Chapter 7
GRAHAM TOOK TO COLLEGE LIKE a fish to water. For the first time in his life, he felt surrounded by people who were just like him; they wanted to learn and prepare for the life they wanted. Not everyone was like that. Like his mother had told him, many students were more interested in the nightlife the freedom from their parents brought them, and they stayed out until all hours of night, coming home drunk. Graham’s roommate started his college career in that manner, and Graham was nervous that their relationship would end up adversarial, but after about two weeks of hangovers on Sunday mornings, Tyler decided he’d had enough. Then he and Graham became friends.
Neither of them were interested in joining a fraternity. Not only did they want to be able to choose their own friends, but they also didn’t have the money to pay the associated joining fees. But they found other things they enjoyed doing. They very quickly found the arcade in the student center and made some friends there. Graham joined a chess club, and Tyler went for a hiking group. They both enjoyed going to concerts and movies on campus. Graham found time to have lunch with Gina Simpson, who was struggling to find her own group of friends and welcomed the company. They talked about their time at Wisteria High, and their memories of school.
“I remember you back in elementary school,” she told him on a cold afternoon in October as they sat in Gina’s dining hall drinking coffee after their meal. “You were so serious. No one ever really cared about those spelling bees Mr. Fine always made us do in fifth grade, but you were always totally prepared.” She laughed. “But then Courtney Jefferson would beat you at the last minute. I wonder what ever happened to her.”
“She moved to Clemens in eighth grade,” Graham said. “She got to spend the next several years tormenting her peers in a new school.”
Gina smiled. “I think she liked you,” she said. “She wanted you to see how smart she was. But I think it backfired on her. Do you not like smart girls, Graham?” Her grin was teasing.
Graham smiled. “No, I like smart girls. I just wanted to win! And she kept me from winning!” He paused. “You think she liked me? God, I was clueless. But I wasn’t really interested in girls back in fifth grade anyway.”
“Oh yeah?” Gina asked, leaning a bit closer. “When did you start getting interested in girls?”
Graham concentrated on not blushing. “I don’t know, maybe sixth grade?” He laughed. “Not one girl in particular. That came later.”
“And who was the first girl that caught your attention?”
Graham could tell that Gina was flirting with him, and he was both elated and terrified. “Joanna Durst,” he said. “She broke my heart when she started dating Kevin Forman.”
“They’re still together,” Gina said. Then she tilted her head. “And who was the last girl that caught your attention?”
Now Graham had no control over the reddening of his face. “Do I really have to tell you?” he asked, smiling weakly.
Gina laughed. “No, you don’t. But maybe if you told her how you felt, she would tell you she felt the same way, and then you wouldn’t have to wonder.”
Graham felt his vocal chords freeze. He took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat. “But she could also say that she doesn’t feel the same way, and then that would suck.”
Gina shook her head. “Maybe,” she said. “But maybe not. Sometimes you have to take a chance in life.” She took a sip of her coffee, gazing at him over the rim. “C’mon, Graham, I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page here.”
Graham let his shoulders relax a bit. “Okay,” he said. “It’s Mandy Connor.” He watched Gina’s expression change to one of horror and he laughed. “I’m just kidding Gina. It’s you. Of course it’s you. I’ve, uh, been interested in you since the beginning of senior year. I was just too much of a wimp to ever say anything.”
Gina’s smile returned. “You’re not the only wimp,” she said. “I’ve actually been, uh, interested in you since junior year.” It was her turn to blush. “See, that wasn’t so bad. We both said it. Now we don’t have to say it again.”
Graham felt a new warmth inside him that didn’t come from the coffee. “My sister guessed last year that I liked you. I told her she was crazy, but she was actually right.”
“I remember your sister,” Gina said. “I wasn’t at that basketball game last year when she fell, but I heard you were. That must have been horrible.”
Graham nodded “It was probably the most horrifying thing I’ve ever been through. For a minute, I worried that she had fallen on her head and was dead. I never ran so fast in my life to get to her. When I saw that she was conscious and moving around, I was so relieved.”
“Did she say what happened?” Gina asked. “What made her fall?”
“Uh,” Graham started. “She lost her balance. It was weird, because she had done the pyramid all season, but that day, she was just off.”
