As soon as Athena passed through the doorway, her three transformed family members looked over, and their bubbly expressions instantly turned icy.
"What do you want, pledge?" Joyce said.
Pledge? Athena thought, they must think I'm trying to join this stupid sorority. But she knew she should probably play along.
"Uhm... just seeing if you guys needed anything."
"Why don't you, like, go upstairs and start cleaning," her dad said. "We're having a pool party tonight, and the Beta boys will be here. And our bedrooms have like, got to be cleaned before they get here, if you know what I mean."
The three of them giggled at Jerry's suggestion, then Dan broke the laughter.
"Ohmigod," he said, "I, like, totally need a bikini wax before tonight."
"Why don't we all go to the salon?" Joyce suggested.
"That sounds awesome," Jerry said. "I could use a pedicure."
"Y'know, you wouldn't need one if you hadn't been wearing those boots all day," Joyce said.
"But they're soo cute," Dan replied. The gaggle continued their inane conversation as they headed out the door and drove off in Dan's car.
Athena sighed. It was going to be a long day if stuff like this kept happening. She took a look around the house, noticing the changes it had undergone. The rooms were definitely bigger, and there was more furniture.
She went upstairs, and saw even more changes. The hallway was longer, and it looked like there were at least three more bedrooms. It looked like at least a dozen girls lived here now, and judging by the decor and some of the clothing that was strewn about they had similar tastes to her parents. Luckily, though, Athena seemed to be the only person in the house at the moment.
But how had she become a pledge at this sorority? She wasn't even in college. Athena looked herself over. She didn't look or feel any different. No older, and luckily no blonder. Moving to the other end of the hall, she found her room. It was still intact, completely unchanged. But Athena wondered how long that would last. She wasn't sure if her magic would be enough to protect her if this kept up.
Acting quickly, Athena gathered the supplies necessary to complete one more ritual. It was one of the first she had learned. When she was ready, she lit a white candle and recited the incantation. Instantly, her pendant rose from her chest, hovering in midair. After a moment, it moved forward, pulling the string taut. It was tugging firmly, but not too hard.
The pendant led Athena out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. It was, she hoped, leading her to the source of this chaos.
