alumni ➢ luke hemmings [DISCONTINUED]

0.9 ➢ Another Party.

"You need to sleep more," I state in bewilderment, watching a very exhausted looking Michael slide into the booth in front of me. He just groans, removing the hat from his head before ruffling his brightly coloured hair, "You look awful. I mean, no offence-"

"Honestly, none taken," he sighs, dragging the skin of his cheek down with his hand. He looks nothing short of terrible and I feel bad for him- like I said, sometimes he works so hard for his frat that he completely forgets about other things; taking care of himself included. "Whatcha been up to?"

"Nothing much. I filled out my application form yesterday," I say, a half-hearted smile on my face. His eyebrows raise.

"Oh?"

"Mhm,"

"Which sorority did you apply for?" he questions me.

"Is that even a question?" I say jokingly, though there's a sad edge to my voice that I'm hoping he can't hear. And I'm fortunate, because by the way his face lights up, I can tell my disappointment has gone unnoticed, "I went for Delta in the end,"

"Soph, that's great!" he says, leaning his elbows against the table, "This means you can start initiation! Unless Bethany lets you off, which she probably will anywa-"

"Woah, woah, wait," I stop him hastily, "Initiation?"

"Uh, yeah," Michael states, his voice bored as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"You know, to pledge yourself to the house. My freshmen have to do it, and so do all the other rushies,"

I groan, "Great. Just when I thought it was all over,"

"Oh, Soph. It's never over,"

Drumming my fingers against the table, I raise an eyebrow at him, allowing his words to semi-sink in, "What do I have to do?"

To my surprise, Michael shrugs. I have no idea why I'm so convinced that he knows everything I don't; just because I'm clueless doesn't mean everybody else around me isn't.

"Bethany's the house mother, so she decides. Every sorority and frat's different, it just depends on what the house stands for," Michael informs me, "Sigma's all about music, and having fun. So the initiation tasks I need to set out should be centred around music, and having fun," he taps his chin, looking far off into the distance, "Zeta's the same. They're our sister frat, after all,"

"Any idea what I'll have to do?" I ask him, hopeful in a sense. The only thing I've heard about Delta is that it values honesty— anything else has been completely wiped from my brain.

He just shrugs, "No, sorry, Soph. Bethany's the only one to plan it for Delta, and house mothers and fathers don't usually go around telling people what they have going on. It's kept on the down low usually to help judge your loyalty to the house,"

"It's like a cult," I bury my head in my hands, already feeling my fingers beginning to grow cold at the idea of dragging this on. The whole thought of joining a sorority didn't seem so daunting before, but now it's nothing but.

"Welcome to college." Michael jokes, a small chuckle leaving his lips. I find myself envying the careless approach he has towards it all, whereas I can't seem to catch a break myself.

We're in the coffee shop, the same exact one I've been spending my past week residing in. If there's anything I've learned about NYU, it's that there's no peace to be found anywhere- every single place is busy and packed and buzzing with life. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but still; it'd be nice to have some alone time every now and again.