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Nat hadn’t nominated herself for the position. Being a sorority girl in general was out of the question for most of her life. It was Tai and Van who’d pressured her to join, insisting Kappa was fun and unlike any other sorority on campus. Natalie wasn’t sure if she felt more annoyed or grateful that they were right. Kappa was nothing like she'd expected Greek Life to be - it wasn't really what Greek Life was supposed to be according to the other five sororities on campus. Kappa was the only sorority a girl like Natalie could ever become president of.
Since freshman year, the plan was for Taissa to be Kappa president. She was the overachiever. Annoyingly so. She left high school as the captain of her school’s tennis team, a national merit scholar and the valedictorian with an impressive 4.1 GPA. If it weren’t for the shit ton of scholarship money Rutgers had forked over, Tai probably would’ve gone for an Ivy. It made sense for her to be president.
Only…Tai was just a touch prickly. While some (namely her girlfriend) saw Tai’s excitement to serve as adorable, it rubbed some sisters the wrong way. More often than not, Nat found herself explaining Tai’s intensity to the other girls. “I know Tai’s a lot but she means well. She’s the best leader we have.” She would explain.
“She called me a snake bitch when I told her I was on the fence about my vote…” Said Allie, a sophomore member. Nat had a rough time smoothing that one over.
Still, she’d never wanted to be Kappa president. Too much responsibility, huge time commitment, and deep down, the voice of her rebellious sixteen year old self spoke to her. Teen Nat laughed in her face and called her a sellout. The last thing Adult Nat wanted to do was disappoint her.
When the day came, the other Kappa members disregarded all of her arguments against running and Nat was announced president based solely on write-ins. It was the first time for any sorority in Rutgers history. She’d never seen Taissa that pissed and was sure it’d be a friendship ender. Van had to physically step between the two of them.
“Not worth it, Tai. You have a million other extracurriculars. You’re still a shoe-in for Yale Law.” She tried to reassure her girlfriend, with no luck of course. “I’ve worked my ass off the last three years for these girls. Natalie hasn’t so much as attended a meeting on time but she gets to be president?” The second Natalie was announced president, she’d prepared for this. What she didn’t prepare for was how defensive she became.
She could refuse it, automatically making Tai president as the runner-up, but something told her not to.
“You’re right, okay? I’ve spent three years slacking off and I wouldn’t even be a Kappa if it weren’t for you. You deserve it, but that’s not what they voted for. If I drop out, what good is that gonna do for morale? It’s like saying their votes don’t matter. This is what they want, our sisters, and if we’re really about this shit then we have to respect them.” The words didn’t sound like Natalie’s, they felt odd and clunky in her mouth, and she could tell Van and Taissa felt the same.
A moment of tense silence passed before Taissa simply nodded her head and let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, yeah. Position’s yours, not much I could do about it anyway.” Tai said, her voice teeming with envy.
“I’ve never led anything like this. Or anything at all, really. I could use a Vice with some experience.” With that, what Van liked to call “The Dream Team” was formed. Nat as President, Taissa as Vice, and Van as Pledge Master. It worked out surprisingly well - turns out senior year was to be a rough ride for Tai and she couldn’t risk her grades slipping if she wanted to graduate Summa Cum Laude.
Nat, on the other hand, had spent her entire summer filled with nerves for the coming year. She wasn’t officially Kappa president until the first week of the semester and she hadn’t exactly come up with a plan of action.
Before classes started, all of Greek Row met for a meeting to introduce new leadership and release their social calendars. In years past, Nat had blown them off or spent the couple hours they were stuck there playing games on her phone. She wasn't even sure what she was supposed to say and Kappa wasn’t the type of sorority that had a playbook for these things.
First up was one of the fraternities, and she tried to pay attention…she really did. Only, her attention span seemed to leave her when a man started talking.
She tuned most of what he said out, but she recognized the guy as Jeff Something or Other. Big Guy in Greek Life alongside his girlfriend, Jackie Taylor. Nat had to hold in a bit of bile at the thought of her.
In the eyes of any self-respecting Kappa, Deltas were absolutely nauseating. They epitomized everything insufferable about sororities - uptight, rich, preppy, and snobbish - Jackie Taylor was the worst of them all.
Nat turned her attention to the Delta table, searching for the familiar head of curls in the crowd of nearly identical girls. Right up front, in the President’s seat, was the woman in question. Predictable. Jackie had been running Delta like she was president for years, it only made sense she’d be elected.
Feeling a familiar pair of eyes on her, Jackie turned around and looked right at Nat. A smug smile spread across her delicate features and she leaned in to whisper something into her favorite minion’s ear. Shauna Shipman was just as diabolical as she was, maybe even worse. Something about that girl never sat right with Nat, beyond typical Delta cattiness.
Tai, sensing the tension, leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Don’t let those Delta bitches get you off your game, Nat. That’s all they’re trying to do.” She gave her hand a firm squeeze and Nat finally tore her eyes away, feeling beyond grateful that Tai was there to support her.
