It’s not long after I drop everyone at the parking lot that I get a call from Marcela. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“You can only imagine.” I grumble.
“I feel for you. Anyway, I think Eva needs a ride. She’s a little too drunk.” Marcela’s voice is music to my ears. I twirl a string of my hair as I bask in the melody.
“Okay, I’m right outside the parking lot. I can’t really get in the same way since they blocked it off.”
“I’ll bring her to you.”
It doesn’t take long before Marcela has Eva’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as she stumbles over to where I’m parked. I help her get Eva into the van. “How’s everything going?”
“Great, I met Kennedy’s siblings. They’re just like her!”
“Ha, I can only imagine.” I laugh.
“By the way, Cat’s a little tipsy.”
“Now that I can imagine. Call me if she gets too drunk.”
“Will do, drive safe.” She leans in a little closer. Before she can pull back, I plant a kiss on those sweet lips of hers. Her face turns as deep a color as the maroon on her shirt.
“Alright, I should get Eva back,” I say playfully.
“Right, and I should get back to Kennedy and Cat.” She starts to walk away, slowly in an attempt to add a few more seconds together.
I hop into the van and take off back to the house. Eva’s snoring as she’s completely passed out in the van. I manage to get back to the house just in time to get her out of the van before she pukes all over the side of it. I barely get her inside and up to her room before she throws up again, in a garbage can. I manage to get her in bed before I get a call.
“Hey, Sarah. Where are you? We need a ride,” Solette says.
“K, I just dropped Eva off, I’ll be right there.”
I hope back into the van and head back to the tailgate to find Lauren, Solette, Maly, and Usha waiting. They pile in. “God, it smells like something nasty.” Solette covers her face with the neck of her shirt.
“Yeah, Eva puked all over the side of the van. At least it was on the outside.” I shrug, figuring this is just the beginning. It’s possible any number of people will puke by the end of the night.
“That’s gross,” Lauren says as I take off. I get on the road and head back to the house.
“You’ve been on your phone all day. Who are you texting?” Solette asks Maly.
“It’s nothing,” Maly states.
“It’s obviously not nothing,” Solette asserts.
“Okay, it’s a boy I met online. He’s super cute and really nice,” she explains quickly.
“Oh snap. When will I get to meet this boy?” Solette asks.
“I don’t know. He might come up for Halloween, he says he’s got family that goes here.”
“Oh. nice. Wait, he’s not from here?” Lauren asks.
“No, he goes to a college downstate.”
“Damn, why are you dating a boy that’s so far away when there are so many good available men here?” Lauren asks.
Throughout the entire car ride, Usha doesn’t say a word. It’s like she’s not even there. Whatever’s going on in her life must really be taking a toll on her.
I see that Fionna and Vishay are here as I pull up, and the girls get out. Then I get another call from Salenna to come to get her, Kathleen, and Vertasha. After that, I have to haul a bunch of alumni back. I see Cat, Marcela, Kennedy, and her siblings have just pulled in as I drop the alumni off.
I get a moment of peace as the party at the house picks up. I manage to slip inside and find Marcela with Kennedy.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” she smiles.
“How’s everything going?” I ask.
“Pretty hectic so far,” she laughs.
“Yeah, I know right? Eva threw up all over the outside of the car. I’m probably going to have to clean that up, aren’t I?” I complain.
She nods. “Don’t forget we’ll be the ones cleaning up the house after they’re done destroying it tomorrow morning.”
“Urgh. don’t remind me.” The house is already trashed. I can't imagine the final outcome after dozens of drunk women pass through the house.
“Aww, look at you two love birds,” Cat stumbles over and slings her arms over our shoulders. She gives us a kissy face. “You two kiss yet?”
“Cat come on. Let’s leave the kids alone,” Kennedy gently caresses Cat’s cheek. “By the way, beer pong in the back. I need you to take on my siblings.”
“I’m on it!” Cat dashes away after giving her a salute.
As the afternoon slides into the evening, the alumni and some of the older players all decide to go to the bars. I end up giving the alumni a ride before arriving back at the house. Cat, Kennedy, her siblings, and Marcela are all outside as a pull up.
“You’ve been a good little, Marcela, but I have no further use of your services for the rest of the night,” Kennedy says as she puts her hand on Marcela’s head. “Mostly, because you can’t come into the bars with us. But now you can spend some time with your lover.”
She tries to whisper that last part, but everyone can hear her. Marcela’s face lights up in a blush as she gets into the front seat. “Need some company?” she asks me.
“I would love some.” Finally, some time with Marcella. I just wish the van still didn’t smell like puke.
They all pile in along with Fionna, Lauren, and Solette. After I drop them off at the bars, it’s just Marcela and me, alone in the van.
“So? How’s your first homecoming experience?” I inquire.
“Such a blast,” she says rather flatly.
