Drop Dead Bitches

Chapter 5: The Initiation
“Honestly, I don’t see why I have to pass anymore of my classes. I’ll have enough credits to graduate by the end of this year,” Theresa said, taking a stop in the bathroom to look at herself as Caitlyn walked into Theresa’s bedroom.
“Because colleges look for good grades year around.”
Theresa sighed. “I already know what college I’m going to.”
“Yeah, yeah, and you already have all the requirements to get into California State University of Long Beach. I get it.” Caitlyn put her stuff down and walked spotted something in Theresa’s pillow. She walked over to it and picked up the receipt. “Theresa…,” she called, her voice unsure.
“What?” she asked, walking into the room.
“What’s this? A receipt from the gas station that says you bought five… pregnancy tests? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
“Oh, God no. It’s just… uhm… Barbara’s. She probably left it there or something.”
“Barbara’s pregnant?”
Theresa scoffed. “I don’t know! That’s why she bought the pregnancy test, sheesh!”
“Barbara is like sixty years old or something. She has to be on menopause by now.”
“She’s fifty-six! And we need to stop getting into her business.” Theresa snatched the receipt from Caitlyn’s hand and shoved it into her pocket.
“Okay, calm down,” Caitlyn said, pulling out her textbooks.

“Is it weird that I still feel like an outsider?” Ryan asked.
Colin put down the Xbox controller and looked at Ryan. “What do you mean?”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “For some reason I feel like I don’t fit in.”
“Maybe because you’re never really around the group but with your… girls.”
Ryan chuckled. “You can never get enough girls, man. But my point is that I feel like I haven’t rooted my feet here yet.”
“Like you haven’t been initiated?” Colin laughed.
“Yeah, something like that, you know?”
Colin stopped laughing and stared at him. “I was joking.”
“Well, I wasn’t! The only people I was close to was you, Derek, and Theresa but Derek is an ass and Theresa and I broke up a long time ago.”
“Yeah, I still don’t get how you and Theresa met and dated a long time ago.”
Ryan laughed. “I met her through Facebook. The relationship lasted for two weeks. Nothing dramatic.”
Colin nodded his head.
“So back to my initiation. I think we should have one and it should be like… a party.”
“Why do you get an initiation party? None of use ever got one.”
“Because I’m special.”
Colin laughed. “Sure.”
“So what about it? Yes or no?”
He sighed. “No strippers.”
“Fine,” Ryan mumbled, bummed out.

“Here’s your change and receipt. Have a nice day,” Derek said to his customer. Derek spotted Alexis walking through the door and he waved at her, smiling.
“Hey!” she said, walking towards him.
“Hey, what’re you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you,” she said, smiling. “Are you starting lunch soon?”
“Yeah, in about ten minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll just sit over there.” Alexis walked to the high stools against the window and plugged in her earphones.
Every now and then Derek would look over at Alexis only to find her staring at him, attempting to be inconspicuous but each time Derek looked over at him, she’d look away.
Alexis unplugged her earphones when she saw Derek walking toward her, two cups of frozen yogurt in his hands.
“Here you go.”
“What’s this?”
“Piña colada. Don’t worry, it’s low carb. I figured that you were on an extreme diet after that one night.”
Alexis laughed. “Thanks! I felt sick to my stomach the day later but it was fun. I don’t think you know this but I’m not exactly the ‘let loose’ kind of girl.”
Derek laughed, holding the door open for Alexis. “I think everyone knows that, Lex.”
“What did you just call me?” Alexis asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Derek laughed. “I meant to say Alexis.”
“No, no. It’s fine, I like it. No one really gives me nicknames.”
Derek smiled at her. “Because they’re too afraid to.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she laughed.
“It means that you’re intimidating and up-tight about everything.”
“Do you find me intimidating and up-tight?”
He laughed. “Around me, no. But around everyone else… well, you’re just a complete bitch.”
“Thank you! I work hard at my image,” she said and smiled smugly.
“An image can be hard to maintain.”
Alexis looked up at Derek. “Only if you let things get in the way of maintaining it.”

