"Well, don't you look like the cat who caught the canary," Spencer teased as he opened the passenger door for Cassie.

She laughed. "Maybe I did," she teased back.

Spencer closed her door and then rounded the hood to get into the driver's seat. "So what made you as pleased as punch this morning?"

"A great conversation with a sister. So, what have you been up to this morning?"

"Oh, chapter church with the Delta Chi Epsilon ladies, then a few things around the house," Spencer shared, although he kept a few things to himself, such as.....

the picnic basket in the back and the acoustic guitar. Little did Cassie know what was in store for her on her first real date with Spencer.

As they drove off the campus, the young couple laughed and talked. Spencer drove for about 30 minutes, then turned into the driveway of a large estate-like property. Flowers adorned the sidewalks, and the sweet smell of magnolias filled the air. Trees provided shade over a beautiful Georgian style mansion located across the grass.

Spencer parked the car, then walked around to Cassie's door, opening it for her. As she stepped out, he took her hand and kissed it. Goosebumps ran up Cassie's back as she smiled at her sweet beau.

"Where are we?" she questioned, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Well, why don't you see if you can figure it out for yourself.." drawled Spencer with a teasing glance.

Cassie looked around at the beautiful acreage and saw the buildings with the Greek columns. As she looked around she had a sense of deja vu....like she had seen this place before, somewhere. She closed her eyes, trying to think. "Now why does this look so familiar...?"

All of a sudden, the memory came to her....a small picture framed in a silver frame....with this exact same building! She gasped, then stood in awe as she glanced around the property.

"Spencer!!! Oh my goodness, why...why...it's more beautiful than I ever dreamed...But...how...what...why?"

"Are you surprised? It took a lot of work and I had to ask a favor of someone really really close to me..."

"What do you mean?..."

"Well, Cassie, I have a little surprise for you....you see, I've always held the highest respect for the women of Alpha Delta Pi. That's one reason why our fraternity usually chooses someone from your group as the White Rose. But there's another reason as well...see, these were also the values that I grew up with as well. A true lady, with gentle manners, strong morals, and respects the beauty within others...someone who always sees the finest in people. Even through the most turbulent of times in their lives, these women I grew up always conducted themselves as ladies. Cassie, darling,..My great-great grandmother, great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and all of my aunts were all members of Alpha Delta Pi, and are still very active today..."

CLICK!! Oh my goodness, thought Cassie, as she looked at Spencer closely. "Wait a minute...you mean..." she gasped, dazed at the thoughts flashing through her head as she realized why Spencer, and the building...looked so familiar.

"You're related to one of ADPi's founders?!?!?!" Cassie exclaimed, too stunned to say anything more.

Spencer smiled, brushing a wisp of hair off of Cassie's face. "Yes, I am. Octavia Andrew Rush was my many-times great-grandmother. That's where I got my middle name from. You see, it's a very big family tradition for our family to go Greek....all the women go ADPi, and the guys all go Sigma Xi. I've been brought up knowing the history of the first secret society for women, and have had the utmost respect for every woman who is privileged enough to wear that diamond badge."

"I'm speechless," Cassie murmured. "Why me? There are SO many more wonderful women in my chapter - what made you and your brothers look closer at me? Don't give me "because you're the prettiest, or the smartest", or anything like that. What made you even give me a second look?"

Spencer turned to Cassie and looked deep into her eyes. "Cassie, you exemplify all the values that I was taught since I was a boy that a woman should have. Kindness for others, encouragement, dedication and loyalty----you show these things and so much more. Alpha Delta Pi is just as privileged to have you as a member, as you feel that you are to be a member. Sigma Xi always looks for these outstanding characteristics to be the White Rose. And Alpha Delta Pi women traditionally have these characteristics."

"Wow......." Cassie said. She was speechless, and at the same time, lost in Spencer's gaze.

Spencer gently tugged her along to walk around the grounds of the property, not saying a word. He allowed her to soak in the ambiance and experience the tranquility of the grounds, before leading her back to the car to gather up the picnic basket, blanket, and acoustic guitar. They walked back toward a large sycamore tree, and under the shade of the tree, spread out the blanket and placed the basket next to it. Before they dug in, Spencer asked Cassie, "Any special requests?" as he strummed a little on the guitar...

...especially with Christmas around the corner?" Spencer smiled.

"Hmmm... now you're playing Santa Claus?" asked Cassie, with her shy smile.

"Santa Claus, Grinch, whomever you'd like to get a little something from."

"This works two ways, you know."

"Mais oui, my lady. But I asked first!"

