. He looked back at the other guys then back at me.

"Do you recognize us?"

"Yeah. I tried to break your wrist, he sat next to me in class one day, he creeped on me in an elevator, and I almost tackled him twice and saw him in the library." I pointed to each of the guys from right to left, completely forgetting about the one behind me. I felt him step up behind me and I turned to face him. My neck snapped left and right trying to figure out what I was seeing.

"Actually..." He looked down at my shirt, "Cap. You saw me in the library." He walked around me and joined the other guys, forming an incredibly sexy line of boys.

"Well I guess introductions are in order then. I'm Tyler. That's Braedon, Jax, Cole, and Hunter. Same order." He smiled, and I nearly melted right there.

"I'm Tasha. But all of you knew that already." I flashed a nervous smile, very self-conscious all of a sudden. Tyler started striding towards me and I stepped back a little still slightly paranoid. he grimaced and moved past me.

"Just turning on the light fiore(flower)."

"I'm not a flower." I said rolling my eyes as he flipped the switch for the room, flooding it with light. I had a MUCH better view of the specimens before me. I pulled on a few locks of my hair trying to hide my face. Tyler moved back into the line and this time Jax stepped forward. He brushed his hair out of his eyes before speaking.

"Now that your sexy, little ass is essentially pledging, I have to cover a few rules. There will be four trials to make sure your the real deal. The first three are chosen by us hunks. The fourth one is established by the council, or slumni, and those jackasses won't tell us what it is. The rest of the stuff doesn't really apply to you considering you have luscious curves that we don't. Most of it has to do with relationships and stuff. I guess that's about it."

"That's it? Really?" Braedon put his hand on Jax's shoulder and pulled him back while he stepped forward.

"That's basically it. A few other things you should know: we don't normally socialize outside of meetings and private time, but I don't think that will apply to you either." I gave him a puzzled look. "We are all pretty prominent on campus. I'm a brother in Kappa Chi Zeta, Jax is a well known mucisian and the self-appointed badass of campus, Tyler is the student council president, Cole is the quarterback and Hunter is the main pitcher on the baseball team and nearly everyone thinks they are the same person." I just stared at the five of them, not quite sure what to say or ask. My thought were racing, still trying to figure out what I was doing here. The longer I stood there, the more the boys fidgeted. Tyler was shifting from foot to foot like he needed to be moving around. Jax ran his hands through his hair every few seconds. Braedon's shoulder kept twitching like he was forcing himself to keep still. Cole and Hunter kept leaning forward to look at each other. I finally got the nerve to speak up,

"So what now?" Hunter spoke up this time.

"Now you get your first assignment."