Nine o'clock strikes, and while almost all of the sorority sisters are scrambling to finish preparing to leave, Judith and Mary are standing in front of the bathroom vanity downstairs. Judith is watching her curl her hair.

Judith is donning a denim romper with a zipper down the middle, and Mary is wearing a shamrock green blouse and a jean skirt cut short.

"Before I unplug it, do you need to use it," she asks Judy, and she shakes her head. "You sure? I have nothing against your 'do, but some people might not like it."

"Well, I'm not here to please anyone." With that, Mary tugs the cord until the metal prongs slide out of the outlet, and she sits the hot curling wand on the marble counter.

"So, how do I look?" She fluffs the bottom of her hair with her blue eyes glued to her reflection. "I was going for the Farrah Fawcett look."

"It's so spot on that they should recast you as Jill Munroe," she tells her with her hands on her shoulders, staring at her reflection. When Mary begins to smile, she does the same.

"You're, like, the best friend I've ever had." She turns to face Judith, wrapping her arms around her for a short hug. "Let's go cut a rug with some seniors. I wanna show you around their building too."

They exit the sorority and stroll down the grassy pathway leading them to the back of the campus. Mary and Judith follow the soft music, the rhythmic thumping of Headlights by the Whispers, to a crowd of people dancing and talking outside of the mighty building that is Alpha Psi Delta.

"There won't be any alcohol or drugs, right," Judith yells over the music, and Mary chuckles.

"If there was, I wouldn't be invited, silly. I'm nineteen," Mary responds to her just as loudly, but despite her confidence, Judith feels her gut twisting nervously and a voice in her head telling her to turn around.

Ignoring both warnings, she continues up the steps with Mary at her side, and upon entering the fraternity, Judith's ambushed by the smell of marijuana.

"Yeah, I'm going back to your room," she announces to her, but before she can turn around, Mary takes her hand.

"We just got here, Judy, relax," she tells her, then guides her through the crowd of people blocking the entrance. She and Mary notice a flight of stairs and two arches; one to their left where the kitchen is and one to their right where the large living room of more people is.

A petite, brunette girl giggles on her way upstairs, and a blond student is following her with a faint grin on his face.

"Well, if it isn't the blonde Mary Tyler Moore," someone yells from the living room. They turn to the sound and notice a tall man in blue jeans and a shiny shirt, his hairy chest exposed, walking toward them. "You actually came."

"Well, I made a promise, and in case you don't know yet, I don't break my promises." She releases Judith's hand to embrace him, and Judith steps to the side, wrapping her arms around her chest.

"So who's your friend," he asks when they pull away from each other. He and Mary stare at Judith.

"Oh, she's the girl that I told you about. Her name is Judith, but I call her Judy. Judy, this is Derek Oliver, the stud that I told you about," she introduces them.

"It's nice to put a face behind the name," she says to him with a short forced smile. He extends his left hand to her.

"I agree." When they shake hands, he turns to Mary, and Judith folds her arms. "Let me get you a drink and show you around back. The pool is open."

"Groovy!" She looks at her friend, and Derek follows her gaze. "Will you be okay alone?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," she stammers and takes slow steps toward the arch of the living room. "I'll be – dancing – where the music is. Have fun."

"Okay, well, if you need me come find me." He nudges her toward the kitchen, his muscular left arm around her shoulder. "So, tell me about how your class went."

Judith watches them depart then she turns around. Stepping over the threshold, she immediately feels out of place when she doesn't see any black students.

"What did I get myself into?" She returns to the entranceway and peers into the kitchen from the exit door. Mary's holding a floral glass cup half-filled with red juice.

"Judy!" Peeking over her right shoulder, she rolls her eyes at David. He's descending the steps in a similar style to Derek. The next song plays when he approaches her: Olivia by the Whispers.

"What're you doing here," she asks as he glances at the party room. "I thought events like this weren't your scene."

"I could say the same about you. As an aristocrat, what're you doing hanging out with these commoners?" She furrows her eyebrows at his question. His eyes are red as if they're irritated, and he reeks of cheap cologne that barely masks the marijuana attached to his clothes.

"One, you told me that I could come here with Mary," she reminds him. "Two, why do you smell like a weed farm? Have you been smoking?"

"Maybe I was." Judith turns the knob, then jerks the door back, and just as quickly as she opens it, David slams it shut with his right hand. She gasps and flinches at the sound, staring at his fingers against the dark wood. "This is a good song, Judy. Could you at least dance with me before you jet?"

"I really need to get back to Mary's dorm room," she tells him, her hand tight around the knob. David emits a heavy sigh as if he's disappointed by her answer.

"Please, just five minutes, then I won't bother you," he begs, and she shuts her eyes. "I'm upset, Judith. You made it hard for me to trust you, so don't you think you owe me a talk? We can dance and talk."

"Fine," she meekly says after a brief moment of thought, but he doesn't hear her. She walks towards the music with a dull expression, and he licks his lips at the sight of her body.

David meets Judith in the middle of the floor next to the DJ's table, and he brings his hands to her hips. She raises hers onto his chest to keep his body away. They sway with the music, his heart pounding against her palms.

