Even Top Students Fail

The Doting Girlfriend

Lilith woke early and slipped on the light green dress William had wheedled from Ryan. You get what you pay for, and this dress looked stunning on her. With her fair skin, the green created a refreshing effect. While the white dress made her look like a princess, this green one gave off a cool, crisp vibe.

Lilith and her classmates had their first two periods that morning, but there was still time before 8 AM to make a good impression. During his two weeks at MIT before summer break, William's favorite breakfast had been from the campus dining hall. Lilith went out of her way to buy it, along with coffee. Thinking William's roommates might want some too, she got enough for three - any more would be too much to carry and would go to waste.

At the boys' dorm, Lilith took out her phone to call William. Though new students were arriving and she could have gone in, it was still early and most people were asleep. To avoid any awkward situations, she decided to wait outside.

"Hello?" William answered groggily, just woken by Lilith's call.

"Oh, you're not up yet? Sorry for waking you," Lilith said, feeling embarrassed even though William couldn't see her. She had wanted to make a good impression, but ended up disturbing his sleep instead.

"No, I'm up. Too hot to sleep anyway," William replied. The tiny fan in their room barely made a difference. None of them had slept well all night, tossing and turning as their mattresses got soaked with sweat. Even in September, Cambridge was still sweltering. Add in the mosquitoes, and the six of them had suffered greatly.

"I brought you breakfast. Come down and get it, then you can go back to sleep after eating," Lilith said with a smile. Having made up her mind, she was determined to be the perfect doting girlfriend, ensuring her boyfriend felt cared for in his first time away from home.

"Okay, sounds good." Though William didn't say much, a smile tugged at his lips hearing Lilith had brought him breakfast. He quickly got dressed, washed his face, and headed out.

Jack, who had the bunk opposite William's, had seen his every move. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Where are you going? I'll come with you." Jack knew what was up, but when William ignored him, he nimbly hopped out of bed and followed anyway.

Friendships between guys form quickly - one game of ball or shared joke can turn strangers into buddies. Unlike the gradual bonding in Lilith's dorm, the six guys in William's room had reached the level of sharing food and clothes after just one night together.

Seeing William come down, Lilith hurried over, gesturing to the food. "I got your favorite sandwiches and coffee. There's enough for three - share with your roommates." But before she could finish speaking or William could respond, a sleepy-eyed Jack had already snatched the food. "Thanks so much, upperclassman sister-in-law!" he said, giving William a look that said "I won't be a third wheel" before turning to leave.

Jack's "upperclassman sister-in-law" was an odd nickname. The night before, the guys in William's room had sorted themselves by age. Even though William had repeated a year, he still ranked third youngest. So it made sense for Jack, being older, to call him "little bro." But with Lilith being an upperclassman too, this accidental moniker was born.

Lilith stood there dumbfounded as her offerings were snatched away. William couldn't help but chuckle, ruffling her hair affectionately. "Don't you have class this morning? Why'd you bring me breakfast?" he asked, though his upturned lips betrayed his good mood, despite the poor sleep and near-mosquito feast.

"It's nothing, I just didn't want you to go hungry," Lilith replied. She could hardly say she felt she'd treated him poorly before and wanted to make amends. Knowing William, he'd definitely take advantage of that admission.

"You've done well, Lilith. Here's your reward." With few people around so early, William lightly brushed his lips against Lilith's forehead in a chaste kiss.

"Okay, okay, I'm going now. Hurry up and eat your breakfast - I need to get to class," Lilith said, her face flushing bright red. It felt like all the blood in her body had rushed to that spot on her forehead.

In reality, a forehead kiss was hardly scandalous on a college campus. Even a full-on French kiss in public would only draw a few surprised glances. There were always a few lovey-dovey couples showing affection at the base of the girls' dorm each night.

Watching Lilith scamper off, William leisurely hummed a tune as he headed back upstairs. While their dorm wasn't great, they were luckier than Lilith's group in one way - their room was on the second floor, so the climb wasn't as tiring.

But even in that short time, the "wolves" in the dorm had nearly polished off Lilith's lovingly prepared breakfast. Everyone envied William for having a girlfriend who'd bring him food. They showed no mercy, though the newly appointed dorm leader's conscience compelled him to save two sandwiches and half a cup of coffee for William.

Though he was left with mere scraps, William savored it like a gourmet French meal. The other five watched with sour expressions. Of the six guys, only two had girlfriends - William and Jerry. But Jerry's was long-distance, which was even more depressing. Not only did he lack a physical presence, but he suffered the pain of separation. It was a stark reminder of how comparisons could be cruel.

Flaunting such happiness first thing in the morning really tested everyone's fragile nerves. So even though they'd eaten William's food and drunk his coffee, they couldn't help shooting him disdainful looks, hoping to make him feel the weight of group disapproval.

But the offender seemed oblivious, not only failing to be discreet, but grinning like the cat that got the cream.

Little did they know, this blatant display of joy was just the beginning. Lilith was determined to be the perfect attentive girlfriend. After class, she showed up with a large watermelon and snacks.

"William can be a bit hot-tempered. Since you'll be living together, I hope you can all be understanding. I wasn't sure what everyone likes, so I just got some random things - please don't be shy. I'm a year ahead of you all, so feel free to come to me if you need any help. I'll do what I can," she said. A pretty, sweet girl speaking such thoughtful words nearly made the boys who'd just escaped the misery of high school melt into puddles.

They were almost ready to worship William, wondering how he'd trained his girlfriend to be so considerate. Though several had never dated, they'd seen enough to know the score. Lilith was beautiful and gentle, but their gazes unconsciously drifted to Jerry, the other guy with a girlfriend. If they'd heard correctly, the shouting from his phone the night before must have been her. Talk about night and day.

Being the focus of everyone's stares, Jerry felt a pang of envy. How could there be such a huge difference between girlfriends? One was a docile little bunny, while his was a tigress. But tiger or not, at least she was female - the others had no one. Realizing this, his pride swelled again.

After basking in the glow of happiness and making her presence felt, Lilith was finally escorted out by William. Looking at her slight smile, he said, "Lilith, what are you up to? Did you do something you feel guilty about? Did someone write you another love letter?"

While it was great that his girlfriend was making him look good, this wasn't Lilith's usual behavior. Bringing breakfast and fruit made him suspect she must have done something to feel guilty about.

"Of course not. You just got here, and I was worried you might not adjust well," Lilith protested. "Just because I brought breakfast and fruit, you think something's wrong? Was I really that terrible to you before?" She tried to divert William's attention.

"Alright, considering your good behavior today, I'll say you weren't too bad before," William conceded, taking Lilith's hand. "We start military training tomorrow, so it'll be hard to spend all day together."

"That's okay, I can get up early to bring you breakfast," Lilith offered eagerly.

"No need for that. Just take care of yourself. You think I'm like you, nearly working myself to death over two weeks of training?" William said. Two weeks of drills was nothing to him - child's play, really. He wouldn't use it as an excuse to have Lilith wait on him with breakfast every day.

Bringing breakfast was fine once or twice as a sweet gesture between them, but he didn't want it to become a habit. It didn't fit with his plans either. He wanted to spoil Lilith, not the other way around. Perhaps it was true what they said in novels - the one who falls in love first loses. In his relationship with Lilith, William was the loser. He had to carefully nurture this hard-won love. He even harbored the wicked thought of spoiling her so thoroughly that no one else would see any good qualities in her.