“I don’t even know how to dress up for this thing! I’ve never been to an… initiation party,” Caitlyn called from her bedroom.
“It’s just like any other party, Cait,” Colin called from his room.
“And how are we going to initiate Ryan anyways? Have some creepy ceremony with us dressed in robes and circling around him?” she asked, walking out of her room.
“Does it look like we’re dressed in robes?” Colin asked with a slight smirk.
“Oh my goodness,” Caitlyn moaned.
The DuPaul twins got into their car that just got out of the shop and headed to Beacon Bay where the initiation party was being held in a large abandoned warehouse. The doors were slid open and the music was bumping was inside. Once again, there was a lot of people at the party but it was meant to be that way. This initiation was for Ryan to feel more rooted in town and by throwing a party, having almost the whole school here, and hanging out with the It group, you would climb up the social ladder faster than anyone else has.
“Hey, is Ryan here yet?” Colin asked turning to a random freshman.
He shook his head and drank his beer, turning back to the couple of girls he was dancing with.
When everyone got word that Ryan was almost there, Colin, Caitlyn, Alexis, Derek, and Theresa gathered up on the stage that was built for the party where the DJ was.
“Hey! Shut up!” Alexis yelled into the microphone. Suddenly, the music stopped playing and everyone stopped talking and dancing and turned towards the stage. “Face the doors!” she yelled, annoyed. Everyone turned around and waited for Ryan to come through.
The moon shone through the large doors, reflecting off of everyone’s faces. In each of their hands was a shot glass filled with straight Vodka and the other their chasers.
Two minutes past by and there was still no sign of Ryan. People were getting antsy but remained quiet.
“Rawr!”
Suddenly everyone jumped, screaming, their glasses falling to the ground as they turned around to find Ryan up on stage holding the microphone was a impish smile on his face. Then everyone cheered, holding up what was left of their drinks along with Colin, Caitlyn, Derek, Alexis, Theresa, and Ryan.
“To Ryan!” Colin yelled.
“To Ryan!” everyone else said, taking their drinks. Theresa inconspicuously threw her drink over her shoulder.
The music started playing again and everyone began dancing.
“Thank you so much for this,” Ryan said, turning to his friends. “I feel at home already.” He then jumped off stage and began dancing with everyone else.
“I feel like this is just another reason for him to party than to be initiated if you ask me,” Derek mumbled to Alexis. She smiled weakly and walked away. Derek stared after her, wondering what was wrong.
“Hey, do you want to dance?” Caitlyn asked, taking Derek by his hand.
Derek looked away from Alexis and down at Caitlyn. “Uhm… sure,” he said, following Caitlyn. Quickly, he turned his head around and winked at Theresa who nodded her head.
“Let’s go get you another drink,” Theresa said to Colin.
“But I still have one,” he said.
“But you’re almost finished. Let’s go get you another one!”
“Theresa, I don’t think I should-”
“Just come on!”

“You seem bored,” Caitlyn said after a couple minutes of dancing with Derek.
“No, no, not at all,” Derek responded with a charming smile.
“We can go somewhere else if you want.”
Through the crowd of people, Derek spotted Alexis standing outside, looking out into the bay.
“I’ll be right back!” Derek said to Caitlyn.
“Where’re you going?”
But he was gone, moving his way through the crowd to Alexis.
“Alexis!” he called walking toward her.
She turned around and sighed. “What’re you doing out here?”
“No, the question is what are you doing out here. Why aren’t you inside? It’s cold out here.” He pulled off his sweater.
“No, don’t. I’m fine,” she said, rubbing her hands over her arms. She obviously wasn’t fine. She was in a dress and heels and her goosebumps were visible.
“Lex, what’s wrong?” he asked, turning to face her.
“Don’t call me that,” she mumbled.
“Is it something I said?” he asked.
She shook her head and pushed her hair behind her ears as she kicked a rock.
“Well then why are you acting like this?”
Alexis spun around and looked Derek in the eye. “Why do you even care?” she hissed. “Look, whatever that you think we had, a moment, a thing, a whatever, it’s over. I don’t need this in my life…. I’m better off without you,” she whispered.
Derek nodded his head once, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked back to the party in search for someone to talk to. More specifically Caitlyn. But from where he stood he was able to spot her and she was dancing, laughing, having fun with someone else.

