Chloe nodded, her mouth dry. She’d rushed Psi Delta for the alumni connections, not for guerrilla capture-the-flag across seven acres of manicured lawns, frat basements, and one very suspicious hedge maze. But the “Sorority Wars” was tradition—a brutal, semi-legal obstacle course where the only real prize was bragging rights. And the flag: a silk banner of deep purple, embroidered with the Theta Tau owl.
“I know where I’m going,” Chloe lied.
She did the only thing she could. She tied the flag around her waist like a cape, climbed onto the sill, and jumped into the hedge maze below.
Lena shrugged. “Because you looked nervous at the pancake breakfast last week. You’re not a soldier. You’re a student who just wanted friends. I respect that.” She paused. “Also, I hate a boring victory.” Sorority Wars
She grabbed it. A motion sensor beeped. The attic door locked behind her.
Lena stepped closer. “No, you don’t. Because Sarah is my little cousin. And she’s been feeding your team fake intel for the last hour. The flag never left our attic.”
Chloe looked out the tiny attic window. The ground was a three-story drop. Below, the war raged on—sisters screaming, slime flying, dignity evaporating. Chloe nodded, her mouth dry
“Not bad, yellowbird,” she said. “Next year, I’m recruiting you.”
“You’re lost, yellowbird,” the Theta said. Her name tag read Lena. President.
Silence. Then chaos. Psi Deltas tackled Chloe in a muddy, slimy hug. Thetas threw their supersoakers to the ground in disbelief. And the flag: a silk banner of deep
Then she turned and vanished into the fog.
At Margot’s signal, the two dozen Psi Deltas scattered into the pre-dawn fog. Chloe was assigned to “Observation,” which turned out to be crouching behind a recycling bin near the Theta house, radio pressed to her ear.
Lena walked over, wiped a smear of slime from Chloe’s cheek, and smiled—the real smile, not the smirk.
Chloe Vance learned both rules in the same breath, ten minutes before the game began. She stood on the dewy lawn of Blackwood University’s Greek Row, shivering in a bright yellow jersey marked ROOKIE , while her new sorority sisters of Psi Delta stretched in perfect, terrifying synchronicity.