“C’mon . . . it’s just one party! You’re in college now—just one party won’t hurt,” Steph practically pleads, trying to convince her. “Wait, how are you getting to the store? I thought you didn’t have a car?”
“I was going to take the bus. And besides, I can’t go to a party—I don’t even know anyone,” she responds. I laugh again. “I was going to read and Skype with Noah.”
Because going to a store is so much fun. I bet she shops at fucking Target; she seems like the type. And her Skype date . . . I bet she’s going to show an ankle to her poor excuse of a boyfriend.
“You don’t want to take the bus on a Saturday! They’re way too packed. Hardin can drop you on the way to his place . . . right, Hardin?” Steph glances at me.
I won’t be dropping anyone off anywhere.
“And you’ll know me at the party,” Steph continues. “Just come . . . please?”
“I don’t know . . . and no, I don’t want Hardin to drive me to the store,” the obnoxious girl whines. I shift over and smile at the two of them; it’s all I can do, since they’re both annoying the shit out of me.
“Oh no! I was really looking forward to hanging out with you,” I say. “Come on, Steph, you know this girl isn’t going to show at the party.” I take a moment to look at the way her white T-shirt is tight across her chest and hips. She should dress this way instead of that long-ass skirt she was wearing the other day. Her khaki shorts are still too long, but you can’t win ’em all.
“Actually, yeah, I’ll come,” the girl says—Tessa was her name, I think. Yeah, it was. I hear shrieking and squealing, and it’s my cue to leave when the girls start hugging and shit.
“Yay! We’ll have so much fun!” Steph promises the girl as I leave the room.
I DRIVE FARTHER on to campus and sit through the rest of my classes for the day. Afterward, I get a text from Nate to meet him and Tristan at Blind Bob’s and head that way. I turn the music up in my car and roll the window down. When I was a teen, I used to think people were fucking show-offs when they blasted music from their car windows, but now I get it. Sometimes I just want to drown out the world around me, and music and reading are the only things that do that for me. Everyone has their thing, and these are mine.
When I need silence, the noise helps.
Better than a fifth of Jack, I suppose. My mum, crying on the phone in the middle of the night, would say so.
“What took so long?” Tristan takes a bite from a hamburger; half the toppings fall onto the plate in front of him.
“Traffic was a bitch.” I slide into the booth next to Nate. Our usual server nods at me, and moments later she appears at the table with a glass of water.
“Still sober, yeah?” Nate questions; his eyes carefully avoid my glass as he takes a drink of his beer.
“Yep. Still sober.” I finish half the glass of water, trying not to think about the way an ice-cold beer would taste on my tongue.
“Good for you, man. I know everyone gives you shit about it, but I think it’s pretty fucking awesome, the self-control you have.”
At Nate’s praise, I shift awkwardly.
Tristan laughs, wiping a napkin across his chin. “Self-control? I heard Molly screaming your name just last night.”
“Well, sober with drinking. No, no, of course not chicks.” Nate laughs along, pushing his shoulder into mine, and I’m thankful for the change in tone. It was getting too personal for my liking.
Nate ends up convincing me to let him drive my car. He only had one beer, and I don’t feel like driving really, so I agree to let him if he drives me to pick up Steph and her roommate.
“She’s been blowing up my phone, says you won’t answer her,” Nate says as we pull out of the parking lot.
I roll my eyes. “I told her an hour ago that I would give them a ride.” Steph can be really fucking annoying.
“I just told her we’re on our way. I’m glad that Tessa girl is coming with her,” he says, and rolls down the driver’s-side window.
“Why?”
“Because she seems nice and should definitely get out more. Steph said she thinks her boyfriend is her only friend or something.”
.noitcetorp rof ,ylbaborp ,rezalb dedda na htiw—neht ,oediv dehtolc ylluf a yletinifeD ?htiw gnipykS s’ehs ohw taht sI .dneirflrig dna dneirfyob ton ,sgnilbis ekil kool yehT ?mrod eht ni yug dnolb eht ,tiaW .ffocs I ”?dneirfyob a sah aserehT rehtoM naem uoY ?dneirfyoB“
”.edud ypperp taht ,reh htiw ereht saw eh ,haeY“
.reduol neve pu ti nrut I .cisum siht etah dluow dneirfyob ledom-paG pu-kcuts reh dna sseT .cisum eht pu nrut dna hgual I ”.erugif oG“
.erongi tih I os ,eman s’ylloM s’tI .sezzub enohp ym ,mrod s’hpetS fo tol gnikrap eht otni llup ew nehW
?tihs suoedih siht raew ehs seod yhw—lewot taht ni ydob reh fo eniltuo eht was I .ti teg t’nod I .kcas nooram a ekil skool tahw gniraew si gnolagat reh dna ,sserd tenhsif a ni desserd si hpetS .rac eht ot pu klaw yeht sa slrig eht steerg etaN ”.seidaL“
.rac eht otni sbmilc ehs sa yas I ”?aserehT ,thgir—hcruhc a ton ,ytrap a ot gniog er’ew taht wonk od uoY“
.ylibbonS .yltcniccus syas ehs ”,asseT referp I .aserehT em llac t’nod esaelP“
.eno siht htiw drohc a kcurts evah ot mees I .rehtegot taht tup ot slevon hguone daer ev’I .aserehT eb dluow eman reh wenk I
.srac fo enil a dniheb esuoh eht fo tnorf ni skrap etaN .evirra ew litnu ecnelis drawkwa fo setunim wef a hguorht tis ot evah ylno ew ;esolc si esuoh ehT .reh no era seye ym wonk t’nseod ehs nehw deyonna raeppa t’nseod ehS .reh ta kool ot semit wef a rorrim eht ni ecnalg I ,evird ew sA .reh tnuat I ”,aserehT ,gniht eruS“
?yawa taht evig nwal lluf eht t’nseoD .sksa aserehT ”?ereh eb lliw elpoep ynam woh—gib os s’tI“ .seye reh sllor dna sffuh ehS
.dray eht pu klaw I dna ,kniht I ,kcohs ni ,ereht stis tsuj ehS .rood rac eht gnittuhs ,reh llet I ”,pu yrruH .esuoh lluf A“
ruof
.ekoms yarg fo sduolc wef tsal eht htiw ,yawa tfird reh hctaw ot evah dluow eh dna ,tuohtiw ehtaerb t’nac llits dna t’ndluoc eh taht lrig eht ,devol eh lrig eht gnikat ,etargetnisid tirips reh fo ecnuo yreve ekam dna ,luos reh fo gninrub eht ot ,noitcurtsed ot dael dluow noissap hcum taht taht nwonk evah dluohs eH .ekoms htiw llif dluow meht neewteb ria eht taht noissap hcum os htiw dellif erew snoitca reh dna eciov reh nehW .erif no saw ehs nehw syad eht gniviler ,enola gnittis flesmih sdnif eh netfo tub ,ekatsim retfa ekatsim gnikam fo tibah sih yb dehsiugnitxe eb neht ,nekaew dluow reh fo edisni erif eht taht aedi gnikcuf on dah eh ,on . . . erus t’nsaw eH .reh ot emac ti nehw tnereffid gnihtemos tlef eh taht ,mih tsniaga htuom trams taht desu ehs emit tsrif eht ot retnuocne tsrif rieht morf ,no ylrae morf wenk eH
