Sisters in Love and Trust Ch. 03A

Daphne was shocked to hear this. "You guys only pick new girls once a year?" Jaclyn nodded.

"Yeah. Our pledge process is very long, and intensive. If we did it twice a year, we'd burn ourselves out. Plus, that way our new girls can focus on being part of our chapter, instead of helping then next class along."

The ice now broken between them, Daphne and Jaclyn were actually getting along better. Still, both felt they would not be a good fit as Big and Little. Neither held this back from the other, but both were glad to see they could still get along otherwise.

Jaclyn did offer to help Daphne with her classes still. Daphne agreed to that, she felt that times would come she might need it. After a good half hour the two parted ways. Jaclyn's next class was coming up and Daphne had to get an essay finished for her class later this afternoon. Both were in much better spirits with the other than when they first started talking.

Susan:

It was after her second class, near noon, when Susan met with her potential Big. Krystin bumped into Susan as both were leaving Hagert, the Arts and Media building.

"Mind chatting a bit with me?" Krystin asked.

Susan shook her head and set her bag down on one of the hallway study tables. Krystin did so as well and repeated the schpeil about why she wanted to talk to Susan that the other girls had heard.

"The reason they thought I'd be good for you is that you and I are closer in age. Both of us came to school later than most other people do."

Susan nodded hearing this. One of her biggest problems still on campus was that she was older than most other students.

"How old are you?" Susan asked. Krystin already knew how old Susan was.

"I'm thirty-one." Krystin said.

"What made you start so late?" Susan asked.

"I had a lot of personal issues. My family wasn't very well off, so college looked like a longshot. I worked a few jobs trying to save up. Unfortunately, I also got involved with a guy from one of my jobs and we ended up getting hitched. It was a very bad marriage, and we divorced after two years."

Susan could see a pained look on Krystin's face as she told her this. Susan knew that look, and had a feeling Krystin's marriage had not been safe.

"I know that feeling well. My parents divorced right before I finished high school. My dad wound up in jail for domestic abuse, plus the medical expenses and all my mom racked up for me prevented me from coming to school. Even after that, I wasn't comfortable being so far from home. Eventually my mom persuaded me to go to college."

Krystin looked with sad eyes at Susan. "If you don't mind me asking, what was wrong?" Susan looked down silently.

"I'd rather not say." She said quietly.

Susan still was not ready to tell others about the last ten years of her life. A lot of it was still too painful and personal to divulge. Krystin saw this pain behind Susan's eyes and reached her hand out to Susan's, clasping it.

"Whenever you feel like telling us, that's fine. We're very accepting in this Sisterhood. You'll see someday, we are very open with others and treat everyone respectfully. I learned that during my pledging, and it helped me so much. I don't think I would have made it through my first year without these girls."

Hearing this made Susan smile. Still, she wondered if they would accept her.

Both were silent for a few minutes, both saddened reliving those painful years of their lives. Krystin was the one who broke the silence.

"So, seeing as you're a pretty shy person, I have to ask what made you think of joining our Sisterhood." Susan blushed at this.

"Well, my roommate is the one who convinced me to join, she's a lot more social than I am, but she wanted me to join with her. There's another reason too." She said, blushing more.

Krystin could see this, and a wicked grin came over her face. "You've got a thing for one our actives, don't you?" Krystin asked slyly.

Susan nodded. "Who is it, I won't tell, promise."

Susan was smiling and still blushing. She had a good feeling she could trust Krystin.

"It's Angelique. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I tried for you guys hoping to get close to her. I hope she could be my Big Sister."

Krystin smiled, but she had to tell Susan now that would not happen. "Well, I will keep your secret, but I have to tell you she won't be your Big Sister. The Oracle is never picked to be anyone's Big, as she has too many responsibilities to the Chapter, and she's the lead during Instatement Weekend."

Susan was a little sad to hear this. "Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to get to know her. Plus, she is one of the girls who upvoted you last Friday. Don't tell anyone I told you that."

Susan smiled hearing this. It gave her more hope Angelique liked her back. Even if Angelique could not be her Big Sister, there was still hope during her pledging she could get more time with her. A girl could dream.

Krystin smiled seeing this happy look on Susan's face. She wished she knew how Angelique felt about Susan. She could see how much Susan fancied her and she wished she could give Susan some hint the feelings were mutual. The problem was Angelique rarely divulged details like that. Most of the chapter knew Angelique was now looking for her soulmate, but she never gave any details as to who she thought might be it.

Krystin had a feeling Angelique might be into Susan, but she did not want to get this girl's hopes up and turn out to be wrong.

"I hope I'm right." Krystin thought. "They'd make a cute couple."

She took Susan's hand again and told her this. Susan smiled more, a happy tear coming to her eye. So far now she knew three people besides herself that hoped she would get together with Angelique.

From that, given the personal details both had shared with each other, Krystin and Susan were quite easily able to talk to each other. Both had a good laugh, mainly about the dated references they would often make on campus that the younger students wouldn't get.

Susan was happy to know there was someone else on campus who felt her pain of being the "senior citizen" on campus. They had another laugh mocking the "immature" things other students did. Susan was in high spirits when her and Krystin parted ways.

