2 Ethan
August 2016
After I got to class, all I could think about was Sloane. She was quiet yet seemed like she’d tell you anything if you asked. She was beautiful but not in the way most girls on campus were. I could tell she didn’t try too hard or take herself too seriously; she didn’t have to. I’d never been attracted to redheads before, but something about her was different. I tried to snap out of it. I’m not that kind of guy—I don’t fall for girls. Especially not ones that I respect. I know how that sounds, but it’s true. I’m fucked up in a lot of different ways, but the biggest is that I wouldn’t know a healthy relationship if it slapped me in the face. You can thank my parents for that.
Sloane was right; my public speaking class consisted of all freshmen. I could tell by the way everyone bought the textbook. You couldn’t catch me wasting my money on textbooks. That’s what fraternity brothers and cute girls who sat next to you in class were for. I listened to the professor as she rambled on about the six speeches we’d give over the course of the semester: informative, persuasive, entertaining, demonstrative, motivational, and impromptu. God, I really hated myself for pushing this class off for so long.
Our professor ended class well before the hour and fifteen-minute mark, leaving me a lot of time to kill before the next, so I headed to the library. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be there on the first day of class, but the third floor was where Greek life usually hung out during the day.
“Brady!” someone shouted from across the quad. I turned my baseball cap so that it was backward and I could get a better view of whoever I was about to run into. It was my roommates, Graham and Jake.
“What’re you two doing on campus this early? Specifically, you.” I nodded my head in Jake’s direction.
“You act like it’s eight a.m.” Jake scoffed.
“Let’s get something to eat. Chick still serves breakfast if we get there in the next few minutes.” Graham redirected us.
Graham was like a brother to me. I’d lived with his family since I was in eighth grade, so it felt right to room with him in college too. Out of the three of us, Graham was the smartest. He came from a family of good genes, and it also didn’t hurt that they were loaded. Graham and I were opposites in almost every way, yet he’s the only person I’ve ever let get close. We met Jake freshman year when we all pledged Pi Kappa Alpha—the memories sometimes send shivers down my spine. Needless to say, we bonded in a way most people don’t. Jake is the type of guy who hunts and fishes, while Graham and I are likelier to spend our time tossing a football or ripping some waves.
“Thank fuck, the line isn’t long,” Jake said as we walked through the doors of the student center. “I could devour ten chicken minis right now.”
As we waited in line for our breakfast, my interaction with Sloane from earlier started to creep back into my mind. How had I never seen her at any of our parties or out at a bar before? Surely, I would remember her. A small part of me hoped she’d be at Jerry’s tonight, or even better, our pregame at the Pike house.