America 1982-Chapter 99 - 17: The Newcomer Competition (Fifth Update)
The Fraternity new member competition is an old tradition of athletic rivalry among the Fraternities, after all, having recruited a bunch of new brothers, it’s always good to show those competitors how excellent they are, and meanwhile, take a look at what kind of recruits the others have got, spar a bit, and deepen the understanding.
As for the types of competition, they too are fixed and have been around for many years.
No-pads touch football, a six-person team event designed to display the rookies’ teamwork, tactical abilities, and courage. Though it’s touch football and physical collisions are off the table, a few tackles here and there are not stopped by the referees, and it’s quite normal to finish a game with bruises and scrapes.
Human bowling competition, a two-person cooperative event, where players must don special football gear and lie on a large skateboard, pushed by another teammate to sprint ten meters before launching towards ten 5-liter beer kegs arranged like pins thirty yards away. If not all are knocked down, the players must drink the contents of the remaining standing kegs before they can proceed to the next round.
Ping pong vodka, with ten cans arranged at different spots on both ends of a ping pong table, each can marked with numbers from 1 to 10. The corner with number 1 is the easiest to knock over and number 10 the most difficult. Players serve to knock down the cans on the opposite side. When a can is struck down, the opponent must drink the corresponding number of vodka shots. The game ends when one side becomes too drunk to continue serving, or all of the cans are knocked down, and that side loses the match.
Taking on the ping pong challenge, Tommy Hawk was no stranger. Back in his days playing with the Fraternity at Boston University, Tommy and his fellow Chinese international students used to drink Japanese, Vietnamese, South Korean and other international students under the table. As to why it was only played within the Fraternity and not included in the new member competition? By the year 2022, those Fraternities at Boston University, ever since they started to see more Chinese international students in the 90s, had voluntarily withdrawn the event and replaced it with another one. Those white boys who couldn’t handle defeat just couldn’t accept the harsh reality of having to start by guzzling ten shots of vodka if they lost the upper hand, making themselves look like fools.
"Tommy! Welcome to VSA’s turf! Are you ready to get turned into an idiot by me?" Stephen teased Tommy, who was in his SSD team outfit, with a malevolent smile.
The backyard of the Phoenix society was festooned with colorful lights. As last year’s champions of the new member competition, they had the right to host the home games. The bowling lane and ping pong tables were all set up. As for the football game, due to its duration, it would be scheduled for Sunday daytime. Tonight’s main events were related to alcohol and embarrassment.
Tommy high-fived Stephen and said in an intimidating tone, "Good evening, Stephen. You better pray you don’t face me, or I guarantee I’ll have you lying under the table within three minutes."
Only the six largest social Fraternities from Stanford participated in the competition, since the professional Fraternities generally didn’t dare to engage in these kinds of games with social Fraternities. The president of the Phoenix society, as the host, delivered a speech to the members of the six competing social Fraternities, proclaiming the importance of friendship over competition. However, judging from his expression, one could see he was quite ashamed to utter such insincere words.
After the participants drew lots and the order of play was decided, the new member supervisor Ted cautioned Tommy, who drew the first lot and would play in the first match, "Don’t be distracted by the high-scoring cans. Ensure that every serve scores, and make the opponent drink every time. Victory lies in consistency. Otherwise, if you’re always aiming for the toughest ten-pointer and fail three times in a row, even if you eventually hit it by chance and win that round, you won’t make it to the finals, as the opponent might have scored one, two, three points, totaling six shots of vodka, which will affect your performance in the second round."
"Okay," Tommy responded to Ted, "I’ll play it safe."
Tommy’s lot was number one, and his opponent was a rookie from DTS. In the coin toss for the advantage, DTS won and gave Tommy a cruel smile, "How about a warm-up with three shots, kid from Phoenix society?"
Finishing his taunt, he served targeting the number three can! The ball successfully hit the can but only brushed the side, making the can wobble without knocking it over!
Seeing that the can hadn’t fallen, the opponent cursed under his breath, while sounds of commiseration rose from the DTS members languishing at the side.
Even so, Tommy could tell this guy had decent ping pong skills, the kind of player you couldn’t engage in a protracted battle with according to Ted’s advice. He needed a swift victory, or he’d risk getting drunk by the opponent.
"Tommy! Hold steady! Don’t get greedy!" Ted, Eric, and others nervously watched Tommy prepare to serve, loudly reminding, "Take down two points, show him some color!"
With other cans still standing, aiming for the number ten can’s high difficulty was too risky. Observing for a moment, Tommy eventually targeted the number six can and sent a forceful forehand right-spinning drive!
The ping pong ball hit the number six can with great speed, sending it flying and tumbling down!
After scoring, an exhilarated Tommy clenched his fist toward Ted and the others, "I decided to give him triple the color!"
Knocking down the tricky number six can on the first serve left the spectators agape until the referee declared the hit valid. It was then that Eric, Ted, and the others rushed to hug Tommy tightly around the neck, conveying their joy!