“I know, right? At least so far, I’ve only had one person throw up.”
“The night’s still young.”
“True, I probably just jinxed myself.”
She slides her hand into mine as we just sit there. A smile sneaks on my face as I just enjoy the moment. A while goes by before either of us say a word. Finally, Marcela speaks up. “You look really good today.”
“Thanks. You do too.” But I think she looks good everyday for over four years.
Her face lights up. “So…”
Before she can even complete her sentence, I lean over and pull her into a kiss. God, I’ve been wanting to do this all day. Her hand sends tingles through my skin as it brushes up against my face. Her lips are as soft as silk.
Suddenly we’re jarred out of our moment when the sliding door to the van opens up and some random dude gets in. “Can I get a ride to the Casino?”
“Uhhh. no,” I announce.
“What? Why not? I’ve got money.”
“Do we look like a taxi service?”
“Uhh, yeah, you kind of do. Isn’t this Chippewa Cab Service?” he asks completely oblivious.
“No, get the fuck out!” I shout.
“Jeez, you don’t have to be a bitch about it,” he grumbles as he gets out. “I’m giving you guys a bad review.”
Marcela and I look at each other and instantly crack up. Neither of us can get a grip. Then my phone goes off and it’s Cassie. “Hello?” I respond hesitantly. I can’t imagine why she would be calling me right now.
“Hey, ummm, I just wanted to let you know that one of your teammates is here at my sorority, and she’s a bit wasted. She’s crying, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Okay, I’ll be right over. Do you know who it is?” I ask.
“Her name is Usha,” she replies.
“Okay, I’ll be right there. Where’s your sorority at again?”
“It’s the last house on main. It’s on the left,” she explains.
“Okay, thank you for letting me know. I’ll be right there.”
Just then, Marcela’s phone goes off. It’s Kennedy.
“Yeah, definitely. Be right there,” she finishes.
“So apparently Usha’s drunk at Cassie’s sorority crying.”
“What?” Marcela demands with deep concern.
“Yeah, that was Cassie. She just told me Usha’s there.”
“Well I just got off the phone with Kennedy and they're ready to leave.”
“Well, how about we grab them first since we’re already downtown and then grab Usha,” I suggest.
“Sounds good. So what the fuck is Danielle up to? I haven’t seen her all day.”
She shrugs. “Like I know.”
I turn the van on and head over to get Kennedy at the bar. Cat, Kennedy, and her siblings stumble out of the Bird and pile into the van. “To the house young padawans!” Cat declares.
“We just have to make a pit stop and pick up Usha,” I explain.
“Where the fuck is Danielle?” Kennedy repeats my question.
“Good question,” Marcela replies.
I take off from downtown and arrive just outside of the Sorority. Cassie greets us at the door. They’re having a huge party. “She’s up in my big’s room.”
“Thank you so much,” I say as Marcela, Cat, Kennedy, and I follow her upstairs. Kennedy’s siblings walk the rest of the way back to the house because it’s only three blocks away.
We find Usha sitting against the bed with her head buried in her arms. Marcela rushes to her and wraps her arm around her. “Usha, it’s me, Marcela. Are you okay?”
Usha looks up. “I’m sorry. I…I just. I don’t know. I should’ve gone home this weekend and…God, my dad needs me.” Her words are slurred and she looks emotionally destroyed.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay,” Marcela says soothingly, as she gently rubs her back.
“What happened?” Cassie asks me. I just shrug.
“How did she end up here?” I ask.
“Well, we were making out and then she just started crying. I…I thought I did something,” Cassie explains.
“I’m so sorry,” Usha says as she climbs to her feet. “We were having a good time, and I ruined it.”
“No, not at all. You’re fine,” Cassie assures her.
“She just found out her dad has developed pancreatic cancer,” Marcela says, catching all of us off guard.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone,” Usha cries.
“Usha, you have to talk about it. You can’t just keep bottling it up inside, or this happens.” Marcela waves her arm around, attempting to defuse Usha’s fears.
“I know,” she mumbles as more tears fall.
“Usha, I had no idea,” Kennedy steps in and pulls her into a hug. Cat joins and soon we’re all hugging her.
After the group hug breaks up Cassie takes Usha’s hand. “Hey, do you want to maybe grab some coffee tomorrow and talk about it?”
“Yes, I would love to,” Usha says. “Can we just please forget about this incident and start over?”
“We can, but I don’t think we should. Your dad means a lot to you, and I don’t want to forget that,” Cassie explains.
“Aww,” Cat says. “I like her.”
“Where’s Danielle?” Kennedy asks again. Clearly, angry that Usha’s little is nowhere to be seen.
Usha shrugs. “Who cares...”
“She’s your little, she’s supposed to be looking out for you,” Kennedy’s irritation growing thicker.