"Well, in that case," she paused, "I'd like..."

"...all I want for Christmas."
"As you wish." Spencer replied with a wink.

At the end of the song, Spencer leaned over to Cassie and whispered, "All I want for Christmas is you!" Then he gently kissed her lips.
Spencer put his guitar back in it's case and leaned up against the tree. He wrapped his arms around Cassie and pulled her towards him. They sat there quietly watching the sun set behind the rows of magnolia trees. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.


The next morning Cassie woke up beaming. She lay in bed and replayed yesterdays events in her mind. She had butterflies for the first time since Graham. She wasn't one to fall for a guy so easily. Graham had pursued her for weeks before she finally gave in and accepted a date. "Spencers special," she thought, "I've never met a guy who made me swoon." Cassie laughed to herself.

Determined to not let anything ruin her day, Cassie decided to skip her 9:30 statistics class, to enjoy a late breakfast in the Student Union instead.

As Cassie entered the building, humming "All I Want for Christmas" to herself, she noticed Spencer's car sitting in one of the parking spots.

"Hmm.." she thought. It must be my lucky day!

Entering the food court area, she scanned the crowd quickly.

Suddenly, her stomach lurched. There was Spencer sitting down in the food court and sitting next to him was a beautiful brunette. They were laughing and talking, and Spencer sat close to her. The young woman hugged Spencer and held up a necklace from a small package. "It's beautiful...I love it..!!" she squealed. Spencer hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek, smiling at the beauty.

Cassie was frozen just long enough for Spencer to see her.

"Cassie, come here... I want you.." Spencer started when
Cassie, with tears in her eyes, turned around, and walked out of the door.

As she walked back towards the house, she heard the gravel crunch behind her and the low hum of a car engine.

"Cassie, wait..!!" Spencer called as he pulled up beside her.

She continued walking. "Spencer, I need to get ready for classes. I don't have time to talk right now."

"No..I think you do have time to talk right now. You moved out of the food court pretty quickly. Get in the car so we can talk and not freeze!" Spencer said firmly.

"No...I'm perfectly fine" said Cassie, not fine at all. "You were with someone else, so I didn't want to bother you."

"I wasn't with someone else...What? Oh, for heaven's sake..."Spencer grinned and laughed. "No..Cassie, you don't understand..." he laughed even harder.

Cassie, now fuming slightly, didn't understand why Spencer was laughing at her.

"Cassie..." he choked on his laughter. " Darlin', you need to stop..you don't understand..that was Mary Grace.. my.."

"...niece! Now, please get in the car!"

"Look, I don't want to sound nasty or anything, but she looked a little 'grown up' to be your niece!" Cassie said, still walking.

Spencer pulled the car just a little too close to Cassie, causing her to gasp and stop. Jumping out, he grabbed Cassie by the shoulders. "My niece, you goof! My eldest brother is almost 37, Mary Grace is a junior in high school and thinking of going to school here! Hell, I'm hoping she'll get a bid from ADPi eventually!"

"Oh," Cassie said, embarrassed. "Your niece. High School. ADPi Super Legacy."

"I love the way you can see the gears turning in your head when you're deep in thought!"

Cassie smiled - almost smirked - up at Spencer. "I really blew it, didn't I?"

"No way!" Spencer insisted. "Now, jump in the car, and let's meet Mary Grace." Taking her elbow, he led her to the passenger side, and opened the door. "I promise not to tell her that you're the jealous type."

Cassie crossed her arms across her chest, as Spencer put the car in gear. "I'm not jealous. I'm just... very self-protective." She gave a wry smile to Spencer, who was laughing.

"Oh, man, Mary Grace is SO much like you! I hope y'all hit it off!"

"Why would you say that? I mean, why is Mary Grace like me?" asked Cassie.

"She tends to jump to conclusions very quickly as well. But, she does know how to laugh at herself when she's been wrong, and she's got a kind and caring heart, just as you do," Spencer said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.

He pulled into the student union parking lot, and after letting Cassie out of the car, the two of them walked into the building hand-in-hand. Stopping at the table Spencer had been sitting at before Cassie ran off, he said, "Cassie, I'd like you to meet my niece, Mary Grace. Mary Grace, this is Cassie, the girl I was telling you about."

"It's so nice to finaly meet you!" Mary Grace exclaimed. "Spence has done nothing but talk about you incessantly!"

"Oh, really," Cassie drawled, shooting a grin at Spencer. "And what, exactly has he been saying about me?"

"How smart and gorgeous you are." Mary Grace nudged spencer who was blushing. "Seriously, he wouldn't shut up....I think he's smitten!" Now Cassie was the one who was blushing.

