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They shout. They grin and raise their fists, eager for me to receive the punishment I so rightfully deserve.
Brick waves his thick arms and they go quiet. “You heard them, Rose!” He laughs. “Forty-two minutes late. Forty-two push-ups. Let’s go.”
I remove my jacket before dropping into a plank on the floor. I brace myself, keeping proper form as I lower down and push up again.
One. Two. Three.
Brick continues. “Now, while Rose pays his penance, where were we?”
“Cups,” someone says.
Eleven. Twelve.
“Right.” He snaps his fingers twice. “We always need more than we think we’ll need, so let’s stock up. Hopefully, we’ll have enough to hold back for the Halloween bash next month. Anyway, who volunteers for that?”
“We’ll do it!” someone says.
Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five.
“Outstanding.” Brick checks his clipboard. “Oh. To keep in line with new campus regulations, we have to check IDs at the door, so...” There’s a loud audible groan throughout the group. “Hey! We don’t want to get shut down, do we? Let’s follow the rules. How we doing down there, Rose?”
“Thirty-one,” I count aloud, my voice straining. “Thirty-two.”
“Good boy. We need men at the doors. Two per half-hour shift. The sign-up sheet will be posted in the kitchen tonight after the meeting. If it’s not full up by four tomorrow, I’m just going to randomly put some names, so don’t make me be the bad guy, boys. Just do it.”
Forty-one. Forty-two.
I hop back up.
Brick looks at me and bows his head. “And what did you learn?” he asks.
I take a breath. “Don’t be late to house meetings,” I answer.
“Super!” He puts his pen to his paper. “Congrats. You and Newbury get first shift tomorrow night.”
“What—!”
I turn around. My roommate glares at me from the sofa behind me, slack-jawed and annoyed.
I shrug. “Sorry, Seth.”
The guys laugh as I plop down beside him with my jacket.
“Right...” Brick checks his clipboard again. “Now, where was I? Oh. Tickets for the Greek Masquerade Ball are now available in the bursar’s office. You can bring one guest each — not one guest for each arm.” He pointedly stares at Jack across the room. “Talking to you, Mr. Vallens.”
Laughter erupts at the inside joke. Jack just shrugs, smug and proud.
Seth, however, glares at me some more. “Not cool,” he whispers beneath Brick’s booming voice.
“It’s just thirty minutes,” I say. “No big deal.”
“It’s the first thirty minutes,” he argues. “The first thirty minutes are sacred. The first thirty minutes set the tone for the entire night. The first thirty minutes determine whether you spend the night whispering sweet nothings into a lady’s earlobe or juggling your ping-pong balls alone in the bathroom.”
I chortle. “Something about that just doesn’t seem true...”
“Believe it, baby.”
“Don’t call me baby, Seth.”
