Chapter 11: Chapter 8: Fourth Flashback

The Soulless, were said to have rampaged against the city walls for weeks following the successful termination of the one that attacked Keri. She heard the constant news alerts and report statements from guard patrols as well as wall watchers with avid interest. There was little else to do while she waited for her bones to mend, and her heart to heal. Every night brought new nightmares and every morning she awoke with the raw scent of copper. Some nights she dreamed she was unable to move, stuck to the ground by a thick layer of corpse blood. The worst nights she would fall into seizures which forced the doctors to provide anesthesia to make her stop.

Eventually, once stable enough, the lead physician finally gave her the news, "I'm sorry but your boxing career's done,” He spoke clearly, but to Keri it might as well have been from a mile away. She could barely register the statement, or maybe she just didn't want to.

Three weeks have passed since the soulless attack. Three weeks of healing and physical therapy, which only drained away what little money they had. She waited every day hoping the doctors would have better news, such that she could live with. Eventually however she had no choice but to accept that her dreams had been killed, and she swallowed her grief in silence.

Keri accepted the news poorly. It took a while for it to fully set it, before she realized she needed to make a decision. Her father lost his savings, she had lost her best friend. She couldn't fight in the ring, and she had no desire to work with her father in the mines. She could try to take up an apprenticeship as a merchant or maybe find something else? It was the doctors who first pushed her to try to apply to the university. Most careers required a diploma to even apply, and her injuries couldn't stop her from studying. She had been reluctant in the past to go that route, setting her sights on her athletic prospects instead.

But with the guilds and middle class requiring the Grand Universities academic credentials, she had no choice but to take the idea seriously. But as she pondered it she was already getting ahead of herself. One simply couldn't apply to the Grand University, she would have to seek an invitation. Before committing to this he toyed with the idea of trying music, perhaps playing to the masses in the old square or over the stadium bridge, but looking at her hands they were not meant for delicate instruments. Nor did she have the patience.

Once she was able to leave the hospital, she focused her attention on finding a way to get an invitation to go to college. The application was easy, but that was the only thing that was. There were eight fraternities, organized by houses, and ten sororities organized in institutes. Each had their own code of conduct, rules and regulations, and culture that was unique. She needed a sponsorship from one of the sororities, and that meant presenting herself to the universities rush week. It surprised her there was no academic records required, or anything else to judge ones social standing. The only thing that the University cared about was Institute or Housing sponsorship.

Rush week just happened to start on the worst day of spring, four weeks prior to the fall semester. It was pouring rain and gloomy as hell. Keri showed up in her most presentable outfit, which living in the low tiers was a clean pair of jeans and red blouse. It was modest, and not nearly as extravagant as what some of the other girls were wearing. She tucked her purse in a satchel that she had hanging over her shoulder. She didn't have fancy shoes, only an old pair of boots and her boxing sneakers. She opted for the boots.

She didn't know the differences between each sorority institute, but she couldn't help but be impressed with how open and expanding the campus university was. It was a massive collection of marble and cobblestone buildings full of intellectual studies and lore. She was more interested in trying to decide what she should study rather than the differences behind each sponsor groups. The first Institute she tried to reach out too and meet was the MaryJane Institute. Being a Maryjane seemed appropriate for her, many of them were apparent athletes and their presence on campus just created this sort of glow. Their tables were never empty, and most of the sisters she met were readily approachable.

Despite her best attempts at wooing the Maryjanes she's eventually had to shift her focus to the other sister Institutes. Rush week was a packed event, there were thousands of young men and women trying to get membership. It made navigating difficult, especially for the guys. Fewer Frats meant larger gangs of people trying to get noticed, and Keri felt claustrophobic just looking at the Fraternity House booths with their packed applicants. She was brushed quickly aside by the Sasha Institute, without even a glance, along with the Chloe's, Samantha's, and Bella's. She even took a shot at the Brittany Institute which seemed to have a notorious reputation for recruiting the undesirables. Someone even mentioned to her they seemed to seek out the 'welfare cases'. But upon meeting a Brittany Keri wasn't impressed.

The Kiersten Institute also wasn't impressed by her academic record or extra circular activities, and seemed snobbish. She was about to give up hope when she stumbled upon a Rachelle. It was Julie Cane, had she known then what she knew now she never would have even spoken to her. She seemed so nice, and stunningly beautiful. She was the first person on campus that actually talked to her with genuine interest. She wanted to know about her boxing career, remarkably short as it was, and even complimented her on her blouse. For nearly an hour they conversed until Julie brought her to speak to some of the other sisters.

It was two weeks following the rush week that Keri got the sponsorship invitation, she was accepted to join the Rachelle Institute of the Grand University. Should she accept she would have to go through initiation and proceed with her academic career under their guidance. The invitation came with a delicate, and flamboyant, parcel from the president herself welcoming her into their Institute. The Rachelle's had apparently noticed her financial situation, and agreed  to cover all her medical fees and necessary school expenditures should she accept.

The offer was simply too good to refuse. Her father was so proud of her when she accepted. Thinking back to that moment, Keri hoped he never learned of what she had to do to maintain her good standing.

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