"I hope you get in." Krystin said as they hugged goodbye. "It would be nice to have another old timer around." She joked.

Susan laughed and stuck her tongue out at Krystin, smiling as she headed off to meet Maisy and Janine for lunch.

Gina:

It wasn't until all her classes were done for the day that Gina met up with Lucy, her first potential Big. Both were in the same Physics class. Lucy called to Gina as she was about to leave the lecture hall. Gina was surprised to see Lucy in the class. She had the impression Lucy was a very flighty type when she met Lucy at the party. Seeing the books Lucy was carrying, Gina was starting to think her impression of this girl had been off.

"Hey, mind if we talk for a bit?" Lucy asked her.

Gina had nowhere to go, so she felt there was no way to get out of it. Besides, they had said they would be meeting with them this week to see who would be their potential Big Sisters. She could not see though why Lucy would work as her Big. Lucy and her were quite different.

Sure, it seems they were both very intelligent, but Lucy seemed to be the coasting type, unlike Gina who was very studious. Lucy laughed at Gina's apprehension.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You don't think you and I would work as Big and Little Sister. I can tell you now that you and I are a lot more alike than you think."

Gina was shocked to hear this. "How did you know?"

Lucy put her arm around Gina. Gina was a little unnerved by this. Lucy was definitely the touchy-feely type.

"I'm studying Psychology. I've learned a lot these last four years about how people think and act. I could read it in your eyes."

Gina blushed at this. She didn't think she had been obvious.

"Look, I know you think because you're so bookish and I'm not we probably would not work, but I'm a great deal more serious about my studies than I let on. I'm trying to get into the Clinical Psych program here and I'm sure you know how competitive it is here. I actually maintain pretty damn high grades here. I rarely get "C"s."

Gina was surprised more to hear this. She had been completely wrong about Lucy.

"Sorry, it's just the vibe you gave off during the party made me think otherwise. I'm very sure I saw you sneak off and came back high as a kite." Lucy blushed.

"Guilty as charged." She admitted.

Gina's jaw dropped. "You toke up?" She asked.

"What can I say? I'm a hippie, and my parents were too. I've been toking since I was ten."

Shocked would not have been strong enough a word for Gina at this point. "How the hell do you keep up such grades then?"

Lucy sighed. "It's a big misconception that weed makes you dumber or kills your memory. Even though I hit it often, I'm smart about how I do it. I don't drive when I'm high, unlike some people I know who think they drive fine when they're high. I never toke up before work or before a class. I only do it when I know I have nothing to do later and I usually keep it to in my home only. Just so I don't bug the other Sisters, I usually hit my bowl in the backyard of the house."

Gina shook her head hard. She could not believe someone who used marijuana so often could be so serious and studious.

"I guess I've been really misinformed about what weed actually does to people." She admitted sheepishly.

"Well, a lot of what you heard is based on smear campaigns the drug czars and Big Pharma keep perpetuating. Still, it does hurt some people more than others. It's all in how you do it whether it hurts you or not. Like I said, I try to be smart about it. So far I have not been busted for possession or anything like that, but I try to keep safe about how I do it. I don't need my college career to go down the toilet because of something that really doesn't hurt me."

Looking at the clothes Lucy was wearing, loose and flowing fabrics making up her blouse and skirt, Gina should have been able to see that Lucy was a hippie type. She'd never seen people like that at her high school. Then again, most of the people she went to high school with were people from money. She was one of the few at her private school there on scholarship. Most of the kids in her high school were the preppy type who were very pretentious. Lucy's lifestyle was a real culture shock to her.

"Look, I'm a very open minded person." Lucy told her. "I don't expect you to accept me or anything like that. I just ask that in return for me not judging you that you don't judge me." Gina nodded.

"I won't. It's just all new to me. There wasn't anyone like you where I went to school." Lucy giggled.

"I don't think there are a lot of hippies these days. This is not the sixties or seventies. My parents were very into the scene. They never let it go. I mean come on, they named me after a Beatles song."

Gina looked in surprise at Lucy telling her this. "Really?" She asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. My last name is Diamond. Like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." It gets worse though. Skye is my middle name. My initials are LSD."

Gina giggled. "You poor soul." She said.

The ice now broken, the two began to walk the campus back to their respective living quarters. Gina soon saw she had been completely wrong about Lucy. Other than her being quite preppy and Lucy being a hippie, they actually were very alike. She began to think that maybe Lucy could be her Big Sister after all. Maybe even Lucy could show her how to loosen up a bit.

She was always accused of being uptight by others. She too was starting to see how joining AAM could benefit her. Maybe this was the key to finally breaking out of that shell she had lived in for so long. By the time they went their separate ways, Gina could feel a new friendship forming between her and Lucy. This made her smile.

That night, the actives gathered to discuss each potential Big Sisters meetings with the potentials. The reports from each were good. Some felt they were meant to be a girl's Big. Others had their doubts and a few felt that despite the good rapport each had, they would not work being the girl's Big.

There was still two more days, so there was still more interviews to go. The next day could make a huge change in who would end up mentoring who.