I laugh mockingly. “Danielle only looks out for herself.”
“Last I saw, she was at that Phi Sigma Phi frat.” Usha sighs.
“Fuck it, let’s go over there. I’m going to bitch her out,” Kennedy fumes.
“I want to see this.” Usha laughs.
“I think we all want to see this,” I add.
“Do you mind if I tag along?” Cassie asks.
“Yes, please,” Usha says as she wraps her arm around her. Cassie’s face instantly goes red.
We follow Kennedy out as she storms across the road and over to the Phi Sigma Phi house. It’s not hard to find Danielle. She’s grinding up on some random guy. Kennedy grabs her by the arm and pulls her outside. “What the fuck, Danielle?”
“What?” she wines.
“You’re supposed to be looking after your big,” Cat yells at her.
“She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself,” Danielle yells back.
“Are you drunk?” Kennedy demands.
“What does it matter? I’m not going to follow your stupid rules.” Danielle foolishly snaps at us.
“You are such a selfish bitch,” Cat shouts.
“We have those rules in place for the good of the team. Clearly, you don’t give a shit about the team.” Kennedy growls.
“Salenne?” Marcela screams as she bolts over to the side of the house. I look over to see Salenne passed out on the ground. What the hell?
Marcela pulls her up in her lap. It looks like she was just dumped there. “Salenne. Are you okay?”
“Get off…” She mumbles. Her eyes flutter open, but not all the way. They’re glazed over.
Marcela looks up at Kennedy. “She looks like she’s been drugged or something. We should take her to a hospital.”
“But she’s not twenty-one. If we take her to a hospital, she’ll get a minor in possession ticket and can get suspended from the team,” Cat explains in a panic.
Kennedy crouches down and takes a better look at her. “She definitely doesn’t look right. I agree with Marcela, it’s better to take caution. I know what we can do. Let’s call Melina. She’ll know what to do.” Kennedy pulls out her phone and calls Melina.
“Hey guys, have you seen Salenna? We’ve been looking for her everywhere,” Vertasha yells as she and Kathleen walk toward us.
“Yes, we found her passed out on the side of this house. We think she’s been drugged,” Cat says.
“What? Oh my God.” Vertasha pushes past Cat and slumps down by her. “Salenne. Are you okay?”
She just mumbles incoherently. I hear Kennedy on the phone with Coach. After she hangs up, she turns to the rest of us. “Sarah, pull the van over here. Everyone else, help us get her in. We need to go pick Melina up from the bar.”
I rush to get the van and pull it over while the rest of the team helps carry Salenna over, everyone but Danielle, of course. “Marcela and Cat, you’re coming with me and Sarah. The rest of you head back to the house, and we’ll keep you informed. Take that idiot Danielle with you, we will deal with her later.”
“I have to go with her. She’s my best friend,” Vertasha insists.
“Fine, Vertasha get in, the rest of you head back to the house.” Kennedy sighs.
As they pile into the van, I take off to the bar. Melina’s waiting outside, and she gets into the van. “What the hell happened?” Melina asks as she gets in the van.
“We don’t know. We found Salenne passed out on the side of the house. We think she’s been drugged or something,” Kennedy tells her.
“Who here is sober?” Melina asks.
“Only Marcela and Sarah,” Kennedy answers.
“Sarah, take us to my apartment real fast.” Melina gives me directions. As we pull up, she gives Marcela the keys to her car. “Marcela, follow us to the hospital.”
She nods and takes the keys before getting into Melina’s car. We drive to the hospital as Melina gets on the phone. She sounds like she’s talking to her girlfriend. After she hangs up, she makes another call. She leaves a message on Coach Clayton’s voicemail.
We pull up to the hospital, a woman in a white lab coat is waiting along with a nurse and a wheelchair. After I put it in park, Melina and Kennedy carry Salenne out and put her in the wheelchair then the nurse wheels her in.
“Thanks, babe. Just try to be discrete. She’s under twenty-one, and I can’t have my player getting a MIP,” Melina says to her girlfriend, the doctor. “We think she’s been drugged.”
“Melina, you can’t ask me to break protocol. But I’ll take care of her,” she says.
“Thanks, Ella,” she says as she leans in and kisses her. Then Ella rushes back into the hospital.
Melina turns back to the rest of us. “Sarah, take everyone home. Marcela, I need you to stay here with me.”
“Yes, Coach,” Marcela says.
“Melina, I’m staying,” Kennedy insists. “I’m the team captain.”
“Me too! Salenna is my best friend,” Vertasha says.
“No. Both of you need to go and get the rest of the team taken care of. Make sure everyone else is safe. Okay?” she pleads.
“Fine,” Kennedy says.
Marcela and I exchange glances. “Come on, Sarah. Let’s go,” Cat says.
We all pile back into the van and take off.