Chapter One (Sunday August 5, 2012)

Madison Gaines could not wait to go away to university. She was getting sick of never being good enough for her parents. She had spent the last week preparing for her final beauty pageant before going away, and had placed "only" second. Madison thought she had done really well, but her mother couldn't understand it. Madison was 5'6", blonde, big blue eyes, and 120 pounds. No matter, it was only four more days until she left her parents' home near Lousiville, Kentucky and headed off to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

She couldn't wait to move to Alabama. She had applied to several schools, all within the SEC, but Alabama had appealed to her the most. It had her program, a Psychology and History double major; it had an absolutely beautiful campus; the dorms were better than many of the other schools she had been considering; and most importantly, it had a huge Greek Life. Madison could not wait to find out which of Alabama's sororities would be her home for the next five years (instead of four – due to her double major).

Madison definitely felt she was more than prepared for Recruitment, even one as competitive as Alabama's was known to be. First of all, her parents had both been Greek, as had their parents before them. She had been sung to sleep as a baby and small child by not only her mother's Chi Omega lullabies, but also her Granny (maternal grandmother)'s Zeta Tau Alpha ones, and even on occasion her Gramma (paternal grandmother)'s Alpha Gamma Delta songs. Because her family had such a varied and rich Greek background, Madison was a legacy to three of Alabama's 15 chapters participating in Formal Recruitment. She had also worked very hard over the last year to obtain one recommendation to each of her legacy sororities, and two recommendations from each of the others. All of these had been sent in to the sororities at the beginning of summer, leaving Madison to prepare herself mentally and physically for Recruitment.

The physical preparations had not required too much effort on Madison's part – she was in great shape, being both a cheerleader and a beauty queen meant that she was well able to always make herself look her absolute best; and just last week her mother had taken her on a shopping trip into Louisville to buy her some "rush outfits", as well as some other "sorority staples". Madison now had two outfits for every day of Recruitment, and several nice outfits for sorority functions, and, of course, a beautiful white dress for her sorority Initiation, when the time came. Mentally preparing herself was a little harder though. Madison had spent the summer scouring the chapters' local and national websites, and was well-educated in their philanthropies, scholarship requirements and opportunities, and leadership opportunities. She had visited the campus three times during her senior year, each time staying at one of her legacy sorority houses to get to know the collegians. However, she knew she would have to meet each of the houses during Recruitment to get a feel for where she truly wanted to end up. Her mother, on the other hand, was determined that Madison would become a Chi Omega. After all, her mother's voice kept reminding her, Chi Omegas are the best. When people find out you are a Chi Omega, you get respect! Every time her mother said that, Madison would remember what her Granny had told her: "It's not the letters that are important. It is the sisterhood, where you feel at home; and how going Greek prepares you for the future with leadership opportunities, time management, and networking." This, Madison knew, is what she would have to keep in mind when choosing her sorority.