“How much did you have to drink?” Nick asked, laughing.
“Not much, why?” Caitlyn asked.
“I’m confused at why someone like you would want to dance with someone like me!”
“And I’m confused at why someone like you can afford lunch at Harborside for two!”
He shrugged his shoulders. “My parents have money!”
Caitlyn threw her head back and laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“If your parents have money then why do you drive around in that clunker?”
“Hey! Marsha has character!”
“Not a very good one if you ask me,” Caitlyn mumbled.
“So you never told me why you’re hanging out with me. Isn’t your posy going to shun you or something?”
She laughed. “I’ve come to realize that you’re a pretty cool guy. Annoying but cool.”
“So in other words, you find me attractive,” he said, moving closer to her.
“Don’t flatter yourself, stalker,” she said, pushing him back. “I’m still above you.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Hey, what’s up?” Derek said, patting Colin on the back.
“Sup,” Colin responded.
“Whoa! Your breath smells like an alcoholics!” he said, waving his hand in front of his nose.
“How’re you feeling, babe?” Theresa asked, brushing back his hair.
“Fine!” Colin exclaimed.
Theresa glanced at Derek who nodded his head once.
“Well, I’ll see you two later!” Derek said, walking away.
“Do you want to go somewhere?” Theresa asked.
“Nah, this is Ryan’s party.”
“We won’t be too far,” Theresa said biting her lip and taking his hand.
“Where’re we going?” Colin mumbled as Theresa dragged him out of the party. “Why are we outside?” he mumbled.
Theresa ignored him as she pulled him toward his car.
“I don’t wanna go home yet!” Colin complained.
“We aren’t going home, silly!” she stuck her hand in Colin’s pocket, digging around for his key.
“Whoa there!” he jumped. “That isn’t the keys,” he grinned.
“I know,” Theresa murmured, her face inches from his.
Colin smiled. “You’re naughty,” he laughed, leaning in for a kiss.
Theresa pushed him back and dangled his keys in front of his face.
“How’d you get that?” he asked, patting his coat pocket.
She smiled and unlocked the doors, pushing Colin into the back seat. Right before she went in, she looked around the parking lot, making sure the coast was clear. Then she went inside the car and locked the doors, hating herself already for what she was about to do.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Ryan called into the microphone. “I just wanted to say that this is the best initiation party ever and I thank you all for coming but the greatest thanks goes to my bestfriend, Colin! The guy who best introduced me to Newport Harbor! Come on up here Colin!”
Everyone cheered but after a couple seconds he never came up.
“I said… come on up here Colin!”
Everyone cheered again but still no sign of him.
“Colin!”
Everyone cheered again but this time not as enthusiastic as before.
Derek ran up the stage and pulled the microphone away from Ryan.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing?”
“Colin left. He wasn’t feeling well,” Derek said into the microphone.
“Uhm… okay. Well, who needs him? Let’s party it up!”
Everyone cheered and the music went back on.
“Where’d he go?” Ryan asked Derek.
“Theresa took him home. He had a little too much to drink.”

“Theresa, Theresa, stop! What’re you doing?” Colin mumbled, pulling his pants back on.
“Oh, come on, Colin. You know that you want to.” She smiled and began unhooking her bra.
“You know I can’t. I’m sorry!” He slipped his shirt back on and headed for the door. He pulled on the handle but the door was on child lock. “Theresa, what’s going on?”
“I can’t let you leave without getting what I want.”
“Stop it, now open the door!”
Theresa pulled off her bra and threw it onto the front seat.
“Open the damn door, Theresa. This isn’t funny!”
Then the car went silent.

Silly, Theresa! Don’t you know that it’s impossible to put out fire with fire? It seems that you’re doing all my work for me. That isn’t fair at all! I need to stick around more and instead of standing here and watch you burn, it will be me that lights you on fire. Isn’t karma a bitch?