"OK Mary Grace," Spencer said laughing "I think you've embarrassed me enough for today....Cassie, I was going to give MG a tour of the campus, why don't you come with us?"

Cassie took Spencers hand. "I would....

"...love to, but only if Mary Grace would be okay with sharing her uncle's company," Cassie said.

Mary Grace told her, "Please, come along with us. As much as I love Spence, I'd LOVE to pump you for information even more. And please, call me MG. It's a little nickname that Spence started, and now everyone I know calls me that!"

The three of them headed out of the food court and out onto GSTU's campus. Spencer and Cassie took turns pointing out things of interest to Mary Grace, allowing her to question them about their experiences in classes and with student life.

Cassie then took the two of them over to the ADPi house, where they ran into....

Hailey and Susan.

"Hey..come here, if you have a minute, I want to introduce you two to someone."

"Sure," said the girls.

"This is Mary Grace..she's Spencer's cousin and visiting up here for the day. We showed her around the campus earlier and she's got GSTU on her top list for schools to apply to."

"Please call me MG--it's so much shorter than Mary Grace.." the young brunette requested.

"Where do you go to school?" Hailey asked.

"I'm a junior at Athen Magnet School. I've been there since I was a freshman."

"Hey, I know that school--that's the school for talented students in academics and performing arts, right?"

"Why, yes it is. I'm studying classical dance...when I was 13, my dance instructor encouraged me to try out for their program, and I was accepted."

"Athens Magnet School.." murmurred Susan. "Hey, wait a minute..I'll be right back." She went upstairs.

"What do you think of the campus so far?" asked Hailey.

" I really like it..Spencer's been here and he really gives a positive picture of campus life."

The girls chatted when Susan reappeared with a pretty and freckled redhead who was grinning. When she looked over at the girls, she started laughing.."Hey...I thought you were joking" said the redhead.

Mary Grace turned around at the voice and squealed.." Oh my gosh! Melody!! " The two girls hugged tightly. " I didn't know you were here!"

"Yes, and I love it! I've been here for a year...I'm a sophomore now studying communications."

Cassie, looking amazed, just stared at the girls. " You two know each other?"

"We were in school together at Athens. We had some classes together, and we were in dance together at AMS. How is Madame LeChane?" asked Melody.

"She's doing well...still fussing about proper posture, as usual " grinned Mary Grace. "You know how she is...".

" I remember..I ache thinking about it! So, you're here for the day?"

"Yes, I've had a chance to come visit my uncle who's a student here and check out the campus. I didn't know that you were an Alpha Delta Pi."

"Well, that's cool. Yes, and it's so great! The sisters are wonderful. I didn't go through Formal Recruitment, but was invited to some events last January. The girls here are wonderful, and I felt so much at home that I accepted their bid."

"Are you going to be here for long Mary Grace?" Melody asked.

"Until tomorrow afternoon. I have an appointment in the morning with the pom squad director. Hopefully I'll make the tryouts this spring."

"Mary Grace, there are a few adpi's who are already on the pom squad. Would you like to meet them?"

"Sure!" said MG. "That would be great!"

"Well a bunch of us are going out to Kelly's Grille tonight for dinner, and I know of two girls for sure who are going to be there. Why don't you come with us."

"Well I don't know..." Mary Grace looked over at Spencer her eyes pleading. "Spencer wanted to take me to his favorite restaurant."

"MG, go ahead with the girls...I am sure I can find another dinner date somewhere." Spencer smiled at Cassie.

"Thanks Spence!" Mary Grace said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"MG, be here at seven tonight, and you can ride with me!" Melody went over to MG and gave her a quick hug. "I have to get to class now, but here's my cell number." She wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to MG. "Toodles!"

Mary Grace grinned at Cassie. "You are SO lucky to have Melody as a sister - she was one of the girls who took me under her wing while at AMS, and got me to really focus on my dancing."

Cassie said, "I'm so glad that she's my sister - she's been one of the girls who's always stopping by my room, seeing if I need any help learning about our founders or preparing for initiation, which is next week for us!"

Spencer interjected, "I'm so glad you two are enjoying talking about ADPi so much, and the wonderful women included in the chapter here, but is it too much to ask for a guy to get something to eat?" He smiled at Cassie as he said this.

She gasped. "I'm SO sorry! I totally forgot about missing lunch, and I have a class in about 20 minutes! Do you want to grab something really quick from the dining hall?"

Mary Grace said, "Thanks, but I think I want to wander around the campus a little more - check out the performing arts center, investigate the grounds a little. Spence, why don't you walk Cassie to her class?" she hinted.

