“Don’t let the scary stories frighten you, darlin’. Lots of the houses out here look out for one another, just as the good Lord intended women do.” She ran her hand in a gentle circle on my back and gave us a wide smile. “Now, tell me all about yourselves!”

We left the very southern house about as quickly as we came with a semi-confusing series of directions to Phi Beta Lambda, the house we were originally invited to the first week of classes. Kelly looked even more weirded out by the way all the girls seemed to have this cult-like manner about them.

“I think she meant this way, but I don’t know if I could handle another, uh, rodeo.” She pointed in the direction of two other parties going on.

I shrugged. “At this point, I don’t mind just exploring and getting free food and drinks. I am somewhat terrified of coming into contact with Beta Kappa Phi. Did you hear what those girls were saying about that Sloane character?”

“That she’s a ruthless she-devil? I mean, you can’t know for sure until you meet her, but if she runs the most prestigious sorority on campus with an all-star legacy, that clearly means business.” Since when did we swap our outlooks?

“Maybe you’re right, but stop being so optimistic. It’s weird. Just like the scary stories about some girl here on campus.”

At another house, we decided to enter the party and ask around about which house it was. Inside the entrance, it was apparent with a sign reading Phi Beta Lambda. Easy enough.

This house–thank God–had far less pink everywhere and more real life colors. The girls didn’t feel like they were in weird cult uniforms and no one had the same creepy updo to their hair. The only ones holding some form of uniform were the group of eight girls running the party.

“Hey, I know you two,” a girl in a pink shirt came running up to us, waving and smiling.

It definitely felt less weird in this house. “You invited us on the first day of classes. We decided to pop by and see what you guys were all about.”

She beamed at us, taking us by our hands. “I’m Veronica! Let’s go to the main room. We’re having snacks!”

Kelly looked over at me, questioning what the heck this girl was doing dragging us along with her. I nodded back at her with a “just go with it” look.