"How're you feeling," he asks her, and she glances at the couple slow-dancing to her right. Their lustful kissing arouses nausea in the pit of her stomach, so she averts her attention to her dainty hands.

"I feel like I don't wanna be here," she reminds him, and he leans into her left ear. The heat of his breath against her neck worsens her nausea.

"How about we head upstairs where it's quiet," he offers, and when she shakes her head, he continues, "Not to have sex, Judy. Let's go upstairs to talk."

"I'm fine with where we are," she insists. David stands up straight, and she takes a deep breath. "Um, so about that Jerome guy."

"Don't sweat it," he interrupts her with a nonchalant shrug. Her lips are agape as she listens to him. "You and King Kong would make a fine couple anyway."

"Davie, what're you talking about right now," she asks with a confused expression.

"Judith, seriously, it's all good." His hands inch their way below her waist. "Just tell me the truth. Did you have sex with him?"

"What kind of question is that?" Judith takes a step back, and he brings his arms to his sides. "No, I didn't. I don't know him, and even if I did, I wouldn't do that to you."

"It's always what you wouldn't do to me but never what you wouldn't do to yourself," he says with narrowed eyes. He steps toward Judy. "That doesn't make me feel good – knowing that my girl is only keeping her legs closed because she's with me and not because that's what she's supposed to do."

"God, I can't believe this is really happening." She walks past him, and he rushes to her, yanking her left arm in his right hand. She gasps, her heart racing. "David, let go of me."

"Don't walk away from me while we're talking, Judith," he orders her. She glances around the room with the hope that someone sees what's happening, but no one's looking.

"Okay, just – let go, and I'll explain how I met him and what happened when I left for lunch," she instructs as best as she can despite her shaky voice. He hesitantly releases her arm, and she stares at the red mark just above her elbow.

"Talk." Judith looks at him, a tear falling from her left eye.

"I first saw him at the bus stop," she begins, wiping her face. "He was sitting with his friends, and I didn't say anything since I didn't know them. I got on the bus and met Mary when we reached the campus. She and I walked to the same building, and I showed her to the group I have with La'Shawna. After that, we went to the seven-eleven up the road. That's when I saw him again. I didn't play anything with him. Mary did, and I watched. That's all."

"Where is she," he asks her, and she peers through the arches. He follows her gaze.

"She was in the kitchen with the host. At least, I think he's the host." She sniffles and places her right hand over the bruise.

"If I ask her, will she say that you're telling the truth?" Judith nods her head, and David speed walks past the staircase. She follows behind him, then stops in the messy room; cups and popcorn sprawled across the floor, guacamole and crushed chips next to a bowl of punch on the island.

"She's probably at the pool with him," she tells him, then follows him through the sliding door. They push through the crowd until they're standing at the edge of a vast pool.

After scanning the lively students in the water, Mary is nowhere in sight, he takes her left wrist and hauls her back inside.

"This constant lying to my face, sending me on a goose hunt for a girl who's not here." He slams the sliding door behind them, squeezing her flesh tightly. She winces, and her mouth hangs open, sound unable to escape. David grips her jaw in his right hand, drawing her face closer to his. "You're blowing my high."

"Judy?" David and Judith look behind him, and when they see Mary standing at the arch with her blouse undone, he takes his hands off her. Upon doing so, she's able to take deep breaths.

Mary's hair is frizzy, and her eyes are barely open. She leans against the frame to her right, then points to the juice bowl.

"Whatever you do, don't drink that," she slurs. Judith moves toward her and squints into her eyes.

"Mary, are you okay?" She shakes her head, tears welling onto her lashes. Judy hoists Mary's left arm over her shoulder, and she wraps her right arm around her drunken friend's waist.

"Judith," David calls for her before she takes a step back. When she looks at him, he says, "Tomorrow, meet me after church. I'll apologize when I feel that you're in the right headspace to accept it."

She scoffs at his remark, then guides Mary toward the exit. Judy turns the knob in her left hand and tugs her onto the porch.

"Where're you taking me," she asks when they reach the steps. The faint smell of watermelon on Mary's breath enters Judith's nose as the first aroma that doesn't upset her stomach.

"I'm tired," she says with a grunt when they descend the first step. "And you're drunk. I'm taking you to your room."

They stumble onto the last step, and Judith takes a deep, annoyed breath. She shuffles down the lawn, the night breeze burning her lungs.

"I don't feel good right now, Judy," she mumbles, then stops walking, and Judith's forced to do the same. She opens her mouth to ask Mary to continue, but when clear fluid expels from between her thin, rosy lips, she's only able to groan disgustedly.

"Okay, we're never going to parties again, Mare," she tells her. She faints in Judith's arms, sending them both crashing to the ground. She rises to her knees and grips her shoulders. "Mary? Mary, please, get up. You're heavy as it is."

When she doesn't respond, Judith stands to her feet and peers at the herd of people dancing to the music. She takes a deep breath, then bends forward. She attempts to yank her to her feet, but it's to no avail.

"Mary, please," she whines helplessly, her stomach rumbling.

"Need a hand," a familiar voice offers. Judith lifts her chin, and standing over them is a hooded figure whose face she's unable to make out. They're carrying a full trash bag in their gloved left hand.