"Oh, really, MG, that's...." Cassie began.

"A great idea!" Spencer agreed. "C'mon Cassie, let's go...we don't want you to be late! MG, I'll meet you back at the Sigma Xi house in an hour or so, all right?" Once he got her affirmation, he waited while Cassie ran upstairs to grab her schoolbag, then escorted her out the door.

To get this going again... ;)
 

"Spence, you should really stay with your niece - I mean, I do know how to get to class on my own," Cassie smiled.

"No, no, it's the least I can do for my favorite ADPi!"

"Now, I'm sure you say that to ALL your female relatives!" Cassie teased.

Spencer winked. "But I've never meant it as much as when I say it to you."

The two walked hand in hand to Cassie's class, where Spencer left her to immerse herself in the wonderful subject of....

18th century architecture.

As Cassie studied and discussed the styles of architecture in the 1700's, her mind kept flying back to the events of the last few days.

Spencer's attention was wonderful, and the trip to the headquarters was completely awesome. Being named as the White Rose for Sigma Xi was still unreal..."oh my gosh"...she murmured. I still need to let Mom and Dad know! In all of her excitement over the last few days, she had totally forgotten to call her parents!

At the conclusion of class, she walked out to find Spencer waiting for her underneath the awning. "So..how was class?" he asked, smiling at her.

"It was pretty good. Spencer, do you have the information about the White Rose Ball? I should probably start making those plans to find a dress and everything."

"Why, of course, darling. White Rose Ball is always the last Saturday of January. We traditionally hold it then because by then we've increased our number of brothers because they've been initiated. That's one of their first real privileges is to attend the ball as an initiated brother and they are wearing their badges that evening."

"Hmm..let's see...last Saturday of January. That would be the 28th, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. "

" I have a question. Would it be appropriate for my parents to attend?"

"Well, normally, it's closed to the brothers of the fraternity...but..seeing how your dad IS a Sigma Xi, I'm sure that the chapter wouldn't mind having an alumni guest attend that evening."

"Okay..hang on a second." She grabbed her phone out of her purse and dialed her phone number at home. "Hi Mom...how are things? No, everything is all right here..hey, is Daddy around? He is? Okay, could you put him on the phone, too? Oh, Spencer. He's doing well. We actually went out a few times. Daddy, are you there?"

"Hello darling..how's my girl? I hope everything's okay?" her father's pleasant voice rumbled into the phone. "How's that nice young man we met? You know, it's always nice to meet a polite young man..but even better to find out that' he's a fraternity brother!"

"Well, Daddy, that's why I called. I have some really exciting news...Mother..are you still on?"

"We're both here, sugar. What's up?"

" Well, I wanted to let you know something really neat. I'm going to the White Rose Ball at the end of January!!"

"Well, sweetheart, that sounds like a lot of fun" said her mother. " Are you excited?"
"Darlin..that's wonderful..are you going with Spencer?" her father asked.

"Well..sort of..umm" she laughed and looked at Spencer shrugging her shoulders. " It's a really big deal, and I wanted to ask if you would come up for the weekend."

"Darling, I'm not sure yet. Let me look at the calendar," her mother paused.

"Momma..it's really important." Casse murmured into the phone.

"Cassie, may I speak to your parents" interrupted Spencer.

"Sure...Daddy, Mother, Spencer wants to say hi to you guys..hang on a second."

"Mr. Mackay, Mrs. Mackay, I hope things are finding you well. I asked Cassie to hand me the phone. As president of Sigma Xi, I wanted to extend to you a personal invitation to attend the White Rose Ball. Mr. Mackay, we wanted to invite you as a brother. HOwever, this is also to let you know that you'll recieve a formal invitation in the mail, that Cassie is being honored at the White Rose Ball. She was chosen as our White Rose." Cassie leaned into the phone to hear her parents.

"Well, well, well..." rumbled her father's deep voice. "Julia..how about that....our little girl is a White Rose!!! Darling...I am so proud of you...I do hope that you know the honor that these young men have given to you."

bump

I actually wanted to "add on" to the story but it took me a half an hour to find the thread. So take a break from the computer. Come back and read the thread over again and type something. :D

"Daddy, I know it's a special honor...I'm just beginning to find out," Cassie said as she smiled at Spencer.

"We'll have to start finding a dress for you as well," interjected her mother. "Do you think you can come home next weekend?"

"I'm not sure..I don't think so...we have initiation activities coming up.." thought Cassie. "Let me call you later once I'm back at the house."