Gina nodded. “Laila Parks was at the game,” she said. “She said that Kaya shouted out ‘no’ before she fell, like yelled it. She said she sounded angry.” Gina moved even closer to Graham. “I also heard rumors that Kaya said one of the girls knocked her off on purpose, but she didn’t say who.”
Graham stared at Gina. “I hadn’t heard that,” he said carefully. “By the time I got there, we were just concentrating on getting her to the hospital.” Graham felt bad lying to Gina, especially after finally admitting how he felt about her. “And she’s never said anything like that to me or our mother.”
Gina nodded. “Sometimes people have to make things up if they don’t know what really happened. She seemed fine when she got back to cheering, though, but I bet she’ll never get back on the top of a pyramid!” She laughed.
Graham smiled. “You’ve never met my sister. She’s probably got them making a taller pyramid this year.” He let some time pass by drinking more of his coffee. “So, you know, we just admitted that we’re, like, interested in each other, Gina. Maybe we should do more than just have lunch every now and then. There are other meals. Dinner, for instance.”
Gina nodded. “I, for one, am a big fan of dinner.”
“Me, too,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’m also an unemployed freshman on a scholarship, so I can’t ask you out to a formal restaurant. But I do hear they’re having fried chicken at my dining hall on Friday night, if you’d like to bring your meal card and join me.”
Gina laughed. “I love fried chicken,” she said. “Should I dress for the occasion?”
“Dress code is jeans and a sweater,” Graham said, “but they do accept corduroys and sweats, as well.”
The weekly calls with Kaya were going well. She had not been having any particularly bad voices and reported that what she did hear, she tolerated.
“People say things about the food in the cafeteria,” she said. “But it’s not anything I haven’t heard before. They say it sucks. Bailey still hums in class, and sometimes she sings, but she stops when I tell her to. Mr. Briggs brushed by me in the hall the other day and said he only has two thousand one hundred and twelve days until he can retire. But enough about me. How was your date with Gina?”
Graham smiled. “Things are going great. I was actually able to take her out to McDonald’s this week, and then to a free campus movie. She said she’s gonna treat this week. I think maybe KFC and the arcade.”
“No one can top the two of you for fancy and romantic date ideas,” Kaya said.
Graham could picture her rolling her eyes.
“What about Jeff?” Graham asked. “Has anything happened with him?”
Kaya was silent for a moment. Then she spoke. “I’m not sure about Jeff. I don’t really think he’s all that into me.”
Graham had the old familiar feeling he got when he knew he was going to hear something he didn’t want to hear. “Why is that?” he ventured.
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s a feeling.”
Graham sighed. “It was a voice, wasn’t it?”
“Sometimes, I think the voices tell me things that I might have already figured out on my own,” Kaya said flatly. “But yes. We were sitting next to each other at lunch last month, in a group of our friends. Rayna came over to the table, and I heard Jeff, well, have some thoughts about her that I’d rather not repeat.”
Graham slumped over a bit. “Kaya—”
“No, don’t say anything, okay? Maybe I knew it already. I probably saw him looking at her in a certain way. Since I heard that, I’ve been watching, and they do seem to look at each other a lot. But I haven’t heard him say anything else about her. Obviously, I’m not sitting next to him anymore. Probably by next week, he’ll be sitting next to Rayna.”
“I’m sorry, Kaya,” Graham said honestly. “But maybe it’s for the best. You need to be with someone who looks at you that way, not your friend.” He paused. “Do you think you might need to—”
“No,” Kaya said quickly. “Everything’s okay. I’m doing fine. No one’s trying to hurt me, I’m not delusional or paranoid or anything. I’m not gonna take the meds, Graham. But thanks for checking. Listen, I have to go. I’m meeting up with Bailey to practice. Oh, I didn’t tell you the biggest thing! Jill got kicked off the cheerleading team!”
Graham’s eyes widened. “Really? Why?”
“She got caught doing that thing she wanted to do to me last year, you know, with the milk and the laxatives, only she tried to do it with Bailey’s water bottle. Miss Green came into the locker room and found her with the evidence! Jill got all defensive, but then started to cry when she realized she had been caught red-handed! Anyway, Miss Green was really pissed off. But I’m glad she’s gone. I never trusted her. I’ve refused to do any complicated or tricky things with her as far as cheering, and now, no one else would want to. It does throw off our numbers a bit, but that’s okay. Miss Green fills in sometimes during practice if someone’s out sick or something. She’s so much fun. I wish I could be friends with her, but she’s a teacher. Maybe someday when I’m older I’ll look her up.”
