CHAPTER ONE:
The sounds of alarm blared in the tiny space. Clothes were strewn across the floors and chairs and books laid open on the huge blanket in the middle of the room.
Underneath the blanket, a blonde mess of hair peaked through. The sounds of alarm and noisy horns of buses finally caused the body underneath the blanket to stir.
With an annoyed grunt, Emily pulled away the comforter and grabbed her phone to turn off the alarm. Taking a peak at the time, she jumped up.
"Oh my God," She dropped her phone and ran towards the closet to get dressed before brushing her teeth and hair. She quickly forced her sandals to her feet before packing up her books and throwing them into her little peach colored bag.
Without looking back, she ran out of the room and proceeded down the campus to her exam room.
Emily couldn't afford to be late today. It was her final exam as a college student. She had always dreamt of how it was going to be like when she finally finished college and her dreams weren't far away anymore.
She rushed through the streets as fast as she could. Emily maneuvered her way into the huge building her exam was going to hold.
She reached the second floor and walked as fast as she could in order to go past the doors before it closed and she finally entered just at the nick of time.
Breathing heavily, she sat at the corner close to the windows and prepared her materials ready for the exam. She had been up all night reading and had missed her first alarm. Emily took a deep breath before thanking God she had taken track running classes in high school.
"Hey, Em." The cheerful voice of her friend, Jennifer, drew her attention back as she turned and gave her a huge smile.
"Hi baby." Emily said before giving her a hug.
Jennifer sat down next to her then giggled, "stop calling me that."
"Never."
"All right, enough chit chat, everyone." Their professor said as he stood at the end of the class and arranged their papers. "Time for your papers."
Every student in the room shuffled around as they kept any implicating materials in their bags before dropping it.
"Good luck." Emily and Jennifer said to each other.
—————————-
"Ugh, I was so sure of my answer." Jennifer spoke with a frustrated tone.
They had finished the exams already and both girls walked towards their hostel as Jennifer looked through the internet inorder to confirm her answers.
Before Emily could say a word, she heard a tiny familiar voice call out her name.
It was Remi.
"Oh Hi." Emily replied with a huge fake smile.
Remi walked up to her as her minions followed close behind.
"Emily, we're having a party this weekend. And I'm inviting you." Remi said with a huge smile as she flicked her hair.
This time, Emily gave the girls a genuine smile. "For real?"
"Of course. I mean why not? You're part of us now." She said before walking away with Abigail, Zoey and Ava walking next to her.
"Don't tell me you're still obsessed with those doll heads." Jennifer said while rolling her eyes.
Emily jumped out of excitement as she turned towards her friend. "I am beyond excited, Jen and you should too."
"Err no, I'm not blonde and dumb." She said as she continued walking.
"Ugh be for real. Those girls are the classiest on campus. They literally have connections in the real world that I would need as a career woman after convocation. I'm building my life here, you know. I don't care if I'm called a dumb blonde, I need to be amongst them."
Jennifer paused. "No, you don't need to be among a clique with the name 'Blond-ist' to get exposed to the real world, Em. You need to get rid of this sick obsession and admiration you have with those girls. You're a grown woman."
"Hey!" Emily said, trying not to be offended.
She was used to Jennifer lectures and this time she couldn't care less. Her hard work was finally paying off and hearing Remi call her one of them gladdened her.
Emily had always wanted to be part of Remi's clique. Remi dad was a rich attorney and offered opportunities one would only dream of having and she needed this. She knew Jennifer could never understand her reason so she had not bothered explaining.
Emily and Jennifer walked quietly this time as they approached their hostel building.
———————
It was currently past 8pm. The cold night air caused Emily to shiver. She had no idea why a celebration party was happening in the night.
Her green dress did little to cover skin. It was the night of the party Remi had invited her to and she was ecstatic. Apparently, it was a finalist party and everyone was going to be there.
Emily gently held her crotch as she approached the towering building and walked inside. The sounds of blaring music filled the air and dancing bodies occupied the floor.
Emily greeted some people she knew as she maneuvered her way to a corner inorder to get a drink and boost her mood.
She saw Abigail walk towards her with a smile. "Hi."
Emily gave a smile. "Come on." She heard Abigail say before turning around and walking up the stairs.
Emily followed without a word as she reached the room they all sat in.
She saw the girls drinking and discussing. They all paused to welcome Emily and handed her a drink.
She was beyond happy. Her ticket to a better life was finally in her arms. She grabbed the drink and greeted them before sitting.
It was now 11pm and Emily could not deny it. She was having a good time. They all laughed and danced till their feet hurt and drank. She had a feeling of immense joy and satisfaction. She finally got what she wanted.
They all sat down, sipping their drink. One of the girls, Ava, had said she had an announcement earlier on and apparently, it was time for this announcement.
"So. We finally have a new member, Emily." Ava spoke with slurred words as the other girls cheered. Emily gave a big smile.
"But, Emily, we have a tradition, Before you can finally become one of us." She finally said with a smirk.
Emily knew every group had a secret sick tradition they did before officially welcoming a new person. It was a dumb high school kind of thing.
She knew she was not backing down. She had done a lot to reach this point and a sick game wasn't going to sway her.
Before even hearing what the girls had to say, with a loud laugh, she said.. "Well, I'm in!"