The first week of classes has flown by. It comes as no surprise that my favorite classes are the ones with Matt in them. He seems happy about it too. When he walked in and noticed me in our biology class Tuesday, he came and plopped his stuff down right across from me at my lab table. Whether he realized it when he did it or not, that decision made him my lab partner for the rest of the semester, and now we have this big project we have to complete together. I’ve never asked or indicated that I wanted him to sit with me, so it feels pretty satisfying that he keeps doing it on his own, in both classes. It’s the one way that he shows he wants to be near me as much as I want to be with him, consciously or not.
Despite looking forward to seeing him in a Jessica-free space every weekday, a full-time schedule of classes and homework is still a lot. By the end of my last course Friday afternoon, I am completely fatigued, and my brain feels like it is turning to mush in my skull. I decide to put off doing any of the homework I will need to finish by the end of the weekend and turn my attention instead to finding something fun to do for the night.
Ronnie is in our room when I get back from class. She has books, notebooks, and miscellaneous papers and notecards spread out in a semi-circle around where she sits cross-legged on the floor, despite the fact that I know she doesn’t have any more classes until Monday. It is a sight to behold, and I realize it is also a demonstration of what perfect grades look like in practice. All week, her hard at work is what I have come home to. I admire her dedication, but I also decide I am on a mission to make the girl set it aside for a minute and enjoy herself for once.
“Got any plans for tonight?” I casually ask her as I come in and drop my bag beside my desk.
She looks up at me, and then back down at her work, an adorably confused expression on her face. “I, uh, yeah. This is my plan. Weekends are the perfect opportunity to get a start on notes and collecting research for upcoming papers and assignments.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of something fun to do,” I tell her.
“This is fun,” she mutters.
I think she didn’t intend for me to hear that, so I ignore it.
“If you mean a party or something, then no. It’s not my style and I’m way too young for college parties anyway,” she explains.
“There are other fun things to do besides party,” I argue. “What about going to see a movie or something? Would you want to come with me?”
“I’m not really a going out kind of person. Besides, it’s expensive.”
“A movie here then. We can stream one on my laptop.”
She pauses to think about that, tapping the fingers of one hand with a pen held in her other hand.
“Okay, yeah. That I would be okay with,” she agrees. “I’m not picky about movies. Whatever you want to watch, chances are I haven’t seen it, so you pick.”
She works on carefully picking up her notes and books and setting them aside in an orderly fashion, and then we toss down some floor pillows and blankets to make a cozy spot for us to hang out. I decide to order some pizza for dinner so that we can get into our pajamas early and just stay in for the whole rest of the night.
We go out into the common area to wait for the pizza, and some of the other girls on our floor catch wind of our plan and invite themselves to join. Sarah apparently has a giant bean bag we can all share, which sounds like an upgrade from our floor pillow plan, so we gladly accept. I add a few extra pizzas to our order so that we have enough to pass around. Before we know it, our quiet girls’ night for the two of us turns into a pizza and slumber party for all of 3-East, and even Felicity is coming.
After the pizza finally arrives, delivered by a cute blonde guy who pauses a few minutes to flirt with Jenny, we take everything to where we’ve been setting up bean bags, floor pillows, sleeping bags, and pretty much any kind of fluffy bedding to lay down on. It’s a mess at this point with no clear sign of where each individual girls’ stuff has ended up because it’s all mixed together. Felicity is setting up an actual TV so we don’t all have to share one tiny laptop. I’m not even sure what we’re watching at this point; I’m just happy to be here. This feeling of being part of a pack is what I have been missing this week.
The first movie, chosen by Kailey, is some sort of romantic comedy that I find to be more disparaging than uplifting because of all the twists and turns life seems to throw at the male and female leads which serve to keep them apart and fighting their feelings for each other. It’s too close to home for my taste. I can only hope there is a happy ending for the couple.
Sarah crawls out of her bean bag cocoon part of the way through and pauses the movie, earning her some frustrated groans and demands for her to turn it back on.
She ignores them. “Guys, I have an idea. Let’s play a game,” she suggests, “so we can all get to know each other better. It will be fun, promise.”
