Saving Ben Read Online Free Page B

back on Emma. “Anyway, about the file. Our sorority has received a lot of letters written on your behalf, most of them by your mother’s friends. Have you given any thought to pledging Chi Delta?”
    “Right now our focus is on getting ready for classes. Right, Emma?” I looked at Emma and she smiled, bobbing her head up and down.
    “Which is exactly why we defer our rush until January,” Honey explained. “College is such a big adjustment. It’s better for first-year students to get settled before they have to think about making such an important decision.”
    “You mean all colleges don’t defer their rush?” Emma asked.
    Once again Honey ignored Emma, this time to the point of blatant rudeness. “It’s against rush regulations for you to come by the house, but I’d love to meet you, Katherine, for coffee one day, or maybe lunch.” She removed a small tube of hot-pink lipstick from her shoulder bag and turned toward the mirror. “I understand you’ve been accepted into the nursing program. We have several nursing students who would love to answer questions or offer guidance on course selections and teachers.”
    “Thanks. I’ll remember that,” I said over my shoulder as I turned to leave.
    “Wait a minute. Let me give you this.” Without so much as a glance in Emma’s direction, Honey handed me a card with her initials scripted in pink in the center and her name and cell phone number printed below.
    I’d witnessed some horrible snubs in my life, most of them directed at me, but Honey’s indifference to Emma was unspeakable. Much to her credit, Emma didn’t let it bother her. If anything, she appeared to be even more interested in Greek life than before. As we left the bathroom and made our way through the crowd, she peppered me with questions about the rush process.
    “Honestly, Emma, I don’t know that much about it. But it’s my understanding that, if you have a relative who belonged to a sorority or fraternity, then that organization is obligated to give you special consideration.”
    “And what if you don’t have any connections?”
    I shrugged. “It doesn’t seem fair they would hold that against you. But then again, what do I know?”
    While we waited in line for another hot beer, Emma studied the crowd in silence, but once we were back out on the dance floor, her mood lifted and her confidence returned. She raised her arms high above her head and clapped to the beat of the band. The provocative sway of her hips attracted the guys like hummingbirds to nectar. This time she did not deny them. She made her rounds on the dance floor before settling in with a guy who had the build of a football player and the sweet face of a six-year-old boy. When the band played a slow song, the giant wrapped his muscled arms around her and pulled her close, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh. I scanned the crowd, wondering which group he belonged to, hoping there was more where he came from. But no one seemed to be paying any attention to them except the yellow-haired girl, leaning against the wall on the other side of the dance floor. Honey’s lip curled up over her top teeth, and I could almost hear her snarl over the loud music. Whether the guy was her boyfriend or merely a love interest, clearly he meant something to Honey. And Emma, whether she’d seen the two of them together earlier or whether she’d simply picked the wrong person to dance with, had made a horrible mistake.

Four
    I partied more during those first two weeks of college than I ever had in my life. I found it impossible to say no to Emma, whose answer for a hangover was happy hour. She didn’t communicate like most college freshman, through texting or Facebook or e-mail, but somehow she managed to know where to find the best parties. I’d always felt alone in a crowd before, but not with Emma. She was a magnet for attention, and standing next to her placed me in the direct line of vision for the cutest boys on