Annastasia Price, or "Anna" as her friends call her, always looked forward to Pledge Day. As faculty advisor to the sorority, she took pride in watching the new crops of pledges grow into successful young women. As a former sister, Anna also looked forward to catching up with old friends: former sisters, like herself, that returned every year for Pledge Day to welcome the new members. This year, Pledge Day was especially important to Anna. She had just gotten through a messy divorce and needed a chance to unwind.
Anna could remember it all like it was yesterday. She had just found out that she had been granted tenure at the university. It felt exhilarating, the culmination of her life's work. Unable to contain herself after hearing the news, she ran straight from the Literature department's office to the History department to tell her husband, Sean. It had been raining, but Anna was too excited to grab an umbrella before sprinting across the quadrangle. She was soaked by the time she reached the building and the sloshing of her shoes echoed down the hallway as she sprinted to his office, but she was too excited to care.
"Sean, you're never going to believe.....," she said, as she opened the door.
Anna froze. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. One of Sean's graduate students, a blond that was maybe a decade younger than Anna, was bent over Sean's desk. Meanwhile, Sean, the love of her life, was standing there, pantsless and pounding the blond from behind. The asshole didn't even bother to stop after seeing Anna in the doorway.
"Well, I guess you were bound to find out, sooner or later," was all he said.
In retrospect, Anna wasn't completely surprised that Sean would have an affair. They had been having problems for years. The turning point had been when Anna had found out that she was sterile. Sean had always wanted children and didn't want to adopt. Ever since then, he had been increasingly distant. He threw himself into his research and rarely made it home for dinner. Still, it was a shitty way to find out that it was over, Anna thought to herself.
As the Pledge Day ceremony ended, she promised herself that she was going to have a good time. Her divorce from Sean wasn't an ending; it was a chance at a new beginning. After all, she was only thirty five; she was still young. She pictured herself as a phoenix rising from the ashes, as she grabbed her first drink and strolled onto the patio to mingle.
"Anna! Hey, Anna! Is that you?" she heard from across the lawn. Anna looked over to see her old roommate, Donna, walking towards her.
"Donna! I didn't know you were coming. You should have told me," Anna said, as she hugged Donna.
"Well, I wasn't sure if it was a good time to bother you," Donna said. "I heard about what happened with Sean. Honey, I'm so very sorry."
"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," Anna replied. "At least it gives me the chance to have some fun again. Sean was so boring."
Donna laughed. "It wasn't my place to say so, but yeah, he came off as a pompous asshole," Donna said. "Does he still wear those tweed jackets?"
It was Anna's turn to laugh. "Yeah, he does," she said. "He was still wearing one when I walked in on him with that whore. He didn't even take it off!"
The two women couldn't control their laughter. It felt good to laugh again, Anna thought to herself. Donna always had a way of cheering her up. The two had been nearly inseparable until graduation, when Donna moved overseas for a job.
As the night wore on, the two women caught up on old times. Donna, always a partier, brought Anna a new glass of champagne whenever her glass was empty. Anna couldn't even remember the last time that she had touched alcohol. Sean didn't like having alcohol in the house; he called it was a "legalized poison." Screw him, Anna thought to herself, as she took another sip.
By the time it was to showcase the pictures from the sorority's yearly challenge, both Anna and Donna were fairly drunk. Truth be told, most of the women present were drunk by then, and cheers erupted for each photograph. Anna and Donna nudged each other when their respective photographs were shown. Anna's target had been Tom, she recalled. He was on the hockey team and had a reputation as being wild. Donna, always the more outgoing one, had actually been the one to set it up. She dragged Anna right up to him and bluntly asked if they could take a naked picture of him. Sure enough, he agreed and Anna was later able to join the sorority.
One of the pictures from this year's class drew the most attention. A pledge named Sarah was able to land a monster. Both new and former sisters hooted at the picture. The entire sorority was in an uproar. Kevin Harrington, Anna thought to herself, why does that name sound familiar? It was hard to concentrate with Donna cheering next to her.
"Now that is one sure way to get over Sean," Donna said, laughing.
Just then, Anna realized where she had seen Kevin. He was one of the students in her introductory poetry course. He attended the first lecture and then mysteriously disappeared. Anna had thought he had dropped the class until he reappeared for the first exam. She hated when students did that.
"Oh my God," Anna said. "Donna, I think he's one of my students." The champagne was taking its toll and Anna and Donna laughed uncontrollably.
"Well, then that makes it much easier," Donna said, after the laughter subsided. "It'd be just like the old days. Besides, I was the one that landed Tom for you, if you recall. You owe it to the sorority, and to yourself, to do this on your own."
"Sure, Donna, that's a great idea," Anna replied. "Sleeping with one of my students is against the university's rules. I could lose my job for doing something like that."
"Isn't that exactly what Sean did?" Donna said, putting her arm around Anna. "I think you need to relax a bit, dear."
Anna held back her anger at being reminded about Sean. It was true: the administration didn't seem to care, even when Anna had tried to get him fired. Maybe Donna was right, she thought. Maybe I just need to throw caution to the wind and have some fun.
"OK, I'll do it," Anna proclaimed.
"That's my girl!" Donna said. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way to make it happen. It's really good to see the old Anna again."
Pledge Day finally wore to a close and Anna and Donna eventually parted ways. They promised to keep in better touch, now that Donna had moved back to the city. The sorority was a mess from the party, but Anna was too drunk and too tired to care; the girls could handle it in the morning.
.....................................