“I’m glad you like her so much,” Graham said. “It’s nice to have a teacher in your corner. Maybe someday she can write you a college recommendation letter. It would probably be really nice. Listen, go practice with Bailey. I have to work on a research paper that’s due at the end of the semester.”
Kaya laughed. “You’re such a nerd, Graham,” she said. “It’s not even Halloween yet, and you’re already working on your term paper. You’ve still got two months! Procrastinate a little! Call Gina or something. The paper will still be there!”
Graham snickered. “You do you, Kaya, and I’ll do me. We’ll both be fine. I’ll talk to you next week. Tell Mom I’ll call her tomorrow. I love you. Bye.”
“Bye. Love you.”
After Graham got off the phone, he looked at his pile of library books for his paper and his notes strewn across his desk. Suddenly, it all seemed too much. He sat on his bed and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
“Hey, Gina,” he said when she answered, “what are you up to right now?”
He met her in the lobby of her dorm. She was wearing a heavy jacket and a ski cap.
“It’s so cold out today,” she said. “When I came back from my last class, it was windy. It’s not even November yet, Graham. What’s it gonna be like in January? Did we both make huge mistakes not applying to schools in Florida?”
Graham laughed. “It is really cold. I definitely need to get a heavier jacket when I go home for Thanksgiving. We’re only three hours from home. Wouldn’t think it would be so different here. I guess it must be due to the lake or something.”
Gina shivered. “I’m already feeling it just when someone opens the door.”
Graham looked at her with sympathy. “Do you just want to go up to your room and hang out there? That way you don’t have to go out at all. Maybe we can get dinner at your dining hall.”
A smile crossed Gina’s face. “Are you sure?” she asked. “That doesn’t sound like the most exciting date.”
Graham smiled. “I just saw relief all over your face when I suggested it. You don’t have to worry about me, Gina. I’m fine hanging out in your room. You have a VCR, right? We can sit on your bed and watch a movie. We can grab some hot chocolate pouches from the dining hall before we go up and heat up some water in your hot pot. C’mon, it will be fun.” He grabbed her gloved hand. “And you won’t need these arctic-level gloves to keep your hands warm.”
They worked their way back to the elevator and to Gina’s room on the third floor.
Before they went inside, Gina turned to Graham. “Dana’s here. So maybe I should get this done now.” She reached up and kissed Graham. “Hi, Graham,” she said softly.
Graham smiled at her. Then she reached over and kissed her back. “Hey there, Gina.” He put his arms around her and embraced her. They stood that way for about thirty seconds and then let their arms fall before Gina opened the door.
“Hey, you guys,” Dana said, looking up from her book. “Too cold for you out there?”
“Yeah,” Graham said, sitting on Gina’s bed. “I think I might have seen a snowman running for shelter in the sauna.”
Dana laughed. “I’m going to a meeting at my sorority in a while, and if I don’t show up, I’ll get in trouble. I guess I’ll brave the tundra. What are you two up to?”
Gina was sorting through her video tapes. “I have Jack Frost with Michal Keaton,” she said, and then she laughed. “Maybe not. We’re just gonna watch a movie. You can watch with us until you have to go if you want.”
They ended up putting on Halloweentown, one of Gina’s favorite movies. “Halloween is only a week away,” she said. “I hope it’s not so cold that we can’t go to a party. I really want to dress up and go out. It’s our first year in college. I won’t let the weather stop me.” She gasped with delight. “We should do a couple’s costume!”
Graham froze, and Dana rolled her eyes. “That would be the perfect way to get yourself laughed out of a party.”
Graham smiled at Gina. “I’ll do whatever you want me to,” he said, reaching over to kiss her.
Gina tilted her head. “Well, maybe not a couple’s costume, but more like something similar. Maybe something that just the two of us know is matching.”
The movie started, and Graham leaned back against the wall, his arm around Gina’s shoulder. Dana sat on the floor.
When the movie ended, Gina sat contented on the bed, a lazy smile on her face. “I feel so good every time I see that,” she said. “But we do have to come up with costume ideas.”
Dana stood. “I have to go, you guys,” she said. “I’m already gonna be late. Have fun deciding. And by the way, I will not participate in a three-way costume, or any other three-way for that matter, so don’t even think about it.” She put on her jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves, said goodbye, and left.
