Chat Mates Again

four: me and the really pink house

~ Kim ~

I didn't know what to wear, so I settled with a black bodycon dress I brought with me, just in case I had events like this - which I never thought of, ever attending.

"What time is it?" I asked my ever reliable room mate, Britney, note the sarcasm.

She snorted, but was lying on the couch flipping pages of a gothic magazine.

"Why? Lover boy number 2 picking you up?" She eyed me once more, and I sent her a death glare.

"Britney, you should stop. I have a boyfriend, okay? This, talk of yours, is making me really uncomfortable."

She shrugged her shoulders, and went back to her magazine. Before I can protest and ask her for the time once more, there was a knock on the door.

I opened it only to see Tyler dressed up in a button down shirt, skinny jeans, and sneakers. His hair is fixed nicely, and I resisted the urge to ruffle it because it obviously took long for him to fix it.

"Wow, you, um, look... nice."

I rolled my eyes at him, as he was trying to avert his gaze from me, and failing at it.

"Why is it so hard for you to give me a compliment? Jeez Tyler, I thought we are friends."

"Right. Friends..."

He bit his lip, before ushering me out of the room.

We walked all the way out of the dorm building, and can I just say? These houses really stepped up. The houses were elaborately decorated, music was blasting, there were so many people, in short.

I saw the Alpha house standing tall, a lot of blondes were lining up from the outside, and a few other brunettes. Most of them wearing really skimpy pink dresses. Like it was a scene taken directly from Mean Girls.

"Well, my black dress definitely look out of place there."

Tyler grinned, and ruffled my hair.

"Atleast you stand out."

The Beta house is directly opposite the Alpha house. I can see why. It's exactly what Nicole said - the two houses are the ones really socializing with each other. The other houses seem to be focused on their own house and the rest of the houses, whereas the two biggest and stand-out houses are mingling with each other.

I was just looking at the interaction of the two houses, when a tall figure suddenly blocked my view.

"Hi Kim! I am so glad you can make it. Here." Jennifer hands me a champagne glass - yes, it's pink too. Rosé.

"Thanks."

"So, what do you think of the house?"

"It's very... visible." For a lack of a better word. I mean, it really is. The size, the color - it's pink, and it's.. the size.

"I will take that as a compliment. A lot of girls really want to get in this house, but only the ones with the invitation," she gestures to my pink envelope, "gets top priority. So you see, we don't hand these out just to anyone. Alpha sees something in you which is why we gave it to you."

"Um, thanks?"

Jen seems to be satisfied with that, and led me inside.

Upon reaching the insides of the house, I can't help but marvel at the size of it. It's like a palace, for Christ's sake! Thankfully, the inside is painted white, and not pink anymore.

There's a long staircase with gold railing that leads to the second floor, a living room with a huge flat screen TV, furnitures embellished like that of the Renaissance period. I'm not sure if these are antique, but it sure looked expensive. There was a large buffet table, with hors d'ouevres and rosé wine. And I heard, there are jacuzzis in every room, a private gym, pool, and a spa! Not to mention, a priority speed dial from all the fast food takeout deliveries in the state. Apparently some of the parents of the girls here have a lot of connections. So, basically, you can get anything and everything you want if you're a member. In additon, these girls are not only beautiful, and stinkin' rich, they have access to all the reviewers and sometimes, quiz questions in the school. Not sure if that's a good thing or if it's considered cheating, but I mean, that will help a lot.

"SO, you like the house?"

I diverted my attention to the lady with a gown so beautiful and long that it cascades down the staircase in a flowy fashion. Her dress is a V-cut, pink but the muted kind - the kind of pink that looks like it was the offspring of baby pink and gray. There are intricate flower patterns in the cascades of her dress. She has a cream white fur coat over her dress. And her hair, god, her hair is gorgeous. In braids with fake flowers, and gold beads. She looks like a true princess, if you know what I mean.

There were many affirmative responses, while I just stood there. Nicole really did know how to make the people stop and look at her.

"Anyway, you're all here because you got the special pass envelope. But there's a line outside, in case we decide that you're not really... dedicated and that you don't have the heart to be here."

There was a short pause, and I swear she looked at me. Well, maybe that's just my imagination, but on instinct, I played with the hems of my black dress, and looked at the others' pink ones.

"The first task is pretty easy though. Find someone from the beta house who you think is hot, smart, and well, amazing, and we'll... evaluate your choices. You may be wondering... how is this relevant? We are an independent house. True, but your connections matter. Those you make friends with, matter. And having the Alpha status in your hands, require you to make connections that are... mutually beneficial. Selecting an unpopular partner is basically social suicide. And we don't tolerate members having that kind of status here."

Okay, this is really shallow. I had to record everything and send it to Troy later. This is crap. But for some reason, I wanted it. High school was never popular season for me, and this house can be a chance for me to be... known.

Well, I have a person in mind already - Tyler, so this should be a piece of cake.

"We, in the Alpha house, pride ourselves for having a good eye. We selected you out of all the new girls in school. Don't fail us. You have 60 minutes to bring a partner back here, and he should have three things: the looks, the status, the wealth. Newbies from that house are strictly not allowed."

Crap. So much for Tyler. Now what? I'm not really the conversationalist type.

"The Beta boys are all aware of this task, so just a warning. They prepared for it. And when I mean by prepared, they're going to play really hard to get."

Dear lord.