I guess I’m not going to find out how it ends for our unhappy on-screen couple. There are more girls who want to play her game now than those who still want to watch the movie, so game time it is.
“Okay, we’re going to play a game that is kind of like twenty questions. I’ll start by choosing somebody and asking her a question, and then she chooses somebody, and so on,” Sarah explains.
“What happens if we don’t want to answer a question?” Ronnie asks.
Good question. I’m wondering that too. A game like this could be risky for me.
“Well, come on, guys. Be good sports,” Sarah pleads. “It’s meant to be fun and to help us get to know each other, so please participate. But I guess if someone asks something you’re just not comfortable with, then you can pass. The girl who asked you can ask you something else or ask a question of someone else.”
“Okay,” Ronnie agrees uncertainly.
I know she desperately wants to fit in with all the older girls here, but she is also kind of shy. This sort of game might not be the fun time I had in mind for her.
“Okay.” Sarah claps her hands together and sits up straighter, ready to start her game. “Natalie. You first. Who was that cute guy we saw hanging around your room last night?”
Oh. I see. This game is Sarah’s way of being nosy about everyone’s business. Okay, Sarah. I see you. I’ve known girls like you back home - nosy busybody gossips who love to stir drama. I need to steer clear of that one with anything personal.
Apparently, the mystery guy is Natalie’s brother. Sarah seems disappointed. We also learn that Kailey and Kara have a crush on the same guy and are knowingly competing with each other for his affections. Yikes. Felicity is on a strict low-carb diet but has a weakness for pizza (oops, sorry). Amber was born with six toes on each foot but had the extras surgically removed. Megan is a natural blonde but has been dying her hair red since high school and her ex-boyfriend never figured out she isn’t a natural redhead.
So maybe this game is kind of fun, and these girls are weird but I kind of love them. I enjoy learning all these little things about them.
It’s Megan’s turn to ask a question and she looks around at everyone before her eyes land on me. I brace myself for whatever she is about to ask.
“Aly, that hot guy you’re always hanging around with. I can’t tell if you have a thing with him or not. Is he single or ...?” She leaves the last part of her question dangling, obviously probing for whether I have some sort of unspecified claim on the guy.
She must be talking about Tyler. He has been “hanging around” here with me since we got here. I can tell by the way she asks the question that she’s interested in him, and who could blame her. He’s attractive, fit, funny, sweet, everything a girl could ever want. It bothers me that she wants him, though.
“Oh God, the tall guy who has perfected that whole sandy blonde beach-bum look? Yes, please. I need to know this too,” Chloe comments.
Before I even think about it, I blurt out, “No, he’s not single. We’re together.”
Ronnie looks at me, trying to suppress her small smirking smile. She plays it cool, even though she could call me out on it if she wants to. I’ve been telling her all week that Tyler and I are just friends.
“Okay,” Megan says. “I got you. Just wanted to know.”
She shrugs, and it really does seem like she is fine with him being taken. Chloe looks disappointed but immediately goes back to talking to Jenny, so I guess she accepts my answer, too.
My heart is still pounding even though the heat is off me now. Why did I say that? I should be happy that other girls are interested in Tyler. Maybe if I passed that along to him it would give him something to do to distract him from me. I’m surprised to discover that I’m not okay with that idea.
Realizing that it is my turn to ask a question now, I decide to ask Ronnie something easy that will allow her to talk about something she likes.
“Ronnie, what’s the story about the penguins on your desk?” I ask her, referring to the figurines of a family of penguins that are perched on the shelf above her computer. I always notice her moving them around and changing their positions and have been meaning to ask her about them all week.
She smiles and looks excited as she starts to explain, “My dad bought those for me when he took me to the zoo when I was little. The penguins were my favorite, and he wanted me to have some to take home with me.”
She continues telling everybody about the time she went to the zoo with her dad, but I zone out part of the way through. I should be listening because I did want to know about those penguins, but now I have Tyler on my mind. I knew I had some feelings about him, but I guess I didn’t realize how much he affects me. I have made contact with my mate and we have started to develop that bond some. What am I doing getting territorial about some other guy?