Free The Promise by Patrick Hurley

the shelf above the desk and looks at the types of books her roommate prefers to read.
     
    She scanned the tomes along the row, "Society and the Individual", "The Healthy Family", "Woman to Woman", "How to Negotiate Anything", "Tae Kwon Do for Beginners!"
     
    Only one volume stood out from the norm; it was a volume entitled, "The Art of Seduction." Elie reached up and pulled it out.
     
    As she is thumbing through the book she hears the door open and she quickly turns to see a very attractive young lady with a broad smile. "And you must be Bree," the smile announces to her.
     
    "I’m your new roommate, Verna Oden, nice to meet you."
     
                  Taken a bit by surprise, Elie glances quickly at the duffle bag to see if she had put everything back in its place. She had. As she holds the book in one hand, she extends the other one and greets her new roommate. "It’s nice to meet you, too, Verna. I was just, uh, looking at some of your books here and...."
     
                  Verna glances at the tome in Bree's hand and laughs aloud, "That one isn't mine. It belongs to my brother! He thinks he’s God's gift to women. Here, I’ll take that off your hands and make sure he gets it back."
     
                  Elie thinks to herself, “ Well, that confirms my feelings towards a certain administrator here at this school. What a sleazebag! I would love to run him in on a statutory rape charge.”
     
                  Her mind is brought back to the situation at hand however, by Verna's next question, which takes her off guard, "You’re only a senior in high school? You look older to me." 
     
                  Elie studies Verna's face to see the intent of her statement.  As she sizes up her roommate, the same could be said for her looks as well.
     
    She is tall and slender with a model's build but slightly more muscular. She has jet black hair, high cheekbones, dark penetrating eyes, full lips and a presence that is a little scary even when disarmed by a smile.
     
    She has a very powerful aura about her and she knows it. It is a sense of control that people around her immediately feel and yield to because of its intensity. Elie decides her best option is to attack Verna’s statement directly.
     
                  "That’s because I’m actually 26 years old and really stupid at taking tests. This is my ninth straight senior year. I keep flunking out of prep schools, please help me?"
     
    This is accompanied by a pitiful chuckle which immediately disarms her roommate.
     
    "I thought so,” she laughs.  Well, with my help you might just make it through here. But, I have your age figured for at least thirty!"  Both of them laugh and Elie feels safe, for the moment.
     
    She quickly changes the subject, "Hey, I’m hungry! Are you up for a pizza?"
     
                  Verna smiles, "I think I can handle that!  Why don't we go meet some of the girls and head into town.  Michaelangelo’s is great. They make a killer veggie combo with a whole wheat crust. It’s very healthy, too. You can stuff your face and make some new friends at the same time. 
     
    How’s that for a promise?"
     
                  That last word chills Elie. The Promise, the secret group mentioned by Allison Taylor's mother.
     
    Is Verna Oden a part of it or is it just Elie's imagination that is running amok here? 
     
    She looks at the girl and decides to try and find out a little more, "I guess you take your promises seriously around here, huh?"  She says it lightly with just a slight emphasis on the key word. 
     
                  Verna responds, "Yes, we do. The friends I hang with say what they mean and mean what they say. That’s why we can count on each other, under any and all circumstances."
     
                  “Any and all circumstances were interesting choice of words,” Elie thinks to herself.
     
    She has no