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“I’ve heard,” she says, her smile turning into a frown of sympathy. “But you’ll have to fill me in on the details. Tera didn’t give up too much information.”

“I didn’t tell her. And if you don’t mind, I’m not going to talk about it anymore. So it’ll have to remain a mystery.”

“Don’t do that, Rory. Don’t shut us out. We are your sisters now. We’re going to be here for you for the rest of your life. All of us. So don’t bottle up your problems. Let us help you.” She rubs my shoulder to illustrate her level of concern.

“I know, Kallie. But this is about love. And no one can help you get over something like that.”

“Wrong,” Mia says from my open doorway—I really need to keep that thing closed. “We have the perfect answer for love troubles, don’t we, Kal?” Mia is exotic-looking. You can’t tell what race she is just by looking at her. She appears Asian at times, with her striking almost almond-shaped eyes. But she’s very fair. And curvy. And her long wavy hair is light brown and her eyes are a blue-green hazel.

“That’s right,” Kallie says.

“Open your invitation,” Mia squeals. “I’m dying to see who you got.”

“Who I got?” I say.

“Your date,” Kallie says. “The answer to all your problems.”

“I got Jeremy Warren,” Mia says. “And OMG, he’s so fucking hot. I cannot wait to be paired up tonight.”

“Not to mention rich,” Kallie says with a smirk.

“Look who’s talking,” Mia shoots back. “You got Edward Van Visser. That man’s family has more money than God.”

Kallie shrugs, but her satisfied smile betrays her feigned indifference.

I look down at the silver envelope in my hand. My name is engraved, not printed. And my fingertips can’t help themselves. I trace it, feeling the shallow dip of the letters.

“Hurry!” Mia says. “I can’t take the anticipation!”

I turn it over. The paper is thick. Expensive. The kind of envelope you’d use for a very formal wedding. And it’s been sealed with a circular embossed silver sticker that has the words ‘Palladium House Eating Club’ engraved around the spiked star-burst edges.

I peel it back, take out the card, and read.

Dearest Aurora,

Welcome to the first exciting night of your new life. From this day forward you will never be alone. From this day forward you will be surrounded by your Palladium family. From this day forward you belong to us and we belong to you.

Join your new family in celebration and meet your new partner, Franklin Fulbright, at eight PM in the Palladium House main dining room.

Sincerely,

Palladium House Eating Club

“Franklin! Oh, my God!” Mia screams. “You lucky, lucky bitch!”

“Wow,” Kallie says. “He’s the House President.”

“Hmmm,” I say. I know Frank. We’ve been in lots of classes together over the years. He’s kinda cool, actually. And kinda cute too. “Shouldn’t you be paired with him?” I ask Kallie. “I mean, you’re our president. And don’t the presidential pairs normally attend Eat Meet together?”

“I cannot wait for Eat Meet this year,” Mia says. “Jeremy and I are already discussing what we’ll wear.”

Princeton has a few non-sanctioned Greek fraternities and sororities, but what we really have here are eating clubs. They are basically the same thing, but the university says they’re not.

The eating clubs are private and each of them convenes in one of the large mansions lining Prospect Street, commonly called the Street. They are all co-ed, but Palladium has two clubs housed simultaneously in the largest mansion on the Street. Palladium East is for men and Palladium West is for women, so we have a pair of presidents.

The main dining room is where we all take our meals. I have eaten here daily since I was admitted to the Club in Junior year. The meals are elaborate and Palladium employs some of the best chefs on the East Coast, so they are always delicious. But I’ve never been to the Eat Meet because it’s reserved for senior members.

It is pretty exciting. Or it would be, if my life hadn’t fallen apart over the summer.