"Well, darling, I'm really proud of you.." her father's voice rumbled pleasantly. " We'll be there, you can count on it. Go on now, I'm sure you and your friend have plans. We'll talk to you later, honey."

Spencer grinned at Cassie as she turned off her cell phone.." See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Not if the president of the fraternity is inviting you..." she laughed. " I think you've made a definite impression on Daddy."

" I trust he's not the only one" murmured Spencer as he grasped Cassie's hand in his own. " Hey...I need to get going..I've got to meet MG back at the house. I'll talk to you later, hmm?" He still held her hand as they walked by Smith Hall, and then opened the door for her at the entrance of Wymer Hall, where Cassie had class.

"Thanks for walking me. I'll talk to you later.." she smiled at him as she headed to class.

The next hour and a half was filled with a lecture on the basics of structural design. Cassie's hand hurt by the end of class from the writing. At the end of class, as she gathered her books up, Dr. Richmond asked her to stay after a moment. Cassie thought back to the quiz last week, and groaned inwardly, hoping it wasn't a bomb.

"Miss MacKay, thank you for staying a moment. I just wanted to.."

" I know all about that quiz...I'm so sorry..I've had so much going on, but I promise I'll do better.."she faltered.

"...congratulate you for being chosen White Rose. I'm a Sigma Xi brother, and I serve as advisor for the chapter here."

"Oh....well, thank you," Cassie smiled. "It's an honor to have been selected to represent the gentlemen of Sigma Xi."

Dr. Richmond replied, "Well, I look forward to having such a well-rounded and excellent student as the White Rose this year...the White Roses in years to come will have very large shoes to fill."

Cassie blushed. "Again, I apologize about that quiz..."

Dr. Richmond interrupted, "Cassie, don't be so hard on yourself. You did spectacularly on the quiz, and have nothing to worry about."

Cassie relaxed. "Thanks, Dr. Richmond. I'll see you on Thursday!"

Cassie made her way out of Wymer Hall, and as she was walking back to the house, she ran into.....

Can You Tell I REALLY Like This Thread?
 

...Jill, a member of ADPi's biggest rival on campus, Mu Alpha Tau. While the two sororities were big rivals, Jill and Cassie got along extremely well - they thought they might even try living together next year, but that was sometime in the future.

"Hey, Cassie," Jill greeted. "How's your day going?"

"Pretty well," Cassie replied. "I have nothing to complain about."

"What's that smile sliding on your face about?" Jill queried.

"Well...things are just seeming to go really well right now."

"Does that have something to do with a certain Sigma Xi that many of the girls on campus are enamored with?" Jill teased.

"Maybe," Cassie grinned. "Hey, how is your boyfriend doing? Has he come to visit recently?"

Jill's boyfriend went to school in South Carolina; the two tried to get together as often as they could, but with the new member activities for Jill's sorority and the distrance between the schools, they sometimes went a few weeks without seeing each other.

"He actually is coming up this weekend for our formal," Jill explained. "I can't wait to show him off further to my sisters."

As the two neared the ADPi house, Jill looked up and spotted....

...what looked like the cast from the Rocky Horror Picture Show! And who was dressed as Magenta, but....













(Happier, James?)

Cassie's little sister. "Cassie," she shrieked. " Hurry up! Did you forget?"

"umm...what are you talking about?" queried Cassie, as she looked at the strange characters walking in front of the house.

"Don't you remember...we have that pledge swap with Beta Theta Pi?"

"Shoot - that's right! Jill, I'll catch you later, okay?"

Cassie frantically raced into the house and up the stairs to throw her stuff on her bed and change her clothes, and then she ran back down the stairs to meet up with the rest of her Alpha class.

"All right, girls, let's get this show on the road!" Cassie exclaimed.

The group of girls walked down the road to the Beta house, where they were escorted in by...

I love it too....let's keep it going again!
 

Dr. Frank-n-furter...or a Beta pledge dressed up like him.

The entire house was decked out like the Rocky Horror film, and members of both groups were having a great time chatting and enjoying the refreshments. Music was playing and members were dancing while the movie looped on several tvs throughout the house, and on the big screen in the rec room. The swap went on until about midnight.

As they walked back, Cassie couldn't help but reflect on what happened over the last few months. Pledging, meeting Spencer, becoming Sigma Xi's White Rose...it had all happened so fast!

When they approached the house, the girls noticed something strange in the midnight moonlight. The house looked different for a reason... but they couldn't quite figure out why.

In a flash..."Hey! What happened to our letters?" asked Kayla, one of Cassies' pledge sisters.