You Oughta Know
Jackie Taylor had always believed in being nice.
It was a simple philosophy—one that had carried her through childhood birthday parties, high school cheer captaincy, and now, her position as Kappa Kappa Gamma Recruitment Chair. A nice girl got invited everywhere. A nice girl made people feel welcome. A nice girl had charm that looked effortless, a warmth that never wavered.
And Jackie was so good at being nice.
Which was why, when she spotted Shauna Shipman and her roommate (?) in the dining hall, her first instinct was to smile.
They were standing in line for the salad bar, both holding trays like they weren’t quite sure what they were doing here. Shauna was wearing flannel, which was—well. Jackie had noticed the flannel at a girl running with books across campus, too, but now, in the daylight, she was noticing the way the sleeves rolled up over her arms, the way the fabric stretched over lean, sharp muscle. It wasn’t like Jackie went around noticing things like that. It was just—well.
She noticed.
“Shauna!” Jackie called, walking toward them without hesitation, her perfect white sneakers barely making a sound against the tile.
Shauna turned, raising an eyebrow, that same half-smirk she’d worn at Kappa still lingering on her face.
Jackie beamed. Because that’s what she did.
“Hi!” she said, like they were already friends. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”
Shauna gave a slow blink, like she was trying to figure out if Jackie was for real.
“Yeah,” she said, adjusting her tray. “Turns out I have to eat food to stay alive.”
Jackie laughed, because that was clearly a joke, and she was nice. “Well, that makes two of us!”
She turned to the taller girl, who was watching the interaction with the look of someone trying to decide if they were being pranked.
“You’re her roommate, right?” Jackie said, still bright, still warm. “You guys should sit with me!”
Taissa glanced at Shauna, like she was waiting for some kind of signal. Shauna shrugged, looking vaguely amused.
“Sure. My name is Tai. I do have a name you know. “ Taissa said, sounding suspicious.
Jackie led them to her usual table by the windows, where the sunlight made everything look clean and golden, like something out of a sorority recruitment video.
Shauna dropped into a seat across from Jackie, resting her forearms on the table. Her arms. Again. Jackie took a sip of her iced tea, willing herself to stop noticing.
“You guys settling in okay?” Jackie asked, keeping her voice as light and friendly as ever.
Shauna’s lips twitched. “Yeah. No hazing or ritual sacrifice yet, so that’s nice.”
Jackie giggled—because, again, she was nice, and Shauna was obviously joking, even if she said it in that slow, lazy way, like she didn’t actually care about the answer.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Jackie said, smiling. “I’d hate for you to get, like, sacrificed to the frosh gods or whatever.”
Shauna picked up an apple from her tray, tossing it lightly between her hands. Big hands. Jackie did not notice that.
“You sure you guys don’t do that?” Shauna said. “Seems like a very Kappa thing.”
Jackie laughed again, because she had been raised to be good at things like this—making people feel comfortable, turning potential awkwardness into something fun.
“I promise we don’t,” Jackie said, all mock-serious. “Although, if we did, I obviously wouldn’t tell you. Secrecy and all that.”
Shauna smirked at that, biting into her apple with a casual sort of ease, like she was testing Jackie, waiting to see if she’d break the polished, respectable veneer of her entire life.
Jackie held her ground, still smiling, still warm, still so nice.
She didn’t know much about Shauna yet, but she did know one thing—she kind of liked the way Shauna looked at her. Like she wasn’t sure what to make of her, like Jackie was a puzzle instead of a perfectly constructed image.
Jackie had been a lot of things in her life—cheerleader, state champs, captain of the soccer team, recruitment chair. But she had never been a puzzle.
It was… kind of intriguing.