Chapter 1: Team Tryouts
The week passed quickly after Luke had dropped the postcard, his unofficial application to what was called the "Himbro House." A quick Google of "himbro" brought up nearly nothing, so he shrugged it off. He figured it was simply some kind of old Greek or dead language that had fallen out of academic fashion. The classes came and went, the assignments started and finished. At night before going to sleep he found himself smoking pot to relax his latent nerves—more often than he usually did.
So, when Luke came home from his last class on Thursday and found a piece of mail sitting on his coffee table, his heartbeat immediately picked up. It was an eggshell-white envelope, with only his name on it in calligraphy. He put his finger in the opening between the flap of the seal and the remainder of the envelope—tugged—opened the envelope.
Removing the sturdy card from the envelope was difficult, and he felt like the entire process suddenly took on an aura of reverence. He finally got the card out and read it silently:
"It is the honor and privilege of the owners and tenants of the Himbro House to invite you to an in-person interview. Your application indicates the kind of person that would flourish in the Himbro House, and we hope to see your personality shine through this Saturday at 7:00pm. Dress appropriately. Good luck."
Luke read the invitation several times, making sure he had understood everything correctly, before letting out a silent fist pump and breaking into a grin. He'd passed the first screening!
But, as Luke reflected on the wording in the invitation, his brow furrowed a little. "Dress appropriately?" What did that mean? Suit and tie? Business casual? Class attire? The question haunted him over the next two days as he pondered the dilemma.
Suit and tie reflects how strongly I feel about the situation, but it doesn't seem to jibe with what I know about the house. Business casual strikes a balance between the seriousness of the event and the ideology of the house as I know it, but for some reason it strikes me as a little too eager still. Is this something to wear a shirt and jeans to? Would they think I'm not a serious candidate? Do I play it safe with the clothing, or do I gamble?
He only decided what he would wear about two hours before his call time. Grinning at himself as he walked out the door of his dorm and made the walk to Fraternity Row, he knew he was getting some stares as he walked, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, part of him kind of enjoyed it. Turning onto Fraternity Row, he saw the house waiting primly at the corner and took a deep breath. Released it. Clenched and unclenched his fists.
Walking with a confidence that belied his pounding heart, he bounded up the stairs and knocked on the door three times, invitation in hand.
Rex, wearing only gym shorts and the same backwards cap, opened the door and immediately grinned. "Hey d—oh, damn!" Luke was in a backwards cap and stringer tank, thin straps barely covering his torso down to his stomach. His pecs and delta were on full display, leaving very little to the imagination, and the tank served only to make his midsection look even smaller in comparison to his broad shoulders. His gym shorts were simple, black, down to his shins, and his shoes were regular running shoes.
Luke felt like he was under examination as Rex gave him a quick once-over, but more than that—he felt hot. Giving a quick most muscular pose, he held out a fist for Rex to bump. "What's up dude! I'm here for the interview."
Rex grinned and bumped his fist. "Duuuuuude! Very nice choice! Come on in." He gestured to Luke who immediately nodded and entered the doorway. Coming in, Rex handed him an index card with the number 4 on it and pointed him to his left towards a closed door. "Right this way man, you and a few other candidates are here. We'll be doing group interviews, so you'll all be going at the same time. Don't stress man, you got this."
Luke found himself thanking Rex as he got a quick slap on the back and went into the room, closing the door behind him. Turning back around, he found three other people in the same room, a relatively bare-bones affair with a couch, pool table, and TV. The guy holding the index card labeled 1 was a in a suit and tie that he filled out well, his black hair and chiseled jaw contrasting sharply with his red tie. He nodded once. Index card 2 was in a button-down and khakis, who smiled at Luke with a peace sign. Luke smiled back with an up-nod. Both of them had decent physiques under the clothing—and Luke found himself recalling having seen the two in the college weight room before, pushing hard. Both were taller than Luke by several inches—over six feet—and exuded a lot of confidence.
The last candidate surprised him. 3 was about 5'1" and slim, the hint of abs showing through his supple, tan skin. Luke only noticed the abs because 3 was wearing a powder-pink crop top and daisy dukes, his mop of platinum-blond hair styled perfectly over his big blue eyes. Luke found himself warming to 3 immediately. He wasn't intimidated by 1 or 2—in fact, he felt better about his attire choice having seen them—but 3 looked like someone he could get along with, for some reason. He sidled over to 3 and stuck out a fist.
"Whassup man, name's Luke." 3 looked up at him with a shy smile and bumped his fist back.
"Adam." The voice coming from the twink was small but confident, the brightness of his smile radiating through his vowels.
"So, you passed the questionnaire too, huh?" Luke chuckled a little bit as Adam nodded.
"I know, I know," he sighed. "I don't look like the typical gym rat, but I just love improving my body." Luke gave him a sly once-over before snaking an arm around his shoulder.
"Well if my opinion means anything man, you look fantastic." Adam blushed and mumbled out a thanks.
The two chatted for a few minutes, getting to know each other a little bit, before Rex opened the door. "Alright guys, if you'll come this way. Index card order."
The air was suddenly tense. Everyone seemed to take a deep, cleansing breath around the same time as they filed behind each other and followed Rex, who took them out the door they came in and across the mezzanine into another door to the right of the entryway.
Entering the room, they found four chairs lined up next to each other in the center of a room. At the front of the room was a folding table, behind which Rex sat with a piece of paper in his hand. He looked at the four as they sat, and spoke as Luke took his seat.
"Hey guys, thank you so much for coming out. Uh, this is a group interview so if I excuse you at any point you should consider yourself taken out of the running." Rex squinted at the paper before laughing a little. "Huh huh. Anyway, let's just cut the crap and get this started, alright?" After a general murmur of assent from the four, Rex nodded and began.
"What is your n—oh, before I forget, Number 1, thank you for your time, you are excused."
Luke tried not to show his surprise as the guy in the suit stood up, walked behind the other three (whispering a "Good luck" to each), and closed the door behind him. That was much, much faster than I expected.
The questions began as expected. Typical stuff like name, background, high school, current GPA. Identifying questions. Luke noticed that none of their GPA's were above a 3.0. It was clear as Rex moved through the initial questioning that he was reading word-for-word from the piece of paper in front of him.
Then the tone of the questions changed.
"Number 2, what is your favorite strain of weed?"
"Sorry, what?" Number 2 stammered.
"Your favorite strain of weed, bro, what is it?"
"I—I don't, I mean I don't really have a favorite." 2 was floundering. "I just sort of take whatever's given me."
"Right on, right on," Rex said, smiling a little. "Number 3?"
"Girl Scout Cookies," Adam piped up. "It's a solid sativa. Keeps me energized but also very giggly."
