Reborn by S. L. Stacy Page A

is playing tonight. Come with me? Bring your sisters if you want.
    I
stare at Anna's text until the backlight dims. Part of me doesn't think I can
handle any more drama. My hook up is turning into a stalker, and the mysterious
man who gave me my wings is my TA. The other part is dying to get a glimpse of
her old "beau," and she wins out. I can always surround myself with a
small army of my sorority sisters. I text Anna back "sure" and send
another message blast to the board to see if any of them want to tag along.
    Awesome! Anna replies later. They’re playing at The End at eight.
    I
have no idea what or where The End is.
    Sounds
good , I tell her. Tanya and Carly can come. We’ll give you a ride.
    That’s
ok. I have my truck. I don’t want to impose.
    It’s
no problem! Meet us at the quad at 7:30.
    My
sisters and I wait for Anna outside the house. When I see a tall, willowy
figure with a mane of glossy brown hair walking up the driveway, I slice my arm
back and forth through the air and cup my hands around my mouth.
    “Anna!”
    Anna’s
head jerks in our direction, and she gives a small, hesitant wave back. Her
eyes dart uneasily from one Greek house to the next as she approaches us.
    I
present her to Tanya and Carly with a flourish of my hands.
    “Guys,
this is Anna, my good friend from high school. Anna, these are my sisters Carly
and Tanya.”
    Tanya
smiles but casts me a knowing look while Anna’s shaking Carly’s hand. I've told
her some of the story from high school before—the biased version where Jimmy
was a jerk, Anna was a bitch, and I was perfect.
    “Shotgun!”
Tanya calls as we’re descending on Carly’s blue hatchback. I crawl into the
backseat with Anna. While the car purrs to life, Tanya searches for The End on
the GPS.
    “I
can’t find it.”
    “It’s
short for ‘The End of the World,’” Anna explains.
    "That's
uplifting," Carly says wryly.
    “We
don’t need that,” Anna tells Tanya, meaning the GPS. “It’s in Greenview. Make a
right at the next light,” she instructs Carly.
    Once
we figure out where we’re going, we sink into an uncomfortable silence. Carly
finally turns some music on, and a rasping, British male voice singing about a
white wedding fills the car.
    “What
is this?” Anna wonders.
    “Billy
Idol.”
    “Ugh,
I hate eighties music. The eighties were the beginning of the decline of pop
music.”
    Carly
slams on the brake, sending us all reeling forward then slamming back into our
seats. Luckily, we’re on a side street, and no one’s behind us.
    “Sorry,
I thought I saw a squirrel.” Carly’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel,
and I can see her baby blue eyes in the rearview mirror trying to make Anna’s
side of the backseat burst into flames. One glance at me and Carly’s grip on the
steering wheel slackens. She swallows her rage and shifts her foot to the
accelerator, easing the car gently onward. A swift punch cuts off Idol
mid-croon.
    “I
like your shirt,” Tanya tells Anna a few beats later. She cranes her head
around the passenger’s side seat to face us. “I love wearing my boyfriend’s shirts, too. Boy clothes are so comfy.”
    Anna
runs her fingers along the hem of her dark blue and black plaid flannel shirt.
“This is my shirt.”
    Tanya’s
red lips make an “O,” but no sound comes out. She turns back to look out the
front window.
    “So…are
you in a sorority?” Carly asks quickly.
    “No.”
Anna scowls at the curls springing up over the top of the driver’s seat. “I
don’t need to pay to have friends. Um, no offense.” Anna regards me anxiously out
of the corners of wide eyes.
    “We’re
here!” Carly announces with relief, saving me from having to pretend not to be
offended.
    The
End of the World is a nondescript brick building with a green awning sandwiched
between a tanning salon and a sushi restaurant. All of the metered spaces on
Third Street are taken, so Carly cruises the side streets until we find a free
space