Heeding the cheers from SSD brothers, even those like Charles who were initially watching the bowling game ran over. Learning that Tommy scored six on his first ball, they promptly lauded him for the great job.
Seeing the six glasses of vodka being served, the rookie at DTS took a deep breath and managed to down all six within the referee’s allotted time, trying hard not to let the alcohol affect him before completing the second serve and looking for a chance to win back. He ultimately chose the number two can and successfully knocked it over.
Tommy downed two glasses of vodka in one go and looked at his opponent, "Didn’t you say to let me have three glasses to liven things up? I’m still one short, lamb of the fraternity, it’s my turn now!"
The next second! Tommy knocked over can number five on the opponent’s side with a single shot!
Tommy looked at his opponent, whose face was now flushed with alcohol, "Take your time, there’s plenty of vodka."
When the opponent reached his ninth glass, he couldn’t hold back any longer, leaned over, and threw up the liquor. The referee, seeing this, had someone help the opponent down and declared Tommy the winner. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Having drunk only two glasses in the first round and one glass in the second, Tommy advanced to the finals almost unaffected. However, unfortunately, Stephen, who also practiced table tennis, did not make it to the finals with him. In the second round, his opponent had incredible luck, hitting the nine-point can and leaving Stephen so drunk, he couldn’t even hold the paddle.
"Is it you who messed with my friend? I had a deal with him to teach him a lesson," Tommy said, bouncing the ping pong ball in his hand, speaking to his opponent clad in BG-emblazoned attire, competing for the final victory.
The opponent, staring back at Tommy, was full of provocation, "I can take you to wake up with him now..."
"Prepare to puke your guts out, idiot!" Tommy interrupted him, shouted out loud, and served the ball with a forehand, smashing the most secluded number ten can in the corner of the opposing side’s table, knocking it flying. Triumphant, Tommy tossed aside his paddle and amidst the cheers of his peers, pointed at his opponent, being served ten glasses of vodka by the referee, and yelled:
"Remember to steer clear three feet away from SSD in the future! Otherwise, I can make you relive this alcoholic nightmare anytime!"
The opponent had already had five glasses in the first two rounds – if he could still hold the paddle steady after another ten, it would be a miracle!
In the midst of the cheering, Tommy received the ping pong vodka championship trophy that DTS had retained from last year, raised it high to show to the brothers of SSD. Just as the cheers on this side quieted down, bowling alley erupted with the excited shouting of Charles and others. Soon after, Charles, who typically appeared mature and composed, ran over like a child and shouted joyfully at a few people:
"We’ve taken the bowling championship! Bringing Jason and Tommy into our ranks was the best decision we ever made! We’ve won two out of three events so far! No matter the result of the football game, we’re already number one!"
"Just now, didn’t you say they were a bit behind other clubs in terms of skill? And yet they still won the championship?" Eric asked Charles in astonishment after hearing his words.
Speaking of Jason, Charles said with great admiration, "That’s right, their technique was terrible, but his stamina and that of his partner Derek were outstanding. Through a cycle of drinking, vomiting, drinking again, and vomiting again, they made it to the finals. I just found out that these rookies, specifically for the bowling event, besides practicing how to control the direction and force, once they learned that vomiting wasn’t against the rules, they sneakily went to learn from strippers how to chug liquor and then quickly induce vomiting. In the match just now, Jason, while moving on a skateboard, was simultaneously spraying beer from his mouth to empty his stomach; the scene was as spectacular as a water sprinkler, frightening their opponents who thought Jason was dying, not wanting to get in trouble, so they forfeited the match. Indeed, that was just what Jason wanted."
"Where’s the trophy? Bring it back to the trophy room!" After listening, Eric reminded Charles.
Charles hesitated, "That trophy... it might be better to take it back after the Phoenix Fraternity has cleaned it because their idiot Henry enjoyed Jason and Derek’s sprinkling service along with the trophy."
Afterward, he yelled to the SSD members, "Brothers, lift up these rookies who have brought honor to SSD! Take them home!"
Whether they had a performance tonight or not, all nine rookies were hoisted high by the SSD veterans and headed triumphantly back to Sparta. Tommy was perched on a veteran’s shoulder, and seeing no ill effects on Jason next to him, asked curiously, "Dude, did you and Derek really drink seven kegs, a full thirty-five liters of beer? Do you need to go see a doctor?"
"Don’t worry, brother, I threw it all up. The strippers taught us the trick, each time after drinking booze, to immediately drink some salt water or to press on your tonsils," Jason told Tommy while demonstrating the tonsil-pressing motion. Then Tommy saw Jason give a shower to his fellows below him—Eric, Ted, and other veterans, causing them to curse at Jason nonstop while others laughed gleefully at their misfortune. Even so, Ted and the others didn’t put Jason down.
Tommy started to laugh, but then his face changed as he said to Jason, "Shit, have you finished your homework? We have to hand it to the professor first thing tomorrow, and it seems like the professor is immune to this kind of championship glory."
