Page 19 of Pucking Bad Boys

“That’s because you don’t have the kind of resourceful thinking the new Zeta president should have. You don’t think outside the box.”

The triumphant look on Gen’s face makes me want to slap her. And if I know my best friend as well as I think I do, she feels the same way. I nudge her foot with mine under the table to signal to her to stay calm.

“And what would your genius solution be then, Gen? Enlighten us,” Sam challenges her.

The smile on Genevieve’s face widens. “My plan is to leave the decision on who should live in the house to fate. It’s only fair. We’ll put everyone’s names in a hat, sophomores included, and draw names.”

Sam opens her mouth to object, but Gen beats her to whatever my BFF was going to say.

“That of course excludes the president and the sisters who are in office, like Madison, or sisters who will be elected to office in the coming days. If anyone gets picked in the raffle and then gets elected to one of the main governing positions, we can make another room available.”

Sam doesn’t give up. “That’s fair. But that still leaves a big number of people homeless. Especially since you aren’t planning on pairing people up.”

“If you let me finish without interrupting me every two seconds with your incessant chirping, I was getting to it,” Gen snaps. “If they don’t get a room in the house, the people who paid for a dorm room will be offered a room in one of the apartments in Daddy’s new complex for the same price of the refund that should be hitting your bank accounts next week.”

The news is welcomed with pleased murmurs.

Sam’s face falls, and I hate the satisfied smirk on Gen’s face. So I decide to come to her aid.

“That’s great, Gen.” I start, cautious not to sound like I’m criticizing her. “But what about all the other people who didn’t apply for a dorm room because they counted on living in this house? With your plan, there’s still going to be a number of sisters without a place to stay.”

“Excellent question, Talia,” Gen beams. “But not to fear. Anyone who doesn’t get a place in the house and doesn’t have any alternative plans for their living arrangements will be offered a room in Daddy’s apartment complex at a heavily discounted rate. There are several two, three, and one-bedroomapartments. So you can even choose not to have a roommate if that’s what you prefer. Besides, the complex is the epitome of luxury. Every apartment has a private deck with a hot tub. Every room is en-suite, and all the furnishings and appliances are top of the range. There’s a communal pool, a clubhouse with a game room, a conference room, and a function room. And to top it all off, there’s a spa and valet parking in a private garage. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

I hate to admit it, but that sounds nice.

I’m pretty sure, however, that the “heavily discounted rate” Gen is talking about is going to be a lot more than I can afford.

Living in the Zeta house would only cost a small increase in my membership fee. The housing benefit is why I didn’t deactivate my membership despite the fact that I’ve never been so broke in my life.

If I don’t get a room in the house, my only option would be to move back in with my parents. It would have been fine when they lived in our family home. But spending my senior year crashing on the couch of their new apartment is my very last resort.

I adore my siblings, but my three brothers who still live at home are a constant source of noise and turmoil. There would be no chance of getting any studying done in that environment.

Of course there are libraries on campus, but that’s beside the point. I need a quiet, private space to study. If I have to live at home, my senior year is going to be hell on earth.

Madison closes the presidential speeches and directs us to the living room where the caterers have set out a mouthwatering buffet.

Sam grabs a plate and flanks me as we peruse the choices. “That was a total shitshow. And I have no one to blame but myself for it. Even if Gen got the heads up about the dorm disaster before me, I should have predicted that we would havemore eligible applicants than rooms in the house. It wasn’t a secret that this year there are more juniors and seniors than in previous years.” She whispers. “There’s no way anyone is gonna vote for me when Gen had everything already figured out. I might as well drop out of the election now and save my dignity.”

I put a couple of pigs in blankets and mini quiches on my plate. “I think Gen would love to run unopposed. But babes, I wouldn’t count yourself out yet.” I point out some of the other seniors who are grouped in small clusters as they eat dinner and talk. “Gen hasn’t only been a bitch to us in the three years we went to school together. I’m sure there are a lot of sisters who don’t want her as their president.”

“Do you really think so?” She torments her bottom lip with her teeth.

“I know so.” I reassure her. “All you have to do is talk to the sisters and make sure you remind them who we’re dealing with. Do they really want to be controlled by Bitchy Barbie?”

My dig at Gen causes Sam to snort. “Shut up, you’re gonna make me choke.”

“I mean it, Sam. Besides, did you hear her plans? She wants to increase the membership fee and make it so that the next rush class is a bunch of clones of herself. I much prefer your idea of inclusion, and I bet I’m not the only one. Come on, let’s go do the rounds. I’ll help you talk to everyone. We aren’t going to hand our sorority to Gen without a fight.”

“You’re just helping me because you want to live in the presidential suite this year. Admit it.” She giggles.

I offer her a dramatic eye roll. “You got me.”

The rest of the evening is a disaster.

My prediction that Genevieve isn’t loved by most of the sisters isn’t entirely wrong, but it’s amazing what the promise of a nice living accommodation can do to sway someone’s vote.

Literally every sister we speak to tells us that while they love Sam’s agenda, they love not having to share a room more.