“Next up, we’re going to welcome the 2025 Deltas to the stage!” Announced the Greek Council Leader, Ben Scott.
Up from her seat popped shoulder length dirty blonde curls, the rest of Delta not far behind. They always seemed to walk behind her, never in front, never by her side. Jackie smoothed down the pink mini-dress that just managed to pass for appropriate before leaning into the mic.
“Hello Greek Nation!” The room erupted with cheers from just about everyone but the Kappas. Jackie took notice and shot them a look that could not be ignored. Nat had pissed Jackie off enough times to see the irritation behind her smile.
“So glad to see all of your faces once more. As most of you know, I’m Jackie Taylor and I’ll be the Delta Sigma Theta President this year. We can’t wait to be your Sorority of the Year a fifth time in a row!”
Another eruption of applause, like she’d just announced the end of a war. “To my right, I’ve got my Vice Prez and very best friend, Miss Shauna Shipman.”
Applause.
“And to my left, our beautiful Pledge Master, Charlotte Matthews.”
More applause. She truly was the people’s princess.
“We worked this entire summer to make sure our girls have the absolute best year ahead of them and we can’t wait to take you along with us.” Nat turned to Tai with a panicked expression that read ‘They worked over the summer for this?!’
“Some of you may also know that I’m a Delta legacy and I’ve worked in cabinet positions since my sophomore year, so if any inexperienced presidents need advice, the doors at Delta are always home.” To the untrained observer, Jackie’s offer was generous, kind. But to Nat, and the rest of Delta, it was a clear question of Nat’s leadership.
Jackie sealed their theories with a quick but obvious glance at the Kappa table. “Fucking cunt.” Nat let slip much louder than she’d expected. Much of the room turned their attention to her. Great fucking look, Scatorccio.
Shauna, who had just caught it, shot Nat a death stare. Once more, Jackie cleared her throat, “Anyway…this Friday at 8:00 PM we’ll be hosting our annual Welcome Back Party at the Delta House. Every Greek Group is invited, so we’re hoping to see you all there. Bring your bikinis!” She rambled on a few moments longer about everything they had planned for the coming months, a formal, mixers, and the Greek Games. All stuff that Kappa had spent years forgoing. It was Kappa standard to throw parties last minute, buy a few kegs, and hire one of Van’s local bands. Simple, but effective. Kids came from as far as NYU to crash Kappa parties, it was what set them apart from the lamer sororities.
Jackie finished up and Ben took the stand once more to announce the final sorority - Kappa. For a moment, it didn’t even register to Nat that she’d have to stand up and speak to the crowd. “Nat, that’s us.” Van reminded her. “Oh, fuck, right.” Again, louder than intended, and it drew plenty of laughs from the crowd. Nervously, she stood and headed for the podium, standing in front of over a thousand students. She struggled to find the words for a moment, having long forgotten whatever she’d planned to say.
“Hi…” A lull. “I’m Natalie…Scatorccio. I’m the new Kappa president. This is Tai, our Vice. Van, our Pledge Master.” An audible cough is heard from somewhere far in the back, nowhere near the booming applause of Jackie’s speech.
Speaking of Jackie, she was staring Natalie and the rest of the Kappas down like they were a meal. When Nat finally noticed the smug look on her face, pride took over. No way would she humiliate herself in front of Jackie fucking Taylor.
“Who's been to a Kappa party?” She asked the crowd, hands shot into the air with muffled praise following. “I’m sure what little you remember of it was a good time?” Finally, cheering. It fed Nat’s confidence in a way she’d never experienced. People didn’t usually cheer her on unless she was standing over a keg.
“Kappa 2025 is gonna make them all look like a fucking Girl Scouts meeting.” The crowd yelled out in glee. “This year, everything’s bigger. Kappa like you’ve never seen, guys. I’m talking sick themes, sick music, and…”
She panicked - what made for a good time to a bunch of college students with 15 other places to get loaded on campus. “And…a music festival. We’re planning a music festival.” Tai’s eyebrows nearly jumped off of her forehead…this certainly wasn’t the plan.
She knew she was fucked but Nat was too entranced in the energy of the crowd to come back down to Earth. “Our first party is this Friday Night…9:00 PM.” Jackie’s jaw dropped, and for a moment, Natalie swore she would jump to her feet and oppose her.
For the final blow, Nat looked Jackie straight in the eye.“Foam party. No need to even change from your swimsuit.” She had never seen such a wild crowd in a Council meeting. “You know what…for the first time ever Kappa’s throwing our hat in the ring for Sorority of the Year.” She took a moment to soak in the moment before stepping away from the podium and joining the Kappas in their signoff cheer.
Once off the stage, Tai grabbed hold of Nat’s arm and pulled her in, “What the fuck was all that? When did you plan that?”
“I didn’t, I don’t know, I was just winging it.” Tai and Van exchanged looks of panic, “How do you know we can even do all of that? A fucking foam party by Friday? Where are we going to get that kind of money? It’s pledge week, where are we going to get that kind of time?”
All questions Nat hadn’t considered. Fuck.