“How about something from Scream?” Graham recommended.
Gina shook her head. “No horror. I hate horror. It gives me nightmares.” Her eyes brightened. “What about Cartman and Kenny from South Park? That would be awesome! We could wear coats and hats, and not have to worry about being freezing!”
“But if we go to a party, it might get hot with all the people,” Graham warned. “And if we took off our coats, we would be out of costume.”
“Oh, right.” Gina contemplated. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t be into Raggedy Ann and Andy.” Graham shook his head. “I figured. Gumby and Pokey? The guys from Kiss? Superheroes?”
Graham grinned and reached toward Gina’s body. “I’d love to see you as Wonder Woman,” he said, nuzzling his face against her shoulder. “A little leotard, some cleavage, and you can’t forget her magic Lasso of Truth.”
Gina smiled and fell into Graham’s embrace on the bed. They let themselves slide down onto the mattress, entwined in each other’s arms. “And if I had Wonder Woman’s lasso right now,” Gina said softly, “what truth would you be telling me?”
Graham laughed, leaning in close to whisper in Gina’s ear. Then he pulled away and looked into her eyes. Her brows were lifted in surprise. Graham’s smile slowly straightened out, and he gently bridged the distance between his lips and hers. They continued to kiss for a while before they moved on to the next step.
“When is Dana coming back?” he asked.
“I think we have some time,” Gina said, staring into his eyes above her.
“Time for what?” he teased.
“Well, I know what I want to do. The question is, what do you want to do?”
“I think I might want to see if you’ll still be cold if I take off all of your clothes.”
Gina smiled. “I wasn’t really that cold. I just wanted an excuse to get you up here while my roommate was gone.” She reached up to kiss him, and Graham slowly lowered himself on top of her.
About half an hour later, they were lying together, cuddled up under the covers. They were both quiet, lost in their own thoughts.
Finally Graham spoke. “If I had the Lasso of Truth right now,” he said gently, “what would you tell me?”
Gina looked at him, affection clear on her face. “I would tell you that I didn’t know what to expect. I would tell you that I was scared, but I didn’t need to be. You were perfect. That was wonderful, Graham. I couldn’t have asked for a better first time.”
Graham felt himself glowing, and not just from perspiration. He smiled. “That makes me so happy, Gina. I feel the same way. I always wondered who it would be, but for a long time, I’ve hoped it would be you, and it was. That’s a dream come true.” He kissed the top of her head. “I hope this is something we can do again and again.”
“Me too,” Gina said. She turned onto her side, facing him. “Sometimes, I wish that I could read people’s minds, you know? It seems like it would make things so much easier. If I could have read your mind, I would have known last year how you felt about me, and I would have said something to you to let you know I liked you too. Maybe on some level I did know, which is what kept me going. But yeah, knowing what other people are thinking would make life simple.”
Graham ran his hand through her hair. “It would be nice sometimes. But I think the anticipation is worth a lot. Besides, there’s always the risk that you weren’t reading minds, but you were really hearing voices.”
This was the first time he had brought up this concept in front of Gina.
“And people would think you were crazy.”
Gina shrugged. “Well, I just thought if I had a magic lasso, that I could also be psychic. It would be some nice superpowers. But you’re right. It would be hard to differentiate what you hear with your ears and what you hear with your power. It would be really confusing.”
Graham nodded. “Exactly,” he said, thinking that was what often happened to Kaya. And then, as if struck by lightning, a thought came to his mind.
Kaya had told him that Jill had been kicked off the cheerleading team for trying to spike Bailey’s water with a laxative. Jill had wanted to do exactly that to Kaya last year. But when Kaya had told him that she had heard Jill’s plans to do so, it was during one of her auditory hallucinations. She had been on the pyramid with other team members. Penny told Kaya that Jill hadn’t said anything at all. So how did Kaya know about Jill’s plan? Was it possible that she had heard Jill say it some other time? But if Jill had said it out loud another time, she would have been talking to someone else, who was either involved in her scheme or would have warned Kaya. Something was off here. Something didn’t make sense.
Graham decided that this wasn’t the right time to think about this. He was in bed with the woman he was falling in love with, and they had just made love for the first time. He inched even closer to Gina’s body and started to kiss her again. Then all